# Keita Kawato

> Keita Kawato is a Series A investor at SMBC Venture Capital backing Artificial Intelligence. See 6 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: Angel Investor
- Fund: [SMBC Venture Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/smbc-venture-capital)
- Total investments: 6
- Last investment: Mar 2025
- Lead investor: 0%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- Website: https://www.smbc-vc.co.jp/team/member15.html

Keita Kawato is a Series A investor at SMBC Venture Capital focused on Artificial Intelligence and SNS. Keita Kawato joined Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in 2009. After belonging to multiple bases in the corporate sales department, he was seconded to SMBC Venture Capital in 2015.

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Artificial Intelligence | 2 | 33% |
| SNS | 1 | 17% |
| Sales | 1 | 17% |
| AgTech | 1 | 17% |
| Sensor | 1 | 17% |

17 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Series A | 4 | 67% |
| Series B | 2 | 33% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Ababa | Ababa provides recruitment and employment solutions. | $8.4M | Series B | Mar 07, 2025 |  |
| TelaAxon | TelaAxon develops artificial intelligence technology for sustainable operations, enhancing human-AI coexistence, safety, and wellness. | $644.4K | Series A | Jan 29, 2025 |  |
| Sagri | Sagri is developing agriculture software for experienced farmers. | $6.8M | Series A | Aug 08, 2024 |  |
| Ababa | Ababa provides recruitment and employment solutions. | $2.4M | Series A | Mar 21, 2024 |  |
| Thinker | Thinker provides sales of proximity sensors and proposed solutions using these products. | $1.5M | Series A | Sep 29, 2023 |  |
| AIQ | AIQ uses technology to investigate human possibilities. It uses profiling AI to analyze market insights and acquire potential customers with high LTV. | $10.7M | Series B | Mar 09, 2020 |  |

6 of 6 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Mitsubishi UFJ Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/mitsubishi-ufj-capital) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [Chugin Capital Partner](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/chugin-capital-partner) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [DBJ Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/dbj-capital) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Hokkaido Venture Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/hokkaido-venture-capital) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Shizuoka Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/shizuoka-capital) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Spurcle](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/sprucle) — VC Fund, 2 deals together

## About SMBC Venture Capital

VC Fund · Tokyo, Japan

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.

5 contacts available at SMBC Venture Capital.

| Name | Title | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Akira Ochiai | President & Chief Executive Officer | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/akira-ochiai |
| Furuta Daiji | Managing Director | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/furuta-daiji |
| Ishibashi Tatsushi | President and CEO | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ishibashi-tatsushi |
| Keita Kawato | Deputy General Manager | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/keita-kawato |
| Makoto Nakamura | Executive Officer | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/nakamura-makoto |

## Similar investors

### Similar stage
- [Antler](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/antler-be9c) — VC Fund
- [Alumni Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/alumni-ventures-group) — VC Fund
- [General Catalyst](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/general-catalyst-partners) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does Keita Kawato invest in?

Keita Kawato invests primarily in Artificial Intelligence, SNS and Sales startups, most often at Series A and Series B stage. Most of the 6 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in Japan. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### When did Keita Kawato last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for Keita Kawato closed in Mar 2025. Shizune tracks 6 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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