# Joi Ito

> Joi Ito is a seed investor at Chiba Institute of Technology (Tokyo) backing Software and Mobile. See 34 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: Angel Investor
- Fund: [Chiba Institute of Technology](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/chiba-institute-of-technology)
- Location: Tokyo, Japan
- Total investments: 34
- Last investment: Aug 2024
- Lead investor: 0%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joiito
- X (Twitter): http://twitter.com/joi
- Website: http://joi.ito.com
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/joiito

Joi Ito is a seed investor at Chiba Institute of Technology in Tokyo focused on Software and Mobile. Joichi Ito is a Parttime Lecturer at Chiba Institute of Technology. he attended Keio University in 2018.

## Round sizes

| Stage | Round size |
| --- | --- |
| Seed | $850k–$6.9M |
| Angel | $2M–$3M |
| Series A | $1.1M–$19M |

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Software | 7 | 21% |
| Mobile | 6 | 18% |
| Internet | 6 | 18% |
| Video | 4 | 12% |
| Gaming | 4 | 12% |

75 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | 18 | 53% |
| Series A | 6 | 18% |
| Angel | 4 | 12% |
| Funding Round | 3 | 9% |
| Series B | 1 | 3% |

7 stages tracked in total.

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 25 | 74% |
| United Kingdom | 3 | 9% |
| Spain | 1 | 3% |
| Germany | 1 | 3% |
| Ireland | 1 | 3% |

6 countries tracked in total.

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Butlr | Butlr is an AI people-sensing platform using body heat to detect occupancy, headcount, body posture, and activity, and generate accurate, real-time, and historical spatial insights for healthcare and sustainable buildings. Their sensor technology detects human presence anonymously using low-resolution thermal data and advanced AI and machinelearning. | $38M | Series B | Aug 26, 2024 |  |
| Toku | Toku is an all-in-one global solution for token compensation and tax compliance. | $20M | Venture - Series Unknown | Mar 08, 2023 |  |
| Shibuya | Shibuya is a platform for creators and studios of web-3 content. | $6.9M | Seed | Dec 08, 2022 |  |
| Kollektion | KLKTN is a curated music, manga and art NFT platform connecting creators with fans through special experiences. The platform allows fans to access special edition digital art and behind-the-scenes moments of artists' creative process. In collaboration with top creators and artists and powered by blockchain technology, KLKTN is takingartist-fan engagement and the best of creative experiential culture into the digital world. Artworks are available as a limited supply of authenticated digital products or NFTs, for purchase via credit card, with a fixed cost per item. KLKTN's co-founders are Jeff Miyahara, Chief Creative Officer and a renowned record producer and songwriter who has produced over 260 international artists; Fabiano Soriani, Chief Technology Officer and former lead blockchain engineer for Dapper Labs; and Daisuke Iwase, Chief Executive Officer, Harvard Business School graduate, former World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and a digital pioneer known for co-founding Lifenet, a disruptive fintech venture, which he took to IPO. Built on the Flow blockchain to achieve affordable and environmentally-sustainable minting, KLKTN leaves more for artists, fans, and the planet. | $6.4M | Seed | Jan 26, 2022 |  |
| Analog | Analog is the world’s first layer-0, Omni-chain platform that leverages proof-of-time (PoT) to validate time data (events). With PoT, all nodes have a fair chance of being selected to validate time data and participate in the consensus process on the Timechain (an ordered sequence of immutable verified time data). This contrasts with proof-of-work(PoW)-powered networks that require computationally-intensive resources to mine blocks or proof-of-stake (PoS)-enabled networks where nodes must stake enough coins. The Analog network is the first realistic attempt in helping the world to move from a “timeless mess” to a “time-driven” environment via PoT consensus. Besides solving the problem of verifiability of time data, the Analog network also prioritizes interoperability. It establishes a radically decentralized, secure, and trustless layer-0 where multiple networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum can anchor their transactions. Most importantly, the Analog Timegraph leverages zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) to create a validated pipeline of time data that businesses can privately leverage to power the next generation of time-dependent applications. Unlike other Blockchain application programming interface (API) models that involve the use of third-party oracles, Analog’s Timegraph API allows data providers to become their own oracles on the Timechain. This creates an entirely new marketplace of time data that is set to power the next generation of decentralized applications (DApps). |  | Seed | Jan 06, 2022 |  |
| FIGUR8 | FIGUR8 is an MIT spin-off company, creating the most advanced wearable musculoskeletal (MSK) technology on the market. The solution combines Smart Biosensors, Intuitive Software and AI to analyze and advance musculoskeletal health. Our solution accurately pinpoints the source of MSK pathology and provides essential data to enhance patient-centricrecovery. Value is recorded across the entire episode of care, from injury through full recovery. FIGUR8 technology aids in significantly reducing the cost of care, improving access, and empowering patients to take control of their personal MSK health. | $4.5M | Seed | Aug 27, 2019 |  |
| Fnatic | Fnatic is a global esports entertainment brand focused on seeking out, leveling up, and amplifying gamers and creators. Founded by Sam and Anne Mathews in 2004 in the early days of the professional video gaming industry, Fnatic has since helped shape the new world sport into a fast-growing phenomenon.Today, driven by its ability to advanceesports performance, Fnatic is the channel through which the most forward-thinking brands communicate with young people. It delivers content, experiences, and activations through offices and facilities in cities between Los Angeles and Tokyo. | $19M | Series A | Apr 30, 2019 |  |
| WaitWhat | WaitWhat is a media invention company that invents boundary-breaking and profitable media properties that change the cultural landscape. It creates and owns premium, original, genre-defining content. The company also creates media properties that can scale horizontally beyond its first format.By contrast, WaitWhat creates new categories withtheir content, at production values that have become the reference point for quality. The company develops, produces, and distributes wholly-owned media properties with the specific purpose of creating new genres, categories, and formats of content that scale. | $4.3M | Series A | Feb 21, 2019 |  |
| Spatial | Spatial is a gaming platform where millions of creators build and share fun and inspiring experiences that bring people together across web, mobile, and VR. Our goal is to change the way we share fun experiences, tell stories, and make friends. Today, videos are the most common way to talk and share things online, but often people end up justwatching and not interacting. We want the internet to be a more playful and social place.This change is already happening in the world of gaming. We want to accelerate this by making it easier for everyone to create, share, and play fun games with their friends. Just like YouTube did for videos. To turn this vision into reality, we are currently focused on the following three pillars:- Creator Toolkit: a dynamic extension of Unity, the most widely adopted game engine globally. We provide you with easy tools and useful templates so you can focus on what matters most - creating fun games that bring people together. - Virtual Economy (beta): enabling the sale of digital items, avatar enhancements, and power-ups. We’re proud to provide a creator-friendly revenue share that outperforms our competitors, putting more money in your pocket.- Multi-Platform: the only platform where your games are published across web, mobile, and VR, ensuring you reach every player on every device. | $8.3M | Seed | Oct 24, 2018 |  |
| Optimus Ride | Optimus Ride is a self-driving vehicle company based in Boston, MA. It designs technologies to enable efficient, sustainable, and equitable mobility systems and solutions.As an MIT spinoff company, it combines over 30 years of interdisciplinary university research in self‑driving technologies (DARPA Urban Challenge), electric vehicles (CityCar),and Mobility-on-Demand Systems. The team includes decades of industrial and entrepreneurial experience that combines manufacturing robots, urban design, and shared vehicle fleet management. | $18M | Series A | Nov 02, 2017 |  |

10 of 34 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [SV Angel](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/sv-angel) — VC Fund, 5 deals together
- [E14 Fund](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/the-e14-fund) — VC Fund, 4 deals together
- [Orange DAO](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/orange-fund) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [Protocol Labs](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/protocol-labs) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [Tribe Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/tribe-capital) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [Betaworks](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/betaworks) — VC Fund, 2 deals together

## About Chiba Institute of Technology

VC Fund · Chiba, Japan

Chiba Institute of Technology is a university that offers engineering education to raise the industrial capacity. It was established in 1942 as Koa Institute of Technology and was renamed in 1946 as Chiba Institute of Technology. The purpose of this university is to contribute and disseminate engineering education to the people.

3 contacts available at Chiba Institute of Technology.

| Name | Title | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Joi Ito | Parttime Lecturer | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/joi-ito |
| Joi Ito | Parttime Lecturer | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/joichi-ito |
| Kazuhito Komiya | President | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/kazuhito-komiya |

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## FAQ

### What does Joi Ito invest in?

Joi Ito invests primarily in Software, Mobile and Internet startups, most often at Seed and Series A stage. Most of the 34 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### What is Joi Ito's check size?

Joi Ito typically joins rounds of $850k–$6.9M at Seed, $2M–$3M at Angel and $1.1M–$19M at Series A. These ranges are 10th–90th percentile round sizes calculated from confirmed public funding rounds, so they are a realistic guide to the rounds Joi Ito participates in.

### When did Joi Ito last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for Joi Ito closed in Aug 2024. Shizune tracks 34 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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