MS&AD Ventures

MS&AD Ventures is the overseas corporate venture capital unit of MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, the Tokyo-listed non-life insurance group. It was established in 2018 as the group's first overseas CVC and, according to the parent, the first corporate venture capital unit of a Japanese insurance company. It operates from 3000 Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California, with a team that combines Silicon Valley investors and staff from the parent group.

The unit invests mainly at the early stage. Its website lists insurtech, fintech, property, healthcare and digital health, ESG, future of transportation, and AI and analytics as focus areas, and Global Venturing adds cybersecurity, climate and supply chain. The portfolio page lists roughly 100 active companies, among them Accelerant, Tide, Skyflow, Socotra, Vouch, Jupiter Intelligence, INSHUR, Coverflex and Flex. Recent rounds reported by Global Venturing include a $3 million pre-Series A in Flex, a $4 million seed round for EtherMail and a $42.5 million Series B for Assured Allies. Its portfolio page separately records two IPOs and more than 20 acquisitions among companies it has backed since 2018.

The unit presents itself as fast and partnership minded. Its site says it makes most investment decisions within two weeks and cares less about ownership percentages than about building partnerships. The parent says the program has produced new products and businesses built with portfolio companies across the group. Listed exits include IPOs of Accelerant and Rubrik and acquisitions of Hippo, Next Insurance, Voyage, Volocopter, Human API, FloodFlash and Thimble. Global Venturing reported 110 investments and 12 exits as of 2024.