Japan-based Leave A Nest Eyeing To Invest US$10 Mln In Malaysia

By Christine Lim

KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 (Bernama) -- Japan-founded global science and technology venture, Leave a Nest Group, is planning to increase its investment to US$10 million (about RM39.2 million) in 50 local start-ups over the next five years, up from its current investment of RM19 million in 18 Malaysian start-ups.

Leave a Nest Malaysia managing director, Abdul Hakim Sahidi said the group invests in early-stage startups, mainly from universities, and assists in their expansion both regionally and into the Japanese market.

“We bring technology from Japan and Europe to Malaysia to co-create solutions with local talent, address various social challenges across countries, and eventually expand these innovations to other regions,” he told Bernama in an interview at the New Japan-Malaysia Industrial Cooperation Seminar recently.

Abdul Hakim emphasised that Leave a Nest is not purely a venture capital firm, but also serves as an ecosystem provider that supports research commercialisation as well as investment for start-ups.

Its founder and group chief executive officer, Dr Yukihiro Maru, said Malaysia serves as a springboard to address emerging challenges in areas such as healthcare, agriculture and robotics in advancing science and technology for expansion into other regions.

“Leave a Nest Group’s headquarters is in Tokyo. In 2024, Leave a Nest Malaysia was appointed as the group’s Southeast Asia headquarters due to its strong leadership and its Look East policy,” he told Bernama.

Aside from Malaysia, Leave a Nest also has offices in Singapore, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States.

According to Maru, Leave a Nest aims to have one Malaysian company undertake an initial public offering (IPO) within the next three years, either in Malaysia or Japan.

“Globally, we have invested in 200 start-ups, and in Japan, five start-ups under Leave a Nest Group have already gone public,” he said.

Maru is also serving as an adjunct professor at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), where he contributes towards bridging the gap between academic researchers and industry players, particularly in translating scientific discoveries into practical commercial applications and real-world solutions.

-- BERNAMA