Makoto Takano
Angel Investor @ D4V
Makoto Takano is a seed investor at D4V focused on Apps and Sports. Makoto Takano is CEO of atomixmedia, inc., publisher and editor-in-chief of Forbes Japan and Rolling Stone Japan since June, 2014. Prior to joining Atomixmedia, Inc., he was Managing Director and President of PIMCO Japan Ltd. Before joining PIMCO in 2001, he was head of marketing at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Makoto's prior experiencealso includes work at Daiwa Securities where he was head of the strategists team at Daiwa Institute of Research. He has published extensively on the capital markets. In 1992, he was awarded Securities Analysts Journal Prize by the Securities Analyst Association of Japan. He has also given lectures on asset management at Waseda University and Kyoto University. He holds master’s and undergraduate degrees in engineering from Waseda University. Makoto serves as Director of Nippon Finance Association and Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation.
- Total investments:
- 14
- Last investment:
- Lead investor:
- 7%
Last updated:
For AI agents: llms.txt
Industries Makoto Takano invests in
Stages Makoto Takano invests in
Countries Makoto Takano invests in
Round sizes
Contacts
| Type | Contact | Validation |
|---|---|---|
| Work email | ||
| Personal email | ||
| Work phone | ||
| Personal phone | ||
| Socials |
Round size
- Seed
- $134k–$3.3M
- Angel
- $137k–$735k
- Series B
- $1.9M–$13M
Investment Focus
Industry
- Apps 3 (21%)
- Sports 2 (14%)
- Content 2 (14%)
- Human Resources 2 (14%)
- Food and Beverage 2 (14%)
Stage
- Seed 7 (50%)
- Series B 3 (21%)
- Angel 2 (14%)
- Series A 2 (14%)
Country
- Japan 13 (93%)
- Philippines 1 (7%)
Investments
| Company | Description | Round | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| AndGAMER is an eSports agency that develops custom controllers and gaming products for players. | $1.4M / Seed / May 14, 2025 | ||
| Yuime is an HR consulting firm that offers agricultural staffing, contract farming, and recruitment services. | $5.2M / Series B / Apr 14, 2025 | ||
| CAN EAT is an information-intensive web service that can be expected to prevent allergic accidents. | $734.6K / Angel / Jul 27, 2022 | ||
| Luup is Japan's #1 e-scooter and e-bike sharing service provider. Luup currently operates in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and Yokohama, while planning to expand to other cities all over Japan. The service is based on a high-density port network, where anyone can rent and return to their original fleets. | $3.3M / Seed / Mar 01, 2020 | ||
| PROGRIT is an English-related media management company. | $810.5K / Seed / Nov 30, 2018 | ||
| BeatFit is a fitness-tech startup based in Japan. | $918.2K / Seed / Sep 03, 2018 | ||
| Aboon develops is a coupon application that introduces shops that attract customers. Aboon was founded on 2018 and is based in Yokohama, Japan. | Seed / Aug 07, 2018 | ||
| Best Beer Japan provides a barrel tracking software for craft beer and barrel sharing. The company was founded in 2018. | $134.1K / Seed / Jul 31, 2018 | ||
| ventus is an Media and Entertainment based company.ventus aiming to be an entertainment company that provides technology that all fans can enjoy. | $136.5K / Angel / May 23, 2018 | ||
| VENTENY is a Philippines-based company with one of the more unique business models e27 has come across in awhile. The startup is trying to solve the problem of employee churn by offering two distinctly different services. | $2.3M / Series A / Dec 12, 2017 | ||
| See all 14 investments → | |||
Co-Investors
About D4V
D4V (Design for Ventures) is a Tokyo-based early-stage venture capital firm that invests in disruptive, consumer, and enterprise technology startups. Partnering with the global design company IDEO, D4V provides both hands-on assistance and coaching to help startups create value via human-centered customer experiences and interactions.
D4V Contacts
| Name | Phone | Socials | |
|---|---|---|---|
Tom Kelley
Founder & Chairman
|
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FAQ
What does Makoto Takano invest in?
Makoto Takano invests primarily in Apps, Sports and Content startups, most often at Seed and Series B stage. Most of the 14 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in Japan. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.
What is Makoto Takano's check size?
Makoto Takano typically joins rounds of $134k–$3.3M at Seed, $137k–$735k at Angel and $1.9M–$13M at Series B. These ranges are 10th–90th percentile round sizes calculated from confirmed public funding rounds, so they are a realistic guide to the rounds Makoto Takano participates in.
How do I contact Makoto Takano?
Public channels for Makoto Takano include LinkedIn. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.
When did Makoto Takano last invest?
The most recent investment recorded for Makoto Takano closed in May 2025. Shizune tracks 14 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 Oct 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.
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