Across launches $1B fund‑of‑funds

Across Ventures is launching a $100 million fund that will invest in small, specialist venture firms instead of backing startups directly. (across-ventures.com) The new vehicle, Across Ventures Fund I, L.P., was announced on April 13 and is being built through a strategic alliance with SBI Holdings of Japan. SBI said on April 14 that it plans to join as an anchor limited partner when the fund is formed. (finance.yahoo.com) (sbigroup.co.jp) Across is targeting about $100 million, or roughly ¥16 billion, and says it wants to invest in more than 20 micro venture capital funds. Those managers are expected to give Japanese companies indirect exposure to hundreds of early-stage startups in the United States. (finance.yahoo.com) A fund-of-funds is a pool of money that buys into other funds, not individual companies. In this case, Across says the strategy is to spread capital across managers that specialize in areas like artificial intelligence, fintech, blockchain, climate technology, health technology, next-generation computing and space. (sbigroup.co.jp) (finance.yahoo.com) The pitch comes as the United States venture market splits between giant multibillion-dollar firms and much smaller seed investors. Across and SBI both describe micro funds as the group that now does more of the pre-seed and seed investing that large firms increasingly avoid. (sbigroup.co.jp) (finance.yahoo.com) Across says those micro funds typically manage $20 million to $50 million and rely on narrow domain expertise and founder networks to source deals. The firm’s website says it was founded in 2025 and is based in San Francisco. (finance.yahoo.com) (sbigroup.co.jp) The firm is led by Emi Yoshikawa, who previously served as vice president of strategic initiatives at Ripple. Across says Yoshikawa helped launch Ripple’s ecosystem fund and has worked across Silicon Valley, Wall Street and Japan for more than two decades. (across-ventures.com) SBI is framing the partnership as a way to give Japanese corporations earlier access to United States startup trends and possible business tie-ups. The company said it will help with deal sourcing, investment review and operational support around the fund. (sbigroup.co.jp) The number to watch is $100 million, not $1 billion. As of April 15, 2026, the company announcement, SBI filing and Business Wire release all describe the target size as approximately $100 million. (sbigroup.co.jp) (finance.yahoo.com) If the fund closes as planned, Across will be betting that the best way into frontier startups is one layer removed: back the niche investors who see them first. (across-ventures.com)