Top 5 Startup Investors in Japan in December 2024
A list of 5 angel investors and VC (Venture Capital) funds that invest in Venture capital startups based in Japan. We rank investors based on the number of investments they made in Venture capital companies from Japan. We update this investor list every month.Top 5 Startup Investors in Japan in December 2024
Investor | Venture Capital Japan investments |
---|---|
Kiyoshi Nishikawa | 1 |
Kakao Investment | 1 |
Kevin Ryan | 1 |
Headline | 1 |
David Smilow | 1 |
After working at KDD Corporation (Currently known as KDDI Corporation), Kiyoshi Nishikawa next went to work at Arthur D. Little Inc. in the United States, where he became inspired to start his own company. After returning to Japan, he established a Japanese corporation of the world’s largest Internet company, America On Line, LLC. Later andbased on this experience and the relationships he developed, he founded the first Internet business incubator, NETAGE, Inc. After serving as the President and CEO of NETAGE Group, he later became and still serves as the Chairman of ngi group, inc. Kiyoshi was one of the main entrepreneurs responsible for proposing and realization of “Shibuya Bit Valley Concept†and is well known for his various speeches and writings. He is a graduate of the Department of Education at Tokyo University.
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Investment focus
- News, Social Media, Big Data
- Seed, Funding Round, Pre-Seed
- Japan, United States
Portfolio highlights
- PoliPoli — PoliPoli is a next-generation politics co-creation platform where you can participate like a game. Politicians from all over Japan post their policies in an easy-to-understand manner, and those who sympathize can enjoy working on the "missions" necessary to realize the policies.
- Astroscale — Astroscale is the first private company with a vision to secure the safe and sustainable development of space for the benefit of future generations, and the only company solely dedicated to on-orbit servicing across all orbits.
- TECHFUND — TechFund is a venture capital firm specializing in incubation and seed stage investments. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.
Incorporated in 2015, Kakao Investment is a 100% subsidiary of Kakao which specializes in venture capital investments.Based on Kakao’s philosophy of “Connect Everything”, Kakao Investment seeks to invest and support innovative start-ups that can realize interpersonal connection and the connection of all of us to the things around us. Also KakaoInvestment strives to foster a virtuous circle with in the venture environment by facilitating M&As and IPOs.
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Investment focus
- Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Software
- Seed, Series A, Funding Round
- South Korea, United States, Japan
Portfolio highlights
- Snaptag — Snaptag is a developer of an invisible watermark technology intended for image data engine processing.
- Zehitomo — Zehitomo is an Japanese online platform that enables user to hire local service professionals, from photographers to personal trainers.
- Superb AI — Automate data preparation, label and manage images and videos, and find annotation services with one training data platform. Fast, precise, and easy to use.
Kevin Ryan is the Founder and CEO of AlleyCorp. He previously worked at MongoDB as a Founder and Chairman. Kevin Ryan attended Yale University.
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Investment focus
- Real Estate, Software, Health Care
- Seed, Series A, Series B
- United States, Japan, Canada
Portfolio highlights
- OYE — From Latin America to the world, we’re building a community to make emotional wellness part of everyday life.
- Everphone — Everphone is the clever way to equip your workforce with smartphones and tablets. It's flexible, safe and cost efficient. everphone reduces your costs while making employees happier and more productive.
- Knock — Buy before you sell, for people who are buying and selling homes, we partner with their lenders and agents to provide cash flow and more certainty, convenience, and competitiveness. Partner with Knock Today!
Headline is a Venture Capital firm actively on the ground in 7 cities around the world. We invest across categories and geographies, leading rounds at every stage. Once we commit to a team, we go to the ends of the earth to make their success global.
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Investment focus
- Software, E-Commerce, Information Technology
- Series A, Series B, Seed
- United States, Germany, United Kingdom
Portfolio highlights
- Nivoda — Nivoda provides jewellery businesses with a simple solution to strengthen profits, increase efficiency and accelerate growth with its B2B diamond marketplace. Designed to save you time and money whilst giving you access to the world’s diamond supply at the best prices with zero inventory risk, Nivoda is trusted by thousands of retailers all overthe globe.
- Deblock — Forget your bank account: Get an IBAN, a Debit Card and a Non-custodial Crypto wallet. Deposit any crypto on your current account. Exchange Euro and Crypto without any limit.
- Pi-xcels — Eco-friendly NFC digital receipts solution for actionable shopper data and enhanced customer journeys. No App, Just Tap. With one-tap convenience, Pi-xcels unlocks omni-channel marketing opportunities and boosts performance for retailers with our customer intelligence platform.
Mr. Smilow serves as Managing Director of Avenida and is a member of the Investment Committee. Mr. Smilow is a founder of Avenida, where he is responsible for portfolio and risk management. Mr. Smilow has been a sponsor of over a dozen start-up companies and has acquired approximately USD $250 million of real estate assets in the United States andLatin America over the course of his career. Mr. Smilow was the Founder and Chairman of Jefferson National Financial (“JNF”), an insurance company with over USD $2 billion of assets that offers variable annuity and other retirement products. Mr. Smilow oversaw investment activities and strategic planning for JNF, which was sold to Citibank in 2011.In addition, Mr. Smilow was the Founder, Chairman, CEO and CIO of TeleBanc (now E*Trade Bank). Under his direction, Telebanc became the largest Internet bank worldwide before its sale to E*Trade in 1999. Prior to founding TeleBanc, Mr. Smilow was a fixed income portfolio manager and trader at Goldman Sachs and Drexel Burnham Lambert.Mr. Smilow serves or has served on the Board of Directors of nine different companies, as well on the Board of Outward Bound Minnesota, Trust for Public Land Maine, and the Johns Hopkins Second Decade Society. Mr. Smilow has also lectured at Harvard Business School, New York University and Johns Hopkins University. Mr. Smilow received a BA from Johns Hopkins University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
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Investment focus
- Incubators, Venture Capital
- Series A
- Japan
Portfolio highlights
- LaunchCenter 39 — LaunchCenter 39 works hand-in-hand with entrepreneurs to build Internet and technology businesses from the ground up, providing full-service incubation that generates the fastest time to market and best potential for returns. Through dedicated teams of specialists and generalists, and continual infusion of outside talent through our on-siterecruiting efforts, LaunchCenter 39 transforms breakthrough ideas into dynamic companies by equipping partners with the skills and talented people required for success.
Investors by industry
Biotech
Proptech
Gaming
FinTech
Health Care
Community
Google
Marketplace
Climate
Consumer
Artificial intelligence
Impact
Energy
Hardware
EdTech
Sustainability
Venture Capital
Clean Energy
B2B
Real Estate
Publishing
Payments
Big Data
Retail
Organic Food
Web3
Education
Finance
Food and Beverage
Video Games
Infrastructure
Financial Services
Photography
Beauty
Medical
Wellness
Social Media
Social Network
Android
Construction
Art
Local
Legal
Digital Media
Manufacturing
eSports
Sports
Music
Mobile
Internet
Enterprise Software
Franchise
Email
Travel
Mobile Advertising
Biotechnology
Recruiting
Hospitality
Fitness
Platforms
Cannabis
Medical Device
Social
Automotive
Crowdfunding
Wine And Spirits
CleanTech
Mobile Apps
Transportation
InsurTech
Enterprise
LGBT
Fashion
Oil and Gas
Life Science
Film
Theatre
Non Profit
Renewable Energy
SaaS
Sporting Goods
Social Impact
Restaurants
Software
Celebrity
Cryptocurrency
Agriculture (agtech)
Media (entertainment)
Facebook
Blockchain
Investors by country
India
Germany
South Korea
United Kingdom
Australia
Canada
New Zealand
Ireland
United States
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Spain
Sri Lanka
China
Middle East
Africa
Indonesia
Europe
Armenia
Singapore
Oceania
Brazil
Japan
South Africa
Vietnam
LATAM
Asia
Denmark
Costa Rica
Bermuda
Egypt
Croatia
Gibraltar
Algeria
Estonia
Ecuador
Greece
Chile
Bulgaria
Ethiopia
Hong Kong
Faroe Islands
France
Ghana
Czech Republic
Hungary
Georgia
Lebanon
Belgium
Mali
Liberia
Malta
Liechtenstein
Malaysia
Italy
Panama
Myanmar
Mauritius
Nicaragua
Philippines
Lithuania
Israel
Jersey
Norway
Morocco
Mexico
Peru
Kuwait
Puerto Rico
Tunisia
Uganda
Sierra Leone
Senegal
San Marino
Uzbekistan
Seychelles
Togo
El Salvador
Rwanda
Russian Federation
Tanzania
Ukraine
Zimbabwe
Uruguay
Serbia
Taiwan
Venezuela
Tajikistan
Sweden
Turkey
Poland
Thailand
Zambia
Portugal
Slovenia
Dominican Republic
Azerbaijan
Iraq
Iceland
Bahamas
Namibia
Nigeria
United Arab Emirates
Jamaica
Honduras
Finland
Bolivia
Isle of Man
Luxembourg
Bahrain
Albania
Pakistan
Belarus
Belize
Barbados
Bangladesh
Argentina
Grenada
Jordan
Romania
Kenya
Kazakhstan
Cayman Islands
Cambodia
Cameroon
Cyprus
Latvia
Oman
Austria
Switzerland
Colombia
Marshall Islands
Guatemala
Investors in Japan by industry
Restaurants
Real Estate
Financial Services
CleanTech
Transportation
Big Data
Payments
Finance
Food and Beverage
Wine And Spirits
Video Games
Medical
Cryptocurrency
Medical Device
Wellness
Social Media
Digital Media
Manufacturing
Platforms
Art
Music
Mobile
Android
Blockchain
Software
Legal
Local
Venture Capital
Construction
Social Network
Enterprise Software
Sports
Fitness
eSports
Hospitality
Automotive
Travel
InsurTech
FinTech
Recruiting
Biotechnology
Enterprise
Consumer
Health Care
Biotech
Energy
EdTech
Climate
Sustainability
Proptech
Crowdfunding
SaaS
Marketplace
Hardware
Gaming
Social
Fashion
Beauty
B2B
Life Science
Sporting Goods
Publishing
Photography
Education
Renewable Energy
Community
Retail
Mobile Apps
Web3
Clean Energy
Social Impact
Impact
Artificial intelligence
Internet
Infrastructure
Agriculture (agtech)
Media (entertainment)
Oil and Gas