# Sideways

> Sideways is a VC fund backing AgTech, Animation and E-Commerce. See 3 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Total investments: 3
- Last investment: Aug 2026
- Lead investor: 33%
- Last updated: Aug 2026

Sideways is a VC fund focused on AgTech and Animation. Sideways operates as an investment firm. Sideways is a joint fund of Freakout Group and The Seed.

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| AgTech | 1 | 33% |
| Animation | 1 | 33% |
| E-Commerce | 1 | 33% |
| Agriculture | 1 | 33% |
| Digital Marketing | 1 | 33% |

9 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | 2 | 67% |
| Series A | 1 | 33% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| FLASH | FLASH is an entertainment and technology startup. | $8.2M | Seed | Aug 05, 2026 |  |
| AGRI SMILE | AGRI SMILE employs technology to create sustainable agriculture, communities, and production areas. It promotes agricultural industry development by combining software as a tool for accumulating and inheriting technology with science, which creates new technology based on accumulated data. They seeks to establish a cultivation system that is inharmony with the environment and the region, allowing agricultural workers to live a rich life both financially and spiritually. | $106.3M | Series A | Sep 06, 2023 |  |
| Chai | Chai empowers small businesses centered on EC. It provides end-to-end e-commerce services that everyone can enjoy and continue to use in order to unlock the great potential of Japan's many small businesses. | $1.2M | Seed | Aug 09, 2023 |  |

3 of 3 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [SMBC Venture Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/smbc-venture-capital) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [The Seed Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/the-seed-capital) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [FreakOut Holdings](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/freakout) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Global Brain Corporation](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/global-brain-corporation) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [HERO Impact Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/hero-impact-capital) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [JAFCO](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/jafco-co-ltd) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## Similar investors

### Similar industry
- [SVG Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/svg-ventures) — VC Fund
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### Similar stage
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### Similar country
- [Mitsubishi UFJ Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/mitsubishi-ufj-capital) — VC Fund
- [SMBC Venture Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/smbc-venture-capital) — VC Fund
- [Mizuho Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/mizuho-capital) — VC Fund

## Featured in investor lists
- [Agriculture (agtech) Investors in Japan](https://shizune.co/investors/agriculture-agtech-investors-japan)
- [Agriculture (agtech) VC Funds in Japan](https://shizune.co/investors/agriculture-agtech-vc-funds-japan)
- [Agriculture (agtech) Investors in Japan](https://shizune.co/investors/agriculture-agtech-investors-japan)

## FAQ

### What does Sideways invest in?

Sideways invests primarily in AgTech, Animation and E-Commerce startups, most often at Seed and Series A stage. Most of the 3 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in Japan. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### When did Sideways last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for Sideways closed in Aug 2026. Shizune tracks 3 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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