Sumitomo Corporation Group’s investment in start-ups in Europe

Sumitomo Corporation (Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer: Masayuki Hyodo), through Sumitomo Corporation Europe Limited (Head office: London, UK; CEO: Takashi Yamana; “Sumitomo Corporation Europe”), will make full-scale investments in start-ups based in Europe and Israel, regions that possess disruptive technologies.

Sumitomo Corporation Europe established a Business Development Unit in London in 2016 with a view to reinforcing its effort to develop new businesses originating primarily in Europe and other regions. In January 2018, the company introduced a “R&D Investment Support System” to enable flexible investment in start-up companies, which have been drivers of innovation (innovative technologies, services or business models) in Europe. In line with the Medium-Term Management Plan 2020, which Sumitomo Corporation launched in April 2018, Sumitomo Corporation Europe, by cooperating with its regional offices and upgrading incubation and R&D functions, will accelerate the creation of next-generation businesses in fields of the Environment & Energy, Mobility, and Agrifood tech, where Europe has a tremendous advantage given its unique industrial infrastructure and geopolitical situation.

Sumitomo Corporation’s Medium-Term Management Plan 2020 aims to increase the value of existing businesses, leverage cross-business platforms and promote digital transformation. Sumitomo Corporation pursues the creation of new businesses that will develop into new earnings pillars in the future. In creating the new next-generation businesses, we have evaluated megatrends likely to shape the future and decided to focus on areas where we can harness our strength, namely: (1) technology x innovation, (2) healthcare and (3) social infrastructure. Sumitomo Corporation will take a foresighted approach and aggressively input our management resources to these fields.

<Related information>
■R&D function in the Americas
Sumitomo Corporation has operated a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley in the United States for 20 years, through which it has made investments in innovative start-ups. In April 2017, Sumitomo Corporation opened its Silicon Valley Office to provide support for the business development and expansion of such start-ups in an effort to introduce their innovations into the existing businesses of the Sumitomo Corporation Group and to develop new business models.

■Material issues for Sumitomo Corporation
The Sumitomo Corporation Group has defined the “Six Material Issues to Achieve Sustainable Growth with Society” as an important factor in developing business strategies and in the decision-making process for individual businesses. Going forward, we will pursue sustainable growth by resolving these issues through our business activities. This project should prove especially beneficial in “Contributing to the Development of Local Communities and Industries,”“Establishing a Foundation for Comfortable and Enriching Lifestyles” and “Providing Diverse ‘Accessibility.’”