Global early-stage venture capital firm Fluent Ventures announced a $40 million (approximately ¥6.2 billion) investment program in April. Founded by investor and author Alex Lazarow, the firm is backed by over 75 unicorn founders, technology leaders, and venture capitalists.

Combining fund and co-investment formats, the program supports world-class founders deploying proven business models in fintech, healthcare, and e-commerce sectors. Fluent Ventures was established on the belief that the best ideas can originate anywhere and expand everywhere.

The company’s investment strategy, termed “geographic alpha,” is rooted in the belief that globally validated models applied by local entrepreneurs can solve the world’s largest problems. Investments have already been made in North America, South America, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Asia.

Investors include David Vélez of Nubank, Sean Harper of Kin, Adal Flores of Kueski, Nick Nash of SEA Group, and Akshay Garg of Kredivo.

“The business model cannot simply be copied and pasted; context is crucial, and while the concept of solving global problems can be globally deployed, the scale of opportunity varies by region,” (from a comment release by David Vélez of Nubank).

Founder Lazarow has investment experience with Omidyar Network and Cathay Innovation, leading investments in companies such as Chime, Banco Neon, Kin, ZenBusiness, Sidecar Health, Kueski, and Xepelin. As a Kauffman Fellow, he ranked 22nd among over 900 Fellowship members (Fund Returner Index) and has been involved with seven unicorn companies from early stages.

The initial portfolio includes companies replicating successful models from Asia globally.

Particularly, leveraging insights from Japan’s M&A Research Institute, investments have been made in Baton (a marketplace streamlining small business succession) and Iconic (an AI-driven broker for small businesses) in the U.S.

Additionally, drawing from the successful models of infra.market, Zetwerk, and Ofbusiness, investments have been made in Nigeria’s agricultural and industrial B2B marketplace Sabi, Saudi Arabia’s construction tech company BRKZ, and Brazil’s B2B manufacturing platform Prima.

### Focus on the Japanese Market and Strategic Significance

In an email interview, Lazarow explained why Fluent Ventures is focusing on Japan:

“Japan may not be the largest market in terms of startup volume, but it is home to global companies with deep expertise in fintech, healthcare, and industrial sectors. The capital-efficient, high-quality business models emerging in operationally complex and highly regulated industries are attractive.”

Regarding the M&A Research Institute model they are focusing on, he stated, “It is a company discovered while searching for globally scalable business models. It brings modern technology and disciplined economics to regulated offline industries, exactly the type of company we seek.”