AN Venture Partners I

Japan
Pre Seed
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About AN Venture Partners I

AN Venture Partners I is a venture capital firm based in Japan, focusing on Pre-Seed stage investments. The fund actively supports founders building innovative solutions in AI/ML, Deep Tech, SaaS, providing strategic guidance and capital to help startups scale.

Investment Focus

Location / RegionJapan
Funding StagePre Seed
Industry Focus
Ai Ml
Deep Tech
Saas

Investor Signals Profile

active

Sweet Spot

Deep science biotech founders with novel therapeutic platforms

life science
biotech/therapeutics
deep science
global network
early-stage startups

Bullish Signals

7+ portfolio therapeutics companies activeexternal
ARCH Ventures alumni on teamexternal
Multiple PhD partners, deep science benchexternal
Diverse modalities: RNA, small molecule, siRNAexternal
PhD-heavy team top to bottomexternal
Portfolio spans neuro, cardio, pulmonary, goutexternal
Website confirms full 16-person team intactwebsite
Mitophagy, gene writing, siRNA all backedwebsite
7 named portfolio cos confirmed livewebsite
Global expert network explicitly highlightedwebsite

Contrarian Signals

Heavy Japan-US team, niche networkexternal
Multiple stealth cos, limited transparencyexternal
Narrow life-science-only focusexternal
No social media signal foundwebsite
Twitter handle unrelated to fundexternal

Founder Do's

Come with strong scientific credentials
Focus on novel therapeutic platforms
Leverage global biotech networks
Target unmet medical needs
Show clear scientific differentiation

Founder Don'ts

Avoid non-life-science pitches
Don't pitch without PhD-level science
No consumer or non-biotech startups

Key GPs & Partners

KH
Ken Horne
Managing Partner
AN
Ari Nowacek
Partner
MD/PhD/MBAdeep scienceARCH Ventures alumni
TF
Takashi Futami
Partner
PhD/MBAscience-driven
JH
Jun Hashimoto
Partner
AS
Atsushi Shimada
Senior Principal
TB
Toshikazu Ban
Executive Partner
MH
Mike Hickey
CFO
MT
Masaki Tanaka
Investment Manager
PhD
PS
Paula Schultheiss
Associate
PhD
DH
Dai Hata
Associate
PhD
SH
Shiho Hirose
Analyst
PhD
YN
Yumiko Nejo
Controller
OL
Olivia Laxton
Fellow
NB
Nick Bayhi
Fellow
PhD
WH
Wendy Hung
Fellow
NK
Natsuko Kayashima
Executive Assistant

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Fund Overview

Fund Size$200M
Saves0

Key People

Ken Horne, Takashi Futami, Jun Hashimoto

Ken HorneManaging Partner
Ari NowacekPartner
Takashi FutamiPartner
Jun HashimotoPartner
Atsushi ShimadaSenior Principal
Toshikazu BanExecutive Partner
Mike HickeyCFO
Masaki TanakaInvestment Manager
Paula SchultheissAssociate
Dai HataAssociate
Shiho HiroseAnalyst
Yumiko NejoController
Olivia LaxtonFellow
Nick BayhiFellow
Wendy HungFellow
Natsuko KayashimaExecutive Assistant

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