Main content

News Release

Ricoh establishes a fund to generate innovation

Accelerating transition into a digital services company by supporting start-up growth

November 8, 2023

TOKYO, November 8, 2023 – Ricoh Company, Ltd. (President and CEO: Akira Oyama, “Ricoh”) today announced the establishment of the RICOH Innovation Fund as a Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) fund. Aiming to generate innovation in the Business-to-Business area, this Fund executes strategic investments in start-ups that drive leading-edge digital services.

Over the years, Ricoh has advanced open innovation through management of industry-specific CVC funds and an accelerator program TRIBUS. Through this newly established Fund, Ricoh will work to accelerate business development through business partnerships, collaborations with external companies, and in-house R&D in the business and technology fields where markets and technologies are rapidly changing. This in turn leads to accelerating Ricoh's transition into a digital services company.

The Fund will mainly invest in start-ups with new technologies and services that support creative work at the frontlines and offices and realize the digital workplace. Ricoh will leverage its global customer base and customer-facing capabilities to support the growth of start-ups. Ricoh supports people's creativity and contributes to a sustainable society by generating innovation and continuously transforming people's work through collaboration and co-creation with start-ups.

Major investment areas

1. Supporting creativity
Areas that support creative work that generates new ideas and value through communication and collaboration while harnessing the creativity of individuals and teams.
2. Digital workplace
Areas that provide a digital workspace where people can work seamlessly anytime, anywhere in an environment that suits them, and be productive and creative.
3. Digital inclusion
Areas that ensure that everyone, regardless of their background, can use all digital technologies safely and freely.
4. Zero-carbon, circular economy
Areas that accelerate the achievement of net-zero society by realizing and streamlining the tasks and mechanisms necessary for a society to achieve this goal.

RICOH Innovation Fund overview

The Fund executes investment in promising start-ups with SBI Investment Co., Ltd. (Chairman and President: Yoshitaka Kitao) as the General Partner, an unlimited liability partner who is responsible for the management of the Fund.

Official fund name
RICOH Innovation Fund #1 Investment Limited Partnership
Business name
RICOH Innovation Fund
Establishment date
November 1, 2023
Fund scale
5 billion JPY
Operation period
10 years

| About Ricoh |

Ricoh is a leading provider of integrated digital services and print and imaging solutions designed to support digital transformation of workplaces, workspaces and optimize business performance.

Headquartered in Tokyo, Ricoh's global operation reaches customers in approximately 200 countries and regions, supported by cultivated knowledge, technologies, and organizational capabilities nurtured over its 85-year history. In the financial year ended March 2023, Ricoh Group had worldwide sales of 2,134 billion yen (approx. 16.0 billion USD).

It is Ricoh's mission and vision to empower individuals to find Fulfillment through Work by understanding and transforming how people work so we can unleash their potential and creativity to realize a sustainable future.

For further information, please visit www.ricoh.com

###

© 2023 RICOH COMPANY, LTD. All rights reserved. All referenced product names are the trademarks of their respective companies.