MUMBAI: MOL PLUS CO., Ltd, the corporate venture capital arm of Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd, the world’s second-largest ship owner by fleet size, has invested an unspecified amount in Theia Ventures Fund 1, marking its first investment in an Indian venture capital fund.
Set up in 2024, Theia Ventures Fund 1 is a Category II Alternate Investment Fund registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and managed by Theia Ventures LLP.
Priya Shah-led Theia Ventures Fund 1 invests exclusively in start-ups in India, with a focus on energy transition sectors (energy management solutions, electric mobility, next-generation batteries, etc) and the broader climate tech sectors (biomaterials, decarbonisation technologies, circular economy, etc).
MOL floated MOL Plus in 2021 to invest in startups related to its core business of shipping and logistics and followed it up by starting MOL Switch in 2024 to invest in clean energy and sustainability ventures.
The MOL Group’s strong affinity with the fund’s areas of focus was a deciding factor in its decision to make Theia Ventures Fund 1 an investment partner, it said. The investment will allow MOL PLUS to accelerate business creation with start-ups in the Indian market and continue promoting the development of the India-Japan corridor.
MOL PLUS opened a desk in India in November 2024, to tap into India’s startup ecosystem with a focus on logistics, deep tech and environmental sustainability, the company said previously. Captain Shantanu Singh and Yasufumi Iino are the growth managers of the India desk.
As the world’s third-largest startup market, India is one of MOL Group’s priority regions, as it expands into next- generation energy, real estate, and other non-shipping businesses.
The India Desk of MOL PLUS is fully engaged in networking with local venture capitalists and start-up companies.
“Since the establishment of MOL PLUS India Desk, we have realised the appeal of the rapidly growing Indian market through meetings with Indian start-ups. At the same time, we have also learned that there is region-specific literacy in India regarding rapidly changing market trends, EXIT strategies, and the role of shareholders. By exploring the market together with Theia Ventures, which is deeply rooted in and has a fundamental understanding of the local market, we hope to increase the possibility of business creation with start-ups,” Takuya Sakamoto, CEO, MOL PLUS, said.
MOL PLUS continually works to generate synergetic effects based on startup companies’ innovative ideas and technologies and MOL Group’s resources, aiming to create new businesses and add value to the ocean shipping industry and society, the company said.
“MOL’s expertise in the blue economy, environment and deep tech, both from a strategic perspective through the group entity as well as through their investment in global technology companies, will be hugely beneficial for us to expand the scope of emission reductions across industry, supply chains, materials and mobility,” said Priya Shah, Founder and Managing Partner, Theia Ventures.
In October, Theia Ventures announced the first close of its maiden $30 million fund, after securing commitments exceeding 50 per cent of its target corpus and has begun deploying capital. The fund’s anchor investor is British International Investment (BII), alongside corporate venture arms, fund-of-funds, and family offices.
Apart from BII, other global investors include Allocator One (Germany), Cisco Foundation (US), and Vitality Capital Partners (Australia). The fund is also backed by local and global family offices such as Anand Mahindra, Meher Pudumjee (Thermax Group), JM Financial, Vimson: Shivanand Salgaocar Group and Pramit Jhaveri (former CEO of Citibank India).
Theia Ventures Fund I aims to back 18–20 early-stage startups developing differentiated technologies to decarbonise critical sectors such as heavy industry, manufacturing, material science, mobility, and supply chains. The firm typically invests between $500,000 and $1 million, with over 50 per cent of the corpus reserved for follow-on investments.
