Gobi Partners has entered Japan to further connect Japanese corporates and researchers with Southeast Asia’s startup ecosystem, while Ares has partnered with Mubadala and ADIC to acquire minority stakes in private equity firms.
Gobi enters Japan via Takanawa Gateway LiSH
Asia-focused venture capital firm Gobi Partners seeks to connect Japanese corporates and researchers with startup ecosystems in Southeast Asia in its latest foray into Japan.
In a statement, Gobi said it has joined JR East’s Takanawa Gateway Link Scholars’ Hub (LiSH) in Japan as a global network partner to widen its push for Japan-Southeast Asia collaboration.
LiSH is part of East Japan Railway Company’s smart-city development and is positioned as a collaboration hub for startups, companies, and researchers. The hub opened in 2025.
Gobi said the hub will be used to connect startups, companies, and researchers working on urban technology and new business models.
“Together, we aim to unlock the vast potential of ASEAN’s dynamic startup ecosystem while providing Japanese investors unparalleled access to the region’s brightest entrepreneurs,” said Tomas Tsao, co-founder and chairperson of Gobi Partners.
The move builds on Gobi’s work with Japanese investors, including a partnership with Japan-based Cross Capital aimed at increasing Japanese investment into Southeast Asian startups, which was announced last year.
Ares teams up with Mubadala, ADIC for minority PE firm stakes
Global alternative investments firm Ares Management has struck a strategic partnership with Mubadala Investment Company and the Abu Dhabi Investment Council to launch a new vehicle that will buy minority stakes in mid-sized private equity firms, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday (Nov. 26).
The vehicle, per the report, will target managers with up to $30 billion in assets under management, with flexibility to invest in larger firms. The firm expects to source deals from relationships spanning more than 1,000 general partners.
ADIC and Mubadala, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, are bringing their own ties with general partners to leverage the “collective relationships, experiences and sourcing,” Bloomberg quoted Nate Walton, head of private equity secondaries, as saying.
In August, DealStreetAsia reported that Ares Management has finalised an agreement to combine Northstar Group’s funds and its employees with its $546-billion alternative asset empire in the fourth major move to grow its Asia business.
