Yamaha Music Innovations Fund I, LP

About Yamaha Music Innovations Fund I, LP

Yamaha Music Innovations Fund I, LP is a venture capital firm based in United States, focusing on Pre-Seed stage investments. The fund actively supports founders building innovative solutions in Consumer Commerce, providing strategic guidance and capital to help startups scale.

Investment Focus

Location / RegionUnited States

Funding StagePre Seed

Industry Focus

Consumer Commerce

Investor Signals Profile

active

Sweet Spot

Early-stage founder building AI-powered creator or music tech

music tech

creator tools

AI media

early-stage

cultural infrastructure

Bullish Signals

6 portfolio cos, active dealflowexternal

Yamaha brand — global distribution leverageexternal

Named Billboard Finance 50, Jan 2026external

Portfolio Mogul raised $5M, tracks $1.5B royaltiesexternal

SXSW product launch — active market presenceexternal

20,000 employees — massive global networkwebsite

6 biz partnerships: Boomy, Groover, Chartmetric+website

AI sample generator tech verification underwaywebsite

100yr brand — unmatched creator market trustwebsite

Portfolio spans royalties, livestream, AI soundwebsite

SE Asia expansion via POPS partnershipwebsite

TONE3000: largest AI-modeled sounds marketplacewebsite

4 core verticals: tools, media, community, accesswebsite

Rightsify partnership — licensed AI music datasetswebsite

Contrarian Signals

Corporate CVC — strategic agenda may conflictexternal

Niche focus limits addressable deal universeexternal

Early portfolio, limited exit track recordexternal

Business partnerships ≠ investments — blurred lineswebsite

Hardware roots may bias software deal lenswebsite

EdTech/wellbeing angle feels peripheral to corewebsite

Founder Do's

Build tools empowering creators or artists

Leverage AI for creative/media use cases

Target music, audio, or content distribution

Show global scalability potential

Align with Yamaha's creator ecosystem

Founder Don'ts

Avoid non-creative B2B enterprise pitches

Don't ignore community/collaboration angle

Skip if unrelated to music/media/culture

Key GPs & Partners

Scott Sugino

President and CEO

operatorcorporate-backedmusic industry

Andrew Kahn

Managing Partner

VC leadearly-stagecreative tech

Jun Usui

CTO

technicalAIproduct-focused

Conor Healy

Sr. Principal, Investment

dealflowearly-stagemusic tech

Sherry Shibase

Principal, Business Alliance

partnershipsBDcorporate

James Terashima

Principal, Business Alliance

partnershipsBDcorporate

Nattie Kobayashi

Principal, Design and UX

designUXcreative

Unlock Investor Signals

$29/month for full signal access. Cancel anytime.

View Plans Browse all Signal Profiles →

Fund Overview

Fund Size$50M

Saves0

Website

Key People

Andrew Kahn, Yusuke Scott Sugino

Scott SuginoPresident and CEO

Andrew KahnManaging Partner

Jun UsuiCTO

Conor HealySr. Principal, Investment

Sherry ShibasePrincipal, Business Alliance

James TerashimaPrincipal, Business Alliance

Nattie KobayashiPrincipal, Design and UX