Vertex Ventures Japan Fund I

Japan

Pre Seed

About Vertex Ventures Japan Fund I

Vertex Ventures Japan Fund 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, Consumer Commerce, providing strategic guidance and capital to help startups scale.

Investment Focus

Location / RegionJapan

Funding StagePre Seed

Industry Focus

Ai Ml

Consumer Commerce

Investor Signals Profile

active

Sweet Spot

AI-native vertical platform or deep-tech founders with domain expertise, SE Asia/India

vertical AI

AI-native platforms

SE Asia & India

pre-seed

B2B SaaS

fintech scale

AI semiconductors

deep-tech infrastructure

Bullish Signals

Led oversubscribed $3.98M pre-seedexternal

Investing AI-native vertical platforms earlyexternal

500K designs, 135 countries — organic tractionexternal

Backs McKinsey-exited + domain-expert duoslinkedin

AEC sector: huge, underdigitised, conviction betlinkedin

Multi-model orchestration thesis validatedlinkedin

Co-invests: Hustle Fund, UntroD, Orvellinkedin

60+ specialist models in single workspacelinkedin

Rs 8K cr AUM, +61% YoY growthlinkedin

Portfolio company Kissht: 74.6M users, +33% YoYlinkedin

Fintech diversification: LAP portfolio 7.7% AUMlinkedin

Backed 3 AI chip startups, foundry strategistlinkedin

Deep-tech infrastructure bets beyond pure softwarelinkedin

Contrarian Signals

SE Asia/India geo focus may limit scopeexternal

AEC niche — slow enterprise sales cycleslinkedin

Chip design without buyer traction riskylinkedin

Founder Do's

Build AI-native, not bolt-on

Show organic traction & global reach

Combine domain + operating expertise

Target large, underdigitised industries

Demonstrate platform orchestration depth

Expand loan books diversification

Solve real buyer pain vs. Nvidia parity

Founder Don'ts

Legacy software with AI features layered on

No domain credibility in vertical

Point solutions without platform vision

Chip designs without foundry/buyer path

Key GPs & Partners

Jessica Koh

Senior Executive Director, Investment

domain-focusedplatform-thinkerAI-native

CYP

Chan Yip Pang

Executive Director

deep-techsemiconductor-focusedcontrarian

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Fund Overview

Fund Size$67M

Saves0

Website

Key People

Takashi Tomita, Naonori Kurokawa

Jessica KohSenior Executive Director, Investment

Chan Yip PangExecutive Director

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