Participated · Series A · Sep 2025

Fermenta develops a proprietary synthetic biology platform to produce functional compounds—pharmaceutical, cosmetic and industrial ingredients—through microbial fermentation as environmentally and economically preferable alternatives to plant extraction. The platform centers on multi-stage gene introduction and precise control technology, enabling rapid design of production strains across molecule classes. The company aims to mass-produce high-performance substances that are difficult to obtain with conventional methods, balancing economic rationality and quality. Raised funds will be used to expand the development pipeline, strengthen scale-up from lab to pilot, and accelerate business development toward commercialization. Fermenta plans mass production demonstrations of multiple pipelines in collaboration with external CDMOs and, after completing pilot scale work, to construct a commercial-scale production line. Financially, the company has reached a cumulative ¥4.8 billion in funding since its May 2023 seed round.

Participated · Series C · Oct 2024

Helpfeel combines its patented “intention-prediction search” technology with generative AI to return accurate answers even when queries contain vague wording or typographical errors. Deployed both on customer-facing FAQ pages and as an internal knowledge-search tool, the service is used on more than 800 websites as of January 2026. Founded in December 2007 as Nota Inc. by Kazuma Laskey, the company also offers the screenshot-sharing tool Gyazo and the knowledge-sharing service Cosense. Helpfeel positions itself as an information infrastructure for the AI era and intends to leverage its domestic track record to enter global markets. The new capital will fund overseas expansion and continued AI implementation support for Japanese customers. With the latest raise, the company’s cumulative funding reaches ¥6.2 billion.

Led · Series A · May 2024

Orange, Inc. is an entertainment technology startup focused on the manga industry that develops localization technologies and works closely with several publishers. The company is building a localization product based on deep learning models and plans to launch a digital manga store called “emaqi” in the US in summer 2024. Orange says its proprietary localization operation process enables Japanese-to-English localization capacity of up to 500 manga volumes per month. The company intends to expand localization into other languages to enable worldwide simultaneous distribution of manga. Funds from the recent financing will be used to develop the localization product and to support the emaqi launch. Orange is led by founder and CEO Shoko Ugaki.

Led · Equity · Feb 2024

esa is a recycling technology company that has created the “esa method,” a chemical process that converts traditionally unrecyclable composite plastics—such as multilayer food packaging—into recycled plastic pellets branded as “Repla.” Life Cycle Assessment work with Kyoto University indicates these pellets can cut CO2 emissions by up to 87 % compared with virgin polyethylene. Established in March 2022, the firm is led by founder and CEO Chikako Kurokawa. The company intends to use its technology to process a broader range and volume of plastic waste by partnering with municipalities and food and packaging manufacturers in Japan. It also plans to leverage global financial-institution networks to launch overseas pilots and deployments. Future product development includes formulating higher-value pellets for automotive parts and building materials. To date, esa has raised a total of ¥950 million to fund R&D expansion and commercialization efforts.

Led · Series A · Jan 2024

Founded in 2019, Tokyo-based LocationMind is building the “world’s largest location information bank” by combining AI analytics with vast GPS and indoor positioning data. Its AI business ingests global big data covering people, automobiles, vessels and satellite imagery to deliver high-resolution geospatial insights, while its space business applies proprietary positioning-signal security technology. Recent acquisitions of U.S. GPS data provider Irys and beacon/SDK platform pinable (spun into AdvertisementMind) have vertically integrated data ownership and extended coverage to 150+ countries. The company is now developing a chat-driven spatial information generative AI that will let users query complex location datasets in real time. LocationMind’s solutions are already attracting interest from Japanese municipalities seeking inbound-tourism analytics based on U.S. and European visitor flows. Cumulatively, the startup has raised roughly ¥6.7 billion in funding, including ¥4.96 billion across its Series B rounds.