Kyocera Corporation, a Japanese semiconductor components manufacturer and telecommunication leader, has announced two new venture funds totalling USD 100 M, a move that reinforces its growing commitment to emerging technology markets worldwide.

With a 10-year investment timeline, these funds will target companies making advancements in artificial intelligence, renewable energy, and mobility—sectors that Kyocera believes are key to its future growth.

The Kyoto-based company has designated USD 60 M to the Kyocera Venture Fund-I, which aims to support technology startups across the U.S., Middle East, and Africa. An additional USD 40 M will flow through its Kyocera Venture Innovation Fund-I to back promising early- and growth-stage ventures across Asia.

With the Kyocera Venture Fund-I, the company is making its first significant move into the African startup ecosystem, joining other Japanese corporations in recognizing the continent’s tech potential. By investing in African, American, and Middle Eastern companies, Kyocera seeks to identify innovations that align with its established expertise in semiconductor technology.

Shouichi Nakagawa, Kyocera’s Senior General Manager of Corporate R&D, noted the strategic importance of these investments, saying, “We’re keen on startups offering innovations that complement our core expertise, especially those with AI-driven approaches that could enhance our semiconductor and telecom businesses.”

Kyocera’s Kyocera Venture Fund-I has already invested in two U.S.-based companies at the cutting edge of chip technology. Texas-based Chipletz and California-based Mixed-Signal Devices.

Texas-based Chipletz, a chip packaging startup, for instance, has developed a novel chip packaging technique that eliminates the need for interposers—small connectors traditionally used to link chips—boosting processing speeds and supporting high-performance AI applications. By removing this element, Chipletz’s approach enables faster processing speeds and enhanced performance, both essential for AI and machine learning applications.

Its other investment is in California’s Mixed-Signal Devices, which focuses on clock and timing technologies essential for data centre synchronization, addressing Kyocera’s growing interest in data infrastructure.

Beyond these initial investments, Kyocera is exploring AI applications that integrate with its printer and electronics divisions, aiming to enhance document security, energy-efficient data transmission, and even thermoelectric conversion to capture waste heat as power.

This aligns with Kyocera’s focus on reducing environmental impact through tech innovations, offering benefits that could transform product efficiency and sustainability.

The Kyocera Venture Innovation Fund-I, targeting Asia, has also already invested in Turing, a Tokyo-based startup that develops autonomous driving solutions. Turing’s technology uses real-time AI for adaptive driving decisions, moving beyond sensor-based navigation—a versatile approach Kyocera hopes to leverage as it expands in the mobility sector.

Nakagawa noted that these investments build on Kyocera’s history of venture involvement, dating back to a private equity partnership with Goldman Sachs in 2000 that targeted Japanese startups and continued through partnerships with U.S.-based accelerators like Plug and Play.

Founded in 1959 by Kazuo Inamori, Kyocera has evolved from a ceramic components manufacturer into a global technology leader in high-performance materials and communications, holding a dominant share in ceramic semiconductor packaging.

Through these new venture funds, the company seeks to blend its manufacturing expertise with cutting-edge technology solutions, establishing a foothold in AI, clean energy, and mobility across continents. These investments position Kyocera as an influential player in the next wave of semiconductor and tech advancements, reflecting its strategic shift toward cross-continental growth in sustainable and high-impact technologies.