The Japanese incubator company Mistletoe launched a new agri-food technology accelerator in Bengaluru, India. Gastrotope, their new bold idea unveiled on September 14th, made the commitment to invest in start-ups in the food and agri-tech industries.
“I have always believed that innovation comes from the connecting of diverse dots, this time, with the bridge between India and Japan, new and unique solutions to the fundamental questions of food and agriculture will arise,” Taizo mentioned in an interview.
However promising this company may be, people are sitting up and taking notice because of one person: Taizo Son, brother of tech mogul Masayoshi Son whose Softbank successfully infused the largest tech fund in history to the tune of $94 billion.
Taizo is Mistletoe’s CEO but he left Japan to venture into other countries in Asia. The 44-year-old previously worked with Yahoo! Japan and founded the multibillion-dollar gaming company GungHo in early 2002, another bold idea at that time. Taizo also invested in food delivery companies InnerChef and Ninjacart.
While Masayoshi Son believes in infusing funds in the biggest players of a particular industry and keeping a 20 to 40 percent share of these companies, Taizo is a firm believer in riding the next big wave. He invested in gaming while the industry was in its infancy, and proved to be extremely adept at it. He is motivated by the “shock value” of an idea, unlike his brother who invests in companies that have already proven their profitability.
Son Brothers Share a Love for Technology
The two seemingly diverse approaches of the Son brothers converge in technology. Masayoshi’s investments include Arm Holdings, a UK-based processor manufacturer for mobile phones; Nvidia, an American graphics chip manufacturer also into autonomous vehicles; and Didi Chuxing of China and Grab of Southeast Asia, two car sharing companies that are leaders in their respective regions. The Softbank Vision Fund is being used to create more opportunities for a diverse portfolio.
Taizo’s Gastrotope, however, is expected to be up and running by early 2018. It was set up in partnership with InfoBridge, an Indo-Japanese consulting company, and GSF, a tech accelerator. The company is looking at investing in start-ups that deal with food and agricultural technologies, especially those that embody the “farm to fork” ideals.
“I have always believed that innovation comes from the connecting of diverse dots, this time, with the bridge between India and Japan, new and unique solutions to the fundamental questions of food and agriculture will arise,” Taizo mentioned in an interview.
Despite their differences in business approach, the 44-year-old acknowledges his elder brother’s role in introducing technology as an agent of change. Taizo notes that Masa is helping companies that are already growing nicely grow even faster so they can compete at a global scale.
In 2009, Taizo, already a billionaire from the success of Gungho, formed Movida Japan, a seed-stage startup accelerator. Gungho rose to fame with the gaming app Puzzle & Dragons. It still holds the record as the world’s top-grossing application for iOS and Android. The company’s market value in 2013 was $10.4 billion. After that, he formed Mistletoe, a training and support hub for startups. The company creates learning opportunities, facilitates training and helps them with capitalization.
“Early-stage companies need every kind of resource, not just money; they need people, network, good clients, etc.,” the Business Administration graduate from the University of Tokyo said.
His current investments in the food technology industry in Asia, specifically India, is seen as a bold move by many.
