TOKYO: Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance Company Limited announced that it has, together with Development Bank of Japan Inc. and Fuyo General Lease Co., Ltd., signed an investment agreement with Airbus Ventures Fund III LP, a venture capital fund launched by Airbus Ventures.

This is the first time that investment in the Fund is made by parties other than the Airbus Group companies.

Airbus Ventures, the manager of the Fund, is a venture capital founded by Airbus for the purpose of investing in venture companies with innovative technologies in the aerospace industry.

Airbus Ventures is promoting investments in autonomous mobility, electrification, next-generation computers, advanced materials, and other technologies globally.

To do this, Airbus Ventures is capitalizing on its deep knowledge in advanced technologies; close relationships with various venture firms, mainly located in Silicon Valley; and proactive value-adding activities for its portfolio companies, utilizing the dense networks of Airbus and its group companies.

In the medium-term management plan, Sustainable Growth 2030 launched in April 2020, the Company is focusing its resources on domains involving solutions to societal issues, including the field of global assets, social infrastructure, and renewable energy as an asset business platform company.

Through the investment, the Company aims to expand its businesses into new fields by supporting businesses using its broad networks with a focus on the global assets and social infrastructure fields.

In the aerospace industry, there are new business opportunities such as development of electric aircraft, new materials, and alternative fuel. The Company will aim to become closer to cutting-edge expertise and know-how through the investment, and develop a new business model by blending the new insights with the existing expertise that Mitsubishi UFJ Lease Group has developed over the years.