# PNB-INSPiRE Ethical Fund 1 Investment Business Limited Liability Partnership

> PNB-INSPiRE Ethical Fund 1 Investment Business Limited Liability Partnership is a VC fund backing CRM. See 8 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug…

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Tokyo, Japan
- Total investments: 8
- Last investment: Dec 2022
- Lead investor: 0%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- Website: https://www.inspirecorp.co.jp/en/business/pief/

PNB-INSPiRE Ethical Fund 1 Investment Business Limited Liability Partnership is a VC fund in Tokyo focused on CRM and Sales. PNB-INSPiRE is an investment fund that fosters small to medium Japanese enterprises that have the potential to succeed in the international market. It aims to further drive these businesses and contribute to the Japanese industry which has reached maturity. It was founded in 2000 and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| CRM | 1 | 13% |
| Sales | 1 | 13% |
| AgTech | 1 | 13% |
| Farming | 1 | 13% |
| Big Data | 1 | 13% |

27 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Series C | 2 | 25% |
| Funding Round | 2 | 25% |
| Seed | 1 | 13% |
| Series B | 1 | 13% |
| Series E | 1 | 13% |

6 stages tracked in total.

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Japan | 6 | 75% |
| Malaysia | 1 | 13% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Ame Kaze Taiyo | Ame Kaze Taiyo develops a seasonal food marketplace to buy seasonal foods directly from farmers and fishermen. Its marketplace allows users to purchase ingredients directly from producers all over Japan and exchange cooking methods and photos of dishes. | $2.2M | Series C | Dec 27, 2022 |  |
| Pocket Marche | Pocket Marche is a smartphone app that allows you to buy food while talking with farmers and fishermen across the country. | $46.8M |  | Aug 27, 2019 |  |
| TheLorry | TheLorry is a lorry booking and reservation online platform that offers its users with price-fixed quotations. The company partners with reputable and experienced vendors to ensure that its user’s goods are transported safely and securely to their final destination. It also offers home and office relocation services. Additional services such aspacking, wrapping, assembly, disassembly, and boxes are available on request. The specialties of the company are extensive vendor network, safety and security, and friendly customer service. Reviews of its users help individuals determine customer experiences and the company’s portfolio.TheLorry is a Malaysia-based company that was founded in 2014 by Nadhir Ashafiq. | $5.9M | Series B | Apr 02, 2019 |  |
| Green Earth Institute | Green Earth Institute Co., Ltd. is committed and focused on producing carbon neutral biofuels and green chemicals from non-food biomass, such as leaves and stems of plants, instead of using food and feed crops.Using technology originally invented by RITE (Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth) we developed a bioprocessingtechnology that enables more efficient production of low-cost green products from non-food biomass compared to conventional fermentation technologies. We were established to commercialize this innovative bioprocessing technology enabling our dream to become a reality by addressing major challenges such as global warming by limiting greenhouse gas production from fossil fuels and minimizing diversion of food crops to fuels. | $31.6M | Corporate Round | Feb 08, 2019 |  |
| ABEJA | ABEJA is a technology firm that specializes in AI-driven digital transformation. Its suite of offerings includes the ABEJA Platform for automating core business processes, retail analytics via ABEJA Insight for Retail, AI ethics consulting, DX workforce training, and Large Language Model implementations (ABEJA LLM Series). | $609.5M | Series C | Jun 29, 2018 |  |
| Pocket Marche | Pocket Marche is a smartphone app that allows you to buy food while talking with farmers and fishermen across the country. | $25.5M | Seed | Sep 29, 2017 |  |
| Grooves | grooves has been providing #1 Web applications for the recruiters as the web community to build to meet with each other for new business opportunities and possible partnerships in Japan since 2004. Now,there are more than 3,000 companies customers in Asiapacific. | $28.3M |  | Apr 03, 2017 |  |
| Microwave Chemical | Microwave Chemical is a microwave platform technology designed according to product characteristics. | $56.7M | Series E | Mar 26, 2017 |  |

8 of 8 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Kobashi Industries](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/kobashi-industires) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Oita Venture Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/oita-venture-capital) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Axiata Digital Innovation Fund](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/axiata-digital-innovation-fund) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Cradle Seed Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/cradle-seed-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- Daikin Industries, Ltd. — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [DBJ Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/dbj-capital) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

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- [Sequoia Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/sequoia-capital) — VC Fund
- [New Enterprise Associates](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/new-enterprise-associates) — VC Fund
- [Bessemer Venture Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/bessemer-venture-partners) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does PNB-INSPiRE Ethical Fund 1 Investment Business Limited Liability Partnership invest in?

PNB-INSPiRE Ethical Fund 1 Investment Business Limited Liability Partnership invests primarily in CRM, Sales and AgTech startups, most often at Series C and Funding Round stage. Most of the 8 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in Japan. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### When did PNB-INSPiRE Ethical Fund 1 Investment Business Limited Liability Partnership last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for PNB-INSPiRE Ethical Fund 1 Investment Business Limited Liability Partnership closed in Dec 2022. Shizune tracks 8 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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