Fund profile / Japan

AN Venture Partners I

Geography
Japan
Stage
Pre-Seed
Fund size
$200M
Focus
AI/ML, Deep Tech and SaaS
Signals
Published
Share
N°01 / About

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.

N°02 / Thesis

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
Real-time portfolio updates committedwebsite
Capacity Bio, Typewriter, City Therapeutics livewebsite
Portfolio expanded: Imbria, PAhR, Crystalys, Tortugaswebsite
Imbria addresses cardiometabolic disorders unmet needwebsite
Tortugas focuses neuro/neuropsychiatric therapeutic solutionswebsite
PAhR targets PAH with innovative treatmentswebsite
Connecting knowledge, capital, innovation globallywebsite
Real-time expert perspectives on investmentwebsite

Contrarian Signals

Heavy Japan-US team, niche networkexternal
Multiple stealth cos, limited transparencywebsite
Narrow life-science-only focusexternal
No social media signal foundwebsite
Twitter handle unrelated to fund (sports/news)website

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

47 signals on AN Venture Partners I

18 bullish · 5 contrarian · 5 pitch do's · 3 don'ts · 16 GP profiles, each with its source. From €9/month, cancel anytime.

Facts

Fund Overview

Fund Size$200M
Saves0
People

Key People

Ken Horne, Takashi Futami, Jun Hashimoto

Ken HorneManaging Partner
Ari NowacekPartner
Takashi FutamiPartner
Jun HashimotoPartner
Atsushi ShimadaVenture Partner
Toshikazu BanExecutive Partner
Mike HickeyCFO
Masaki TanakaInvestment Manager
Paula SchultheissSenior Associate
Dai HataAssociate
Shiho HiroseAnalyst
Yumiko NejoController
Olivia LaxtonAssociate
Nick BayhiFellow
Wendy HungFellow
Natsuko KayashimaExecutive Assistant
N°04 / See also

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