From left: Capt. Shantanu, MOL PLUS India Desk; Priya Shah, Founder & General Partner, Theia Ventures; Takuya Sakamoto, MOL PLUS CEO; Yasufumi Iino, MOL PLUS India Desk
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JMOL PLUS CO., Ltd., the corporate venture capital arm of Japanese shipping major Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, made its first venture capital investment in Bengaluru-based Theia Ventures Fund 1, managed by Theia Ventures LLP.
MOL PLUS India Desk India’s start-up market continues to grow rapidly. By the end of 2024, it had surpassed 157,000 companies, including about 70 unicorns (valued at $1 billion or more), making it the third-largest start-up market in the world after the US and China, MOL announced on Friday.
India is one of the MOL Group’s priority regions, and in addition to shipping and logistics, the MOL Group is expanding into next-generation energy, real estate, and other non-shipping businesses. MOL PLUS established its India desk in November 2024 and is now fully engaged in networking with local venture capitalists and start-up companies.
Deeptech Focus
Theia Ventures Fund 1 invests exclusively in start-ups in India, with a focus on the energy transition, deep tech, materials science, and advanced manufacturing. The MOL Group’s strong affinity with the fund’s areas of focus was also a deciding factor in our decision to make it an investment partner. This investment will allow MOL PLUS to accelerate business creation with start-ups in the Indian market and continue to promote the development of the India-Japan corridor, according to a release.
MOL PLUS’ expertise in blue economy, environment, and deeptech, both from a strategic perspective through the group entity and 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 & Managing Partner, Theia Ventures.
“Since the establishment of MOL PLUS India Desk in November 2024, we have realized the appeal of the rapidly growing Indian Market through 1-on-1 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,” said Takuya Sakamoto, CEO, MOL PLUS.
Published on December 12, 2025
