The aim is to back innovators in the company’s four growth areas, healthcare, food & wellness, ICT, and green
Ajinomoto Co., Inc. (Ajinomoto Co), the Japan-based multinational corporation covering food, healthcare and electronic materials, and built on AminoScience, has expanded its corporate venture capital (CVC) arm with new U.S. headquarters to grow its investments in U.S. and global companies. The aim is to back innovators in the company’s four growth areas, Healthcare, Food & Wellness, ICT, and Green.
AminoScience is a collective term for the various materials, functions, technologies, and services derived from research and implementation processes with a rigorous focus on the functions of amino acids. It also refers to the Ajinomoto Group’s unique scientific approach to connect these findings and services to help resolve social issues and contribute to well-being.
With its new team in Silicon Valley, the CVC arm will strengthen its funding and partnership support to startups while driving growth across the Ajinomoto Group’s food, healthcare, and electronic material business verticals. Portfolio entrepreneurs will gain access to Ajinomoto Co.’s technology expertise in advanced ingredient and material research as well as manufacturing capabilities from fermentation to biopharma CDMOs (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisations).
The CVC arm has been actively deploying capital with new fund-on-fund and direct investments. Its growing portfolio now includes Translink Capital — a U.S.-based early-stage venture capital firm investing in semiconductors, mobility, AI, healthcare, robotics, and sustainability. The CVC arm has also made its first semiconductor investment in Elephantech — a manufacturing technology company advancing metal inkjet printed circuit boards as a more sustainable production process.
