The Venture Codex

Participated · Equity · Jul 2026

Starlight Engine was established in April 2025 as a group company of Kyoto Fusioneering and is focused on advancing fusion energy through its FAST project. FAST is a privately led, industry–academia initiative that adopts a tokamak configuration and aims to demonstrate fusion power generation in the 2030s by generating and sustaining D–T burning plasma and demonstrating integrated power generation and fuel-cycle systems. The project has completed its conceptual design and is currently moving into engineering design and construction preparations. SLE is coordinating with leading fusion researchers and a wide set of private-sector partners and universities to develop the project and domestic supply chains. The company plans to use newly raised funds to accelerate engineering and technology development, site selection, regulatory processes, supply chain development, and organizational expansion. SLE intends to grow its headcount to about 200 employees over the next two years as it advances toward fusion power demonstration and future commercial plants.

Participated · Series A · Mar 2026

Free Standard offers Retailor, a re-commerce operating system that allows brands and manufacturers to create branded secondary-market channels and manage end-to-end operations. Retailor supports creation of brand-specific reuse sites and provides semi-customizable services including product collection, authentication, maintenance, storage, photography, and listing. The company plans to deepen its supply-chain capabilities through collaboration with the Yamato Group to optimize logistics for re-commerce. It also intends to improve social messaging and experience design with support from investor D4V and to expand consumer touchpoints by partnering with Mitsubishi Estate and Mitsui Fudosan to bring re-commerce into physical commercial venues. Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Free Standard has raised a cumulative ¥1.37 billion through equity (including a Series A) and debt financing. The company has deployed Retailor with multiple major apparel brands and aims to mainstream brand-official re-commerce as a lifestyle option.

Participated · Series D · Nov 2025

Founded in 2019, IVRy offers the cloud-based voice AI service “IVRy (アイブリー),” which automates 24/7 telephone reception, analyzes call data, and emphasizes “hallucination-zero” dialogue accuracy. The service is deployed across Japan’s 47 prefectures and more than 97 industries, supporting over 40,000 customer accounts and growing at a pace surpassing the T2D3 benchmark. Leveraging recent advances in large language models, the company is expanding beyond call automation to launch “IVRy Data Hub,” a platform that converts unstructured communication data—calls, emails, and chats—into actionable business insights. Future plans include deeper penetration of the enterprise segment, strengthening global-level AI development, and pursuing M&A for non-linear growth. Proceeds from the latest financing will fund hiring in enterprise sales, enhanced AI product R&D, and the build-out of a robust operating base. To date, IVRy has raised a cumulative ¥10.61 billion, underscoring investor confidence in its mission to deliver cutting-edge technology to every person and company.

Participated · Series B · Oct 2025

Founded in July 2021, Forest operates a roll-up model that inherits and scales Japanese “monozukuri” (craftsmanship) brands through M&A, having completed 21 acquisitions in its first four years. The company differentiates itself from earlier global roll-ups by minimizing dependence on online marketplaces and instead leveraging in-house retail-tech and omni-channel expertise to re-structure and cross-sell its portfolio. Its cross-border EC site “Omakase” already carries about 14 brands and ships curated Japanese products to customers in 64 countries and regions. Recent tuck-ins include smartphone-accessory labels OVER’s and ガラスザムライ, leather-goods brand GRAV, outdoor line CREEB, shoe-care label ROSY LILY, retail-tech firm Tsuzucle, and 60-year-old RC-car maker YOKOMO. Forest keeps original founders involved in roughly 80 % of its acquired companies to preserve product DNA while unifying back-office, logistics and marketing under a centralized “backbone.” The firm seeks targets with strong craftsmanship, steady demand and clear upside once Forest optimizes marketing, logistics and cost structures. Capital from the new raise will be used to fund additional acquisitions and to expand its retail-tech capabilities.

Participated · Series B · Aug 2024

Nealle operates Park Direct, a mobility SaaS that digitizes end-to-end parking operations including customer acquisition, contracts, payments, and management. Since launching Park Direct in 2019, the company has driven DX of analogue parking processes and claims industry No.1 in "number of installations" and "online-contractable units" for three consecutive years. Nealle reports ARR growth of +1,110% from end-2021 to end-2023, a pace exceeding T2D3. Enterprise adoption is accelerating (including deployments with Mitsui Fudosan Realty) and the company is scaling its corporate fleet product Park Direct for Business (PD Biz). Nealle is also pursuing EV-related new business and plans to use funding to strengthen hiring, product development, and marketing to achieve further non-linear growth. The company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Tokyo, and has raised ¥10.2 billion cumulatively. Nealle runs Park Direct, a mobility SaaS that enables end-to-end online handling of parking listings, applications, contracts, rent collection (including guarantees) and customer management. The service launched in 2019 and has grown to be an industry leader; an external December 2022 survey ranked it No.1 for number of adopting companies and online-contractable parking listings. In 2022 Park Direct’s number of tenants grew roughly 500% year-over-year. Nealle has expanded into corporate parking management with Park Direct for Business (PD Biz) and forged a strategic partnership with Toyota. The company is running EV charger installation pilots and plans to use Park Direct’s online/offline parking and mobility data to build a broader mobility platform. Financially, Nealle has raised a cumulative ¥5.6 billion and reported capital of ¥4,129 million (as of July 2023). Nealle runs Park Direct, an industry-first mobility SaaS launched in November 2019 that enables online parking listings, contracts, payments (including guarantees) and customer management. The company says Park Direct achieved industry No.1 in 2020 and 2021 for number of adopting companies and listed parking spaces. In 2021 Park Direct’s payment volume grew 41.6x year-on-year as adoption and available spaces increased. Nealle plans to scale product development, hiring and advertising to accelerate usage and expand its service footprint. The company also intends to leverage accumulated parking data to support EV charging infrastructure and broader mobility-infrastructure initiatives. Nealle was founded in 2013 and is based in Nihonbashi, Chūō-ku, Tokyo.