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Top 50 EdTech Startup Investors in Japan in September 2025

Last updated: Sep 2025 A list of 50 angel investors and VC (Venture Capital) funds that invest in Edtech startups based in Japan. We rank investors based on the number of investments they made in Edtech companies from Japan. We update this investor list every month.

Top 50 EdTech Startup Investors in Japan in September 2025

Investor	EdTech Japan investments
SMBC Venture Capital	9
ANOBAKA	8
Genesia Ventures	7
ANRI	6
East Ventures	6
Nissay Capital	6
Incubate Fund	5
MITSUI SUMITOMO INSURANCE Venture Capital (MSIVC)	5
PE&HR	5
W ventures	5
Mizuho Capital	4
UTEC - The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners	4
Real Tech Japan	4
UntroD Capital	4
Mobile Internet Capital	4
QB Capital	4
ITOCHU Technology Ventures	4
JAFCO	3
Hidetoshi Takano	3
F Ventures	3
Kotaro Chiba	3
BEENEXT	3
STRIVE	3
Mitsubishi UFJ Capital	3
Kotaro Chiba	3
Robert Huang	3
Obunsha Ventures	3
Primal Capital	2
D4V	2
Kiyoshi Ayabe	2
500 Startups Japan	2
Oita Venture Capital	2
DNX Ventures	2
UTokyo Innovation Platform	2
Monex Ventures	2
en-Japan	2
DOGAN beta	2
Japan Finance Corporation	2
Daiwa Corporate Investment	2
XTech Ventures	2
Chiba Dojo	2
Venture Labo Investment	2
Tatsuo Sakamoto	2
Shizuoka Capital	2
Global Brain Corporation	2
FreakOut Holdings	2
Chibagin Capital	2
Leave a Nest	2
SPARX Group	2
VOYAGE VENTURES	2

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Investor list

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and its group companies offer a broad range of financial services centered on banking. They are also engaged in the leasing, securities, credit card, investment, mortgage securitization, venture capital and other credit related businesses. The following lists the activities of SMBC, its subsidiaries andaffiliates in the various business segments.

Investment focus

Information Technology, Software, Health Care
Funding Round, Series A, Series B
Japan, United States, Singapore

Portfolio highlights

Trustart — Trustart engages in real estate research business and real estate big data provision. The company offers real estate big data and big data subscriptions.
Visual Bank — Visual Bank operates a stock photo business and provides an AI data platform. It aims to create a society in which the value of Japanese creations is maximized and optimized.
Metagen Therapeutics — Metagen Therapeutics is a Drug discovery and medical business company which utilizes microbiome science.

ANOBAKA is a Tokyo-based venture capital firm with rich group resources to add value to seed-stage startups. ANOBAKA actively invests in and supports startups aiming to be a global leader in the innovative Internet business and promising to greatly grow up in the future. ANOBAKA's investment focuses on fledgling seed-stage startups. Inaddition to investment financing, ANOBAKA provides founders with a variety of business support such as development consulting by our engineers, sales support, and international marketing support.

Investment focus

Software, Content, Food and Beverage
Seed, Funding Round, Series A
Japan, United States, India

Portfolio highlights

Amoibe — Amoibe is a company providing engineer training services for the AI era called “amoibe OJT".
Waku — Waku is a manufacturing company that specializes in the research and development of organic fertilizers for the agriculture industry.
Blackbox — Blackbox is an entertainment firm that is involved in businesses, including VTuber production, media mix, and live music events.

Genesia Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on seed/early stage startups in Japan and Southeast Asia. Since it's inception in Dec 2016, Genesia Ventures has invested in over 90 companies in Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore and the US. Genesia Ventures invests in various sectors: SaaS, marketplace, Media, Finance, Insurance,RealEstate, Healthcare, Medical, Travel, Education, Manufacturing, Construction, HR, Agriculture, Sports, Retail, Entertainment, etc.

Investment focus

Information Technology, Software, Health Care
Seed, Series A, Funding Round
Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia

Portfolio highlights

Nonat — Nonat is a company focused on supporting the future of women and children by driving innovation across generations. It is developing a foundational model specifically designed to address the needs of women and children.
Miresso — Miresso is a startup firm that offers nuclear fusion power generation services through natural resources.
MetaSensing — MetaSensing specializes in the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of advanced attachable Raman sensors, designed to provide precise, real-time chemical and molecular analysis across a wide range of applications, including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, environmental monitoring, and industrial process control.

ANRI is a Japanese venture capital firm that mainly invests in seed and early-stage startups.

Investment focus

Software, Information Technology, Health Care
Seed, Series A, Funding Round
Japan, United States, India

Portfolio highlights

Chorakuchoju — Chorakuchoju is a healthcare organization that tries to avoid isolation by implementing AI technologies and medical services.
Linea Innovations — Linea Innovations is an energy production company that develops commercial fusion reactors with advanced fuel technology.
Strand Therapeutics — Strand Therapeutics is developing the first platform for creating programmable mRNA drugs to deliver precise, multi-functional, potentially curative treatments.

East Ventures is an early stage venture capital (VC) focused on Southeast Asia, Indonesia & Japan. Success cases include Tokopedia, Traveloka, and Mercari.

Investment focus

Software, Information Technology, E-Commerce
Seed, Series A, Funding Round
Japan, Indonesia, Singapore

Portfolio highlights

SIRCLO — SIRCLO is a leading omnichannel commerce enabler in Indonesia, driven by the mission to unlock the digital potential of people and businesses.
CrestLab — CrestLab Inc. is a startup focused on developing and providing products for anime production, with a central offering called "ANICRA," which is an anime production support platform that leverages AI technology. This platform aims to aid in various aspects of anime production by integrating artificial intelligence to enhance efficiency andcreativity.
Pintarnya — Situs penyedia lowongan kerja online untuk berbagai posisi, pendidikan dan pekerjaan dari lulusan SD hingga S1 Tersedia di seluruh indonesia.

Nissay Capital is a venture capital Company specializing in seed, start-up, growth capital, middle stage, and later stage investment.

Investment focus

Health Care, Internet, Information Technology
Funding Round, Seed, Series A
Japan, United States, Ethiopia

Portfolio highlights

Japan AI — Japan AI specializes in R&D of artificial intelligence and consulting services.
Blackbox — Blackbox is an entertainment firm that is involved in businesses, including VTuber production, media mix, and live music events.
Linea Innovations — Linea Innovations is an energy production company that develops commercial fusion reactors with advanced fuel technology.

Incubate Fund is an independent early-stage venture capital that specializes in providing capital to technology startups at the seed stage. The firm built a portfolio of over 300 companies in Asia, taking 12 companies to public and 20 companies to M&A exit since 2010.

Investment focus

Software, Information Technology, E-Commerce
Seed, Funding Round, Series A
Japan, United States, India

Portfolio highlights

Visual Bank — Visual Bank operates a stock photo business and provides an AI data platform. It aims to create a society in which the value of Japanese creations is maximized and optimized.
Nominal — Nominal empowers the next-generation economy.Nominal modernizes and automates accounting and financial management, providing robust reporting, multi-entity consolidation, workflow automation (including accruals and revenue), lease compliance (ASC 842/IFRS 16), period-end close collaboration, and much more.Nominal's generativesubledgers transform business logic into actions and insights using Generative AI - without the need for costly engineering or lengthy IT projects. Our shadow-ledger is implemented in days, not months, and seamlessly integrates with existing general ledgers and ERPs.
Rocket Link Technology — Rocket Link Technology is a product development company that specializes in designing LTP rockets for space travel.

MSIVC is a venture capital firm that invests in Japanese and global startups scaling to IPO. It focuses on startups in verticals of Fintech, SaaS, Healthcare, AI, E-Commerce, Foodtech, and Environment etc.

Investment focus

Software, Information Technology, Health Care
Funding Round, Seed, Series A
Japan, United States, India

Portfolio highlights

Ichirou — Ichirou provides digital senior care support services to connect elderly people with caretakers. It offers caretaker services for different types of support, including housework, hospital care, nursing, hospital and doctor visits, and shopping assistance.
Visual Bank — Visual Bank operates a stock photo business and provides an AI data platform. It aims to create a society in which the value of Japanese creations is maximized and optimized.
Rocket Link Technology — Rocket Link Technology is a product development company that specializes in designing LTP rockets for space travel.

PE&HR is a private equity and venture capital firm that seeks to invest in incubation, start-up, and early-stage companies. PE&HR primarily invests in the human resources, internet, healthcare, IT, mobile, and social commerce-related industries.

Investment focus

Software, Education, Fashion
Seed, Funding Round, Series A
Japan

Portfolio highlights

Landsview — Landsview is an IT company that provides software development, numerical analysis, testing equipment, and measurement services.
Izanagi Games — Izanagi Games is an entertainment company that focuses on producing and publishing interactive games.
BEAM Technologies — BEAM Technologies, focuses on developing optical semiconductor devices using special light to offer clean solutions to ecosystem-related problems.

W Ventures is a Berlin based Venture Design and Venture Capital company that offers a complete framework for the acceleration of digital business ideas.

Investment focus

Information Technology, Content, Internet
Seed, Funding Round, Series A
Japan, Indonesia, United States

Portfolio highlights

Anaguma — Anaguma handles business development based on the philosophy of helping people with a sustainable structure. The company's business objective is to eliminate concerns about purchases and reservations, and it delivers before-sales social networks. It also provides matching services exclusively for housekeepers' personal contracts. Thecompany also offers influencer marketing services with a focus on removing waste completely from advertising and realizing a world in which good products can be sold regardless of advertising costs.Anaguma was founded in January 2016 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.
Ness — Ness is a tech company that offers 3 service websites and analytic tools for NFT marketing tool, TikTok product and NFT holders.
Visual Bank — Visual Bank operates a stock photo business and provides an AI data platform. It aims to create a society in which the value of Japanese creations is maximized and optimized.

Mizuho is the venture capital firm affiliated to Mizuho Bank, the second-largest Japanese bank in terms of assets. The firm has headquarters in Tokyo.The firm has ¥49.6 billion JPY under management, focusing on information technology and biotechnology investments. Over 600 Mizuho companies have gone public. According to Nikkei, Mizuho is thefifth-largest venture capital firm in Japan.Mizuho Capital was formed in 2002 by the merger of Fujigin Capital, Tokyo Venture Capital and IBJ Investment. Three firms were subsidiaries of Fuji Bank, Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank and the Industrial Bank of Japan respectively.

Investment focus

Information Technology, Software, Internet
Funding Round, Series A, Series B
Japan, United States, China

Portfolio highlights

Terass — TERASS is a High-end real estate information site.
Helical Fusion — Helical Fusion is a startup company that aims to commercialize fusion energy using magnetic confinement of high-temperature plasmas.
Metagen Therapeutics — Metagen Therapeutics is a Drug discovery and medical business company which utilizes microbiome science.

UTEC-The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners Co., Ltd.. UTEC is a seed/early stage technology focused venture capital firm associated with The University of Tokyo.

Investment focus

Biotechnology, Health Care, Medical
Seed, Series A, Funding Round
Japan, United States, Singapore

Portfolio highlights

Alumnote — The alumni association management software developed by Alumnote allows schools to manage their alumni associations online. The focus of the company is to undertake loyalty building and marketing for potential donors such as graduates and provides digital tools, and supports the execution of donation acquisition.
Peach Cars — Buy or sell your car in Nairobi-Kenya with ease. Browse a wide range of vehicles, connect with trusted sellers, and find the perfect car today. Simple, fast, and secure transactions.
Pahr Therapeutics — PAhR Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotech company advancing innovative therapies to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) through novel biological mechanisms.

Real Tech Japan is a venture capital firm that seeks to invest in innovative R&D technology companies. Realtech Fund is a joint venture between the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry and NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization). The firm was founded in 2014 and based in Tokyo, Japan.

Investment focus

Manufacturing, Biotechnology, Medical
Funding Round, Series A, Seed
Japan, Singapore, Austria

Portfolio highlights

Ashirase — Ashirase is a developer of a walking navigation system for the visually challenged. The company assists visually impaired people in walking independently. This also allows the user to have more attention to spare for audible warnings in their environment. It includes voice input and guidance via a smartphone app. A vibration interface is attachedto their shoes.
Ken Robotec — Ken Robotec is a construction company that provides labor-saving solutions.
MaterialGate — MaterialGate focuses on single-molecule dielectrics, developing technologies for devices with better electronic characteristics.

UntroD Capital is an R&D-based innovative technology that specializes in social implementation.

Investment focus

Manufacturing, Biotechnology, Health Care
Funding Round, Seed, Series A
Japan, Singapore, Austria

Portfolio highlights

CyCraft — CyCraft secures national governments, Fortune 500 firms, and SMEs with our Japan Interop 2020 Best of Show and MITRE ATT&CK®-evaluated AI platform, CyCraft AIR, that delivers 1) endpoint detection & response, 2) network detection & response, 3) operational global threat intelligence and 4) enterprise cyber-health checks.
Innovacell — Innovacell is a biotechnology firm entirely focused on the area of tissue engineering and it operates one of Europe's largest and most modern production facilities for the proliferation of the body's own tissue cells. Its supervisory board is chaired by the experienced financial expert, Dr. Harald Pöttinger, a director of Alpine EquityManagement AG, based in Bregenz, Austria. Innovacell currently employs 20 staff as well as numerous outside experts.
Reborna Biosciences — Reborna Biosciences provides research and development in the field of genetic diseases. The company develops therapeutic options for area of unmet medical needs in genetic rare disease. The company's technology enables low-molecular compounds to target ribonucleic acid. The company provides new disease-modifying drugs for patients sufferingfrom rare genetic diseases including spinal muscular atrophy.

Mobile Internet Capital (MIC) keeps up on the latest developments of Mobile Internet technologies and services at a high level, and continues to be a venture capital with both technical expertise and execution capability.

Investment focus

Software, Mobile, Internet
Funding Round, Series A, Seed
Japan, United States, China

Portfolio highlights

KAKEAI — Amazon S3 is cloud object storage with industry-leading scalability, data availability, security, and performance. S3 is ideal for data lakes, mobile applications, backup and restore, archival, IoT devices, ML, AI, and analytics.
Amptalk — Amptalk is a software development firm specializing in operating automatic transcription and analysis of online business negotiations.
Recustomer — Recustomer is an IT company that develops software for digital payment and provides support for web development.

QB Capital is make equity investments in venture companies.

Investment focus

Manufacturing, Medical, Biotechnology
Funding Round, Seed, Series A
Japan, Singapore, United States

Portfolio highlights

Alumnote — The alumni association management software developed by Alumnote allows schools to manage their alumni associations online. The focus of the company is to undertake loyalty building and marketing for potential donors such as graduates and provides digital tools, and supports the execution of donation acquisition.
Equmenopolis — Equmenopolis is an information services company that specializes in conversational AI agent platforms and application developments.
Mechano Cross — Mechano Cross is a mechanical company that offers mechanochemical organic synthesis technology for solution reactions.

ITOCHU Technology Ventures (ITV), based in Tokyo, is the venture capital arm of ITOCHU Corporation. ITOCHU is one of the world's largest corporations with offices in over 80 countries and operations that cover a broad spectrum of industries. ITV's mission is to invest and help build leading information technology companies by leveraging avast array of resources both domestically and internationally throughout ITOCHU and its group companies. The ITOCHU group has a long history of funding information technology companies with successes including Siebel Systems, NVIDIA, Openwave and Aruba Networks. Current portfolio includes, Box, Fab, Ooyala, WHILL, Tokyo Otaku Mode, etc.

Investment focus

E-Commerce, Software, Information Technology
Funding Round, Series A, Series B
Japan, United States, Belgium

Portfolio highlights

Alumnote — The alumni association management software developed by Alumnote allows schools to manage their alumni associations online. The focus of the company is to undertake loyalty building and marketing for potential donors such as graduates and provides digital tools, and supports the execution of donation acquisition.
SkyDrive — SkyDrive is a start-up for development,manufacturing,sales of the “Flying cars” established by CARTIVATOR members.
NABLA Mobility — Solving the complexities involved in the "Operation of Fleets" of Mobility and support its evolution and decarbonization

Since its founding in 1973, JAFCO has always worked with leading-edge entrepreneurs. The total capital commitments of its investment funds in Japan and overseas have exceeded 1 trillion yen and the number of portfolio IPOs to date has reached over 1,000. In addition to venture investment, JAFCO also carries out buyout investment and commit to thecreations of innovative technologies and services worldwide. As entrepreneurs’ closest partner in bringing their visions to life, JAFCO provides support in areas of HR, marketing/ sales, and back-office operations, in addition to providing financing.

Investment focus

Information Technology, Software, Artificial Intelligence
Series A, Funding Round, Series B
Japan, United States, Israel

Portfolio highlights

LayerX — LayerX which promotes the digitization of business processes utilizing technologies such as blockchain technology.
Commune — Commune is a developer of a platform that supports connections, community building, and customers between organizations and people.
Metagen Therapeutics — Metagen Therapeutics is a Drug discovery and medical business company which utilizes microbiome science.

Joined Intelligence in 1999. Established Key Players Inc. in 2005. Consultation with more than 3,000 managers and career counseling for more than 10,000 individuals. In addition, we have invested in more than 55 outside directors, advisors and angels in Silicon Valley and Bangladesh in Japan. Over 100 lectures on careers, entrepreneurship andstartups.

Investment focus

Internet, Information Technology, Human Resources
Seed, Angel, Funding Round
Japan, United States

Portfolio highlights

Kaimak — Kaymak is a recruitment platform that focuses on creating a recruitment website, planning a recruitment strategy, and managing candidates.
D-Chain — D-Chain offers services related to IT development and production in the Web3 and Web2 fields.
Rayout — Rayout is a business consulting company that provides creative content development, recruitment videos, and web production services.

F Ventures is a venture capital firm based in Japan.

Investment focus

Information Technology, Software, Service Industry
Seed, Funding Round, Pre-Seed
Japan, Hong Kong

Portfolio highlights

Bgrass — bgrass is a consultation support platform for women working in the IT industry.
Blankr — Blankr inc has developed an application called Raidli. Using the app, Vtubers can hold a virtual handshake event.
Tripi — Tripi provides travel media and digital marketing services, as well as the accommodation gift service.

Kotaro Chiba is the founder of ChibaDojo Fund. Kotaro Chiba attended Keio University.

Investment focus

Information Technology, Content, Internet
Seed, Funding Round, Series A
Japan, United States

Portfolio highlights

MI-6 — MI-6 is a research, development, consulting, and project management for material development using IT. We will promote materials informatics in the field of material development with our technological capabilities and a wealth of project knowledge that challenge the world's most advanced technologies .
ELESTYLE — ELESTYLE are promoting mobile payments and providing high value-added services for users to realize a cashless society.
Luup — Luup is an Internet Company.

BEENEXT is a Venture Capital fund managed by serial entrepreneurs that focuses on assisting founders with its operational experience, network, trust, unique perspectives, and the capital. The team invests in early-stage tech start-ups that are focused on building the new digital platforms driven by the data network. BEENEXT aims to establish aplatform of founders, by the founders and for the founders across the globe, primarily in South East Asia, India and Japan. Since its establishment in 2015, the team has invested in over 180 companies globally.

Investment focus

Software, E-Commerce, Financial Services
Seed, Series A, Series B
India, Japan, Indonesia

Portfolio highlights

Truely Travel eSIM — Stay connected everywhere with Truely eSIM.
fleetx.io — Cloud connectivity for efficient fleet and logistics operations, optimizing performance and streamlining processes.
Handpickd — Sorted operates as an omnichannel platform for fruits and vegetables. Sorted provides fruits and vegetables that come straight from the farms.

STRIVE focuses on investing in early-stage (Seed to Series A) internet and mobile companies. It seeks out companies in Japan, Southeast Asia, and India with top-notch management teams and strong market potential. It is not tied to strategic investments for GREE Inc. and leverages its pan-Asia expertise for guiding its portfolio in an engaged,hands-on role.

Investment focus

Software, Internet, E-Commerce
Seed, Series A, Funding Round
Japan, India, Indonesia

Portfolio highlights

Asuene — Asuene involves in clean power retail business, retail SaaS business, etc.
YOUTRUST — YOUTRUST is a startup to operate YOUTRUST a referral recruitment platform for side-job change.
Testsigma — Powerful cloud-based test automation platform that lets you automate tests for web, mobile, desktop apps, and APIs in minutes. Sign up now!

Mitsubishi UFJ Capital is a venture capital firm focusing on life science, ICT, and high technology investments.

Investment focus

Information Technology, Software, Health Care
Funding Round, Series A, Series B
Japan, United States, Singapore

Portfolio highlights

LiLz — LiLz is an IT technology network for businesses looking to use AI and IoT to offer new services and value.
Trustart — Trustart engages in real estate research business and real estate big data provision. The company offers real estate big data and big data subscriptions.
FUNDiT — FUNDiT is an IT-focused M&A and business consolidation company that specializes in acquiring, managing, and scaling IT companies.

Kotaro Chiba is the founder of ChibaDojo Fund. Kotaro Chiba attended Keio University.

Investment focus

Internet, Drones, Software
Seed, Funding Round, Series A
Japan, United States

Portfolio highlights

MI-6 — MI-6 is a research, development, consulting, and project management for material development using IT. We will promote materials informatics in the field of material development with our technological capabilities and a wealth of project knowledge that challenge the world's most advanced technologies .
ELESTYLE — ELESTYLE are promoting mobile payments and providing high value-added services for users to realize a cashless society.
Luup — Luup is an Internet Company.

Mr. Huang founded SYNNEX in 1980 and serves as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Prior to this, Mr. Huang was the International Sales Manager at Advanced Micro Devices. Mr. Huang holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Kyushyu University, Japan, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Rochester and an M.S. inManagement Science from the Sloan School of Management at MIT.

Investment focus

Education, E-Learning, Language Learning
Series A
Japan

Portfolio highlights

Polyglots — POLYGLOTS designs and develops English news-reader mobile applications. It helps its application users learn English while reading news updates.POLYGLOTS is a development and operation of the English learning application "POLYGLOTS", the Japanese learning application "MONDO", and the finance / accounting specializedlearning application "Bigo", and the development and provision of an adaptive learning platform.

Obunsha Ventures is an investment firm.

Investment focus

Education, Apps, EdTech
Series A, Series C
Japan, Philippines

Portfolio highlights

Yondemy — Yondemy is an online platform for children reading books.
Alumnote — The alumni association management software developed by Alumnote allows schools to manage their alumni associations online. The focus of the company is to undertake loyalty building and marketing for potential donors such as graduates and provides digital tools, and supports the execution of donation acquisition.
Manabi-aid — Manabi-aid is an internet based company.The aim of the learning aid master is really simple and clear.This is a challenge to "improve the student's academic ability".Not to mention the limitations of group lessons. This is because the polarization of so-called "children who can" and "children who do not" isprogressing.

Primal Capital, an independent venture capital " incubator bait fund at ", served as the Associate than July 2012 Hiroshi was Sasaki is the venture capital fund that serves as the representative partner. Representative of Sasaki, the seed acceleration program "Incubate Camp" operated by Incubate bait fund is carried out a totalof four times of planning and management than in 2012, They have also engaged in support operations of portfolio companies. - See more at: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/primal-capital#sthash.m2z1DCbt.dpuf

Investment focus

Software, Information Technology, Internet
Seed, Funding Round, Pre-Seed
Japan, Spain, Switzerland

Portfolio highlights

Hivello — Hivello is a Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network aggregator. Contribute resources, connect with Web3 protocols, and effortlessly generate passive income.
RemitAid — RemitAid is a fintech company that operates an overseas payment platform for cross-border transactions between companies.
xCARE — xCARE specializes in the development and commercialization phases of the pharmaceutical and medical device industries.

D4V (Design for Ventures) is a Tokyo-based early-stage venture capital firm that invests in disruptive, consumer and enterprise technology startups.

Investment focus

Financial Services, Software, Apps
Seed, Series A, Funding Round
Japan, United States, Singapore

Portfolio highlights

Emole — Emole is a platform that connects content creators with viewers through short drama content, offering a variety of engaging stories.
Lecto — Lecto provides Saas solutions to eliminate the tedious practices behind financial services
Yuime — Yuime is an HR consulting firm that offers agricultural staffing, contract farming, and recruitment services.

Kiyoshi Ayabe is the President and Founder of KIYO Learning.

Investment focus

Content, Education, E-Learning
Funding Round
Japan

Portfolio highlights

KIYO Learning — KIYO Learning offers a commuting course, an online course to acquire qualifications for business people.

500 Startups is the most active seed VC in the world. 500 Startups Japan is a $35M regional fund focusing on Japan.

Investment focus

Internet, Software, Human Resources
Seed, Series A, Funding Round
Japan

Portfolio highlights

Noin — Noin specializes in cosmetics and delivers content that accurately captures trends like videos that solve girls worries.
Trustdock — Trustdock is a platform for identity confirmation API service in Japan. You can outsource KYC / identity confirmation via online API, complying with various laws including criminal profit transfer prevention law, antique sales law, cell phone fraud prevention use law etc. It can be used with any ID service regardless of business type, such asmatching to FinTech, shared eco, etc.
Connected Robotics — Connected Robotics is an information technology company that designs and manufactures robotic arms for enterprises. The company's product, OctoChef, provides cooking services. It caters to individual restaurants, shopping malls, stations, service areas, amusement centers, and large-scale events. The company was founded in 2014 and is basedin Koganei-shi, Japan.

Oita Venture Capital Co. Ltd. is the investment arm of Oita Bank Ltd. It is a venture capital and private equity firm which specializes in growth capital, buyouts, and turnaround investments. It primarily invests in companies in the Oita region. Oita Venture Capital Co. Ltd. was founded in 1999 and is based in Oita, Japan.

Investment focus

Manufacturing, Task Management, Biotechnology
Funding Round, Series A, Seed
Japan

Portfolio highlights

F.MED — F.MED is a manufacturing company that designs and develops robotic microsurgical devices for the healthcare industry.
Gexval — GEXVal is to help patients and families fighting against orphan and intractable diseases
Better Place — Better place vision is to create a world in which kind people can continue to be kind, as well as a society in which people can work in their own way without worrying about money.

DNX Ventues is an early stage VC firm focusing on B2B Startups that are shaping industries and transforming the way we live and work.

Investment focus

Software, Information Technology, SaaS
Seed, Series A, Series B
Japan, United States, Canada

Portfolio highlights

OPERe — OPERe is an IT company that specializes in the development of semi autonomous hospitalization guidance solutions.
NaLaLys — NaLaLys is a business consulting firm that provides management, distribution, research, and consulting services.
Commune — Commune is a developer of a platform that supports connections, community building, and customers between organizations and people.

The University of Tokyo IPC is a company responsible for expanding the innovation ecosystem of the University of Tokyo. Accelerate global innovation from the University of Tokyo through three activities: start-up support, investment business, and corporate innovation support.It was established as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the University ofTokyo in 2016 with the enforcement of the revised law of the Industrial Competitiveness Enhancement Law, which is the basis law. The investment targets of the Todai IPC are venture companies that utilize the research results and human resources of the University of Tokyo, but they also make FOF (fund of funds) investments in funds managed by some private venture capital companies. In 2019, it started a consortium-type incubation program (University of Tokyo IPC 1stRound) to support the establishment and financing of Tokyo University-related ventures.

Investment focus

Biotechnology, Medical, Manufacturing
Series A, Funding Round, Series B
Japan, United States, United Kingdom

Portfolio highlights

Issin — Issin manufactures bath mats that can measure weight and automatically record daily weight changes on your smartphone.
BlueWX — BlueWX is a software company that develops predictive content services that supports in forecasting, and weather analysis.
Leading Mark — Leading Mark, a rising human resources startup in Japan. Leading Mark is branching out into mid-career and international hiring. It currently has a one-man team in China working to bring the top Japanese-speaking Chinese students to domestic companies. He also touts his startup’s focus on the average job seeker. “We want to make sure that the usersget the info that he or she needs the most,” he says. Large scale, legacy players can sometimes prioritize the needs of the hiring company, and their commission, over the needs of applicants themselves. This leads to frustration and short-circuited careers.

Monex Ventures is a venture capital firm based in Japan that finances seed and early stage investments in startup companies.

Investment focus

Financial Services, Software, Information Technology
Seed, Series A, Funding Round
Japan, United States, China

Portfolio highlights

Degas — Degas develops solutions to improve the productivity of small-scale farmers in Africa.
pickupon — Pickupon is a company that transcribes important parts of the call
Hakki Africa — HAKKI AFRICA provides microfinance services for SMEs.

En-Japan provides solutions for the improvement of employees and organizations. The company works within the recruitment field and manages six recruiting websites and a briefing site for management and HR professionals. En-Japan was founded in January 2000 and is based in Shinjuku, Yamanashi, Japan.

Investment focus

Task Management, Recruiting, Marketing
Series A, Funding Round, Corporate Round
Japan

Portfolio highlights

RevComm — RevComm is the startup company developing Voice x AI-enabled cloud services .
ONLY STORY — ONLY STORY is a manager matching platform.
Baseconnect — Baseconnect Co., Ltd. connects people from all over the world and spends one-tenth the time it takes for people to “know”.

They believe that the fundamental challenge facing the local economy is the lack of employment diversity. Although it is a simple example, it is easier to understand if you compare the Tokyo metropolitan area with Kyushu and list the companies that can achieve annual income of 10 million yen at the age of 30 (probably with a head office in KyushuMost companies with the highest annual income will be infrastructure company

Investment focus

Internet, Task Management, Artificial Intelligence
Funding Round, Seed, Series A
Japan

Portfolio highlights

Wewill — Wewill is a consulting company that provides accounting, SaaS, business development, and business consulting services.
Digireha — Digireha is an IT company that provides a tool for rehabilitation by combining digital art and sensors.
Find — Find is a software company that provides cloud development and operation services.

Japan Finance provides a diversified portfolio of financial services to the small and medium enterprise sector.

Investment focus

Software, Information Technology, Internet
Debt Financing, Funding Round, Seed
Japan, India, Hong Kong

Portfolio highlights

AirKamuy — AirKamuy is an aviation company that designs and manufactures fixed-wing VTOL aircraft and drones with the help of modern technology.
Haul — Haul is a human resources company that provides recruitment consulting and marketing SaaS development services.
Sorabito — SORABITO is an eCommerce marketplace for used construction equipment and machinery.

Daiwa Corporate Investment is a private investment firm of Daiwa Securities Group that has been engaged in overseas VC investments by taking advantage of an extensive business network in Japan and foreign countries, long experience and professional knowledge, and by supporting the growth of a number of overseas portfolio companies and their stockexchange listings.

Investment focus

Software, Task Management, Internet
Funding Round, Series A, Seed
Japan, France, Singapore

Portfolio highlights

Tacoms — CAMEL is a service that allows you to easily manage orders from multiple food delivery / takeout services on a single tablet.
Tech Doctor — Tech Doctor is a health monitoring service which provides analysis and insights for self care reducing the need for health care workers.
COUNTERWORKS — Counter works is an Information technology company.

XTech Ventures aims to achieve dramatic growth for investee companies by supporting entrepreneurship, multifaceted management support, and IPO support for the excellent middle class who are enthusiastic about entrepreneurship.

Investment focus

Software, Information Technology, Media and Entertainment
Seed, Funding Round, Series A
Japan, Italy, United Arab Emirates

Portfolio highlights

Medigle — Medigle is a consulting firm that provides medical consulting and B2B services.
Infobox — Infobox is a sales data platform that includes every detail from market research to creating a list of companies and contacting decision-makers.
Leading Mark — Leading Mark, a rising human resources startup in Japan. Leading Mark is branching out into mid-career and international hiring. It currently has a one-man team in China working to bring the top Japanese-speaking Chinese students to domestic companies. He also touts his startup’s focus on the average job seeker. “We want to make sure that the usersget the info that he or she needs the most,” he says. Large scale, legacy players can sometimes prioritize the needs of the hiring company, and their commission, over the needs of applicants themselves. This leads to frustration and short-circuited careers.

Chiba Dojo is an entrepreneurial community that supports startup companies in various stages from seed to pre-IPO.

Investment focus

Information Technology, Content, Apps
Seed, Series A, Funding Round
Japan, Singapore, United States

Portfolio highlights

Utoniq — Utoniq service allows them to collect the works of the artists they support digitally in the form of trading cards. Trading cards will be collected as proof of support for the creators. It is a brand-new trading card service that is both enjoyable to collect and enjoyable to exchange. They provide a service lineup in order to continually increasefan engagement. They can make flexible proposals based on the needs of artists, creators, influencers, anime characters, and so on.
Manabie — Manabie is an Education Technology start-up company on a mission to provide a new style of online & offline merged learning around the world. We provide students with everything they need for efficient learning; high-quality learning materials, great learning environments, personal coaches and more! We believe that our new method of learning,integrating online and offline will dramatically innovate the way students learn.
Paradigm AI — Paradigm AI is an entertainment firm that produces songs and creates virtual human idols using generative AI.

Venture Labo Investment is venture capital firm that provides financial supports to invested companies at each growth stage.

Investment focus

Financial Services, Internet, Information Technology
Funding Round, Series B, Seed
Japan, Indonesia, South Korea

Portfolio highlights

XDeli — XDeli is a digital application that offers food delivery and meal subsidy service for corporate employees.
Castee — Castee provides social collaboration services and also helps with a tool for job requests and overseas projects for creators.
Batton — Batton is a product-developing company that sells AI-enabled RPA buttons and AI formats that allow papers to be automatically formatted.

Tatsuo Sakamoto is a Head of Sales, Japan at MOLOCO. He Attended The University of Tokyo.

Investment focus

Information Technology, Education, Recruiting
Seed, Angel, Pre-Seed
Japan

Portfolio highlights

bgrass — bgrass is a consultation support platform for women working in the IT industry.
Cloudbase — Cloudbase is an information technology company that specializes in the fields of cloud services and management.
Metaverse Creators — Metaverse Creators is a feature-rich virtual platform providing gamers with a wide range of games, creation tools, and avatar editing tools.

Shizuoka Capital Company Limited operates as a venture capital firm. It engages in the acquisition, holding, and, sale of securities.

Investment focus

Software, Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence
Funding Round, Series A, Series B
Japan

Portfolio highlights

Terass — TERASS is a High-end real estate information site.
Brainbuddy — Brainbuddy specializes in sales support, business growth, recruiting, consulting, and training services.
FUNDiT — FUNDiT is an IT-focused M&A and business consolidation company that specializes in acquiring, managing, and scaling IT companies.

Global Brain Corporation is a venture capital firm that invests in companies from seed or early to pre-IPO startups. Global Brain has invested in 300+ startups from seed/early to pre-IPO startups and achieved 25 IPOs and 61 M&As as a result of providing hands-on support services and resources to its portfolio startups. Global Brain hasmanaged a pure investment fund as well as multiple corporate venture capital funds partnered together with tier 1 public companies of telecom, real estate development, financial service, beverages, agriculture food, logistics, and electronic devices.

Investment focus

Information Technology, Software, Artificial Intelligence
Series A, Series B, Funding Round
Japan, United States, United Kingdom

Portfolio highlights

SAKANA Dream — Japanese fish and its cuisine are a treasure of Japan, On the other hand, the variety of fish consumed on a daily basis accounts for less than 1% of all fish living in Japanese waters. Although there are many underutilized fish that surpass the well-known fish, they are even discarded due to unstable catches and lack of name recognition. Aquaculture can provide a stable supply, however, it is not easy to keep fish in a small water cage and only a limited number of fish are delivered to the market. We, SAKANA Dream, select the most delicious fish from over 4,000 species in Japan, and make it possible to farm and produce them using the cutting edge technology. Our goal is to create the "world's most delicious fish" that no one has ever tasted before and deliver it to our customers.
Cierpa & Company — Cierpa & Company develops environmental, social, and governance management software. They offer services for the cloud, share information between departments, optimise workflows, and analyse and improve scores.
Counter Culture Company — Counter Culture Company is an online platform that offers K-pop dance classes ranging from beginner to professional levels.

We are spread out into global with our mission "Give people work that requires a person" through our freak'in technology.

Investment focus

Software, Information Technology, Internet
Series A, Seed, Series B
Japan, India, Singapore

Portfolio highlights

Progate — Progate is an online platform to learn programming. Learn to build your own apps and services.
StaffAny — Workforce management software connecting Operations and HR for seamless scheduling and time tracking.
91springboard — Explore 91Springboard, the best co-working company offering premium co-working spaces and shared office solutions. Whether you're a startup, freelancer, or team, enjoy flexible workspaces, modern amenities, and prime locations tailored to your needs.

Chibagin Capital, part of Chiba Bank, is focused on consulting services, IPOs, and more.

Investment focus

E-Commerce, Internet, Content
Funding Round, Series B, Series A
Japan

Portfolio highlights

BionicM — BionicM develops high-performance robot prostheses that enhance mobility for people with disabilities.BionicM has been conducting research on innovative technologies since 2015 at the University of Tokyo's Information Systems Engineering Laboratory (JSK) under the guidance of Professor Inaba and utilizing the world's most advancedrobotics research. In 2016, we were adopted by the Japan Science and Technology Agency as part of "Program for Creating STart-ups from Advanced Research and Technology" (START), and in 2018, the company was established as a joint-stock company.
AMATELUS — AMATELUS is involved in the creation of a product called SwipeVideo. The application is used to develop video and image shooting and distribution systems. Their product allows viewpoint or multi-angle video to be easily created, streamed in any web browser, or embedded into any webpage.
Effectual — Effectual helps businesses and individuals regain online trust and build brands. With its own development know-how, they continue to develop web-based services connected to information transmission and branding. They use Google Maps to provide store advertising and anti-slander services.

Leave a Nest thrives to achieve global happiness by enhancing everyday life through science and education for future generation.

Investment focus

Health Care, Artificial Intelligence, Information Technology
Seed, Corporate Round, Funding Round
Japan, Singapore, Malaysia

Portfolio highlights

ARK — ARK is a manufacturer of special wards that designs and delivers a sustainable aquaculture solution.
Robopreneur — Robopreneur brings the future by empowering robotics capabilities for use in human's environment to become human's partner and enhance sustainable lifestyles.
Crown Digital — Crown Digital harnesses the future-ready power of robotics and Artificial Intelligence to open doors with cutting-edge solutions for the not-so-distant future.

SPARX Group Co., Ltd. is an independent Asia-based equity and credit asset management services and Asian fund financial specialist with offices in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul for global institutional and individual investors, including financial advisors and financial planners, with alternative strategies (including activist, short-enabled, private equity and quantitative and fund-of-funds) and mutual funds (through SPARX Asia Funds such as SPARX Asia Pacific Opportunities Fund, SPARX Asia Pacific Equity Income Fund, SPARX Japan Smaller Companies Fund and SPARX Japan Fund) managed or sub-advised by SPARX Asset Management Co. Ltd., SPARX Asia Investment Advisors Limited and Cosmo Asset Management Co., Ltd.

Investment focus

Software, Artificial Intelligence, Information Technology
Funding Round, Series B, Series A
Japan, United States, China

Portfolio highlights

Blue Skies Space — Blue Skies Space provides access to space science data from low-cost space missions.
Blue Laser Fusion — Blue Laser Fusion is a commercial fusion company. Blue Laser Fusion is a laser startup to commercialize laser fusion by inventing its own laser and fusion reactor.
Nanofiber Quantum Technologies — Powering a globally connected quantum future with pioneering nanofiber cavity QED.

Voyage Ventures is the venture capital arm of Voyage Group specializing in seed and early-stage investments. The firm seeks to make investments in the internet and mobile internet industry. It invests from JPY1 million ($.01million) to JPY to 10 million ($.12 million) in its portfolio companies. The firm typically invests in Japan, China, and othergrowing Asian markets. Voyage Ventures, Inc., formerly known as EC Navi Ventures Company, was founded on March 25, 2011, and is based in Tokyo, Japan.

Investment focus

Software, Internet, Content
Funding Round, Seed, Series A
Japan, China, Germany

Portfolio highlights

pickupon — Pickupon is a company that transcribes important parts of the call
Bravesoft — bravesoft is a software company that operates events and in-house product for contract development and events. The company offering services such as UI / UX design, application consignment development service, appvisor push, and technical research service.
ventus Japan — ventus is an Media and Entertainment based company.ventus aiming to be an entertainment company that provides technology that all fans can enjoy.

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