Yamaha Music Innovations Fund I, LP

United States

Pre Seed

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

8 portfolio cos, active investing and dealswebsite

Yamaha brand — 100yr trust, global reachwebsite

Named Billboard Finance 50, Jan 2026external

Portfolio Mogul tracked $1.5B royalties, $5M raisedexternal

SXSW 2026: Yamaha Creator Pass product launchwebsite

20,000 employees + millions customer base leveragewebsite

6 biz partnerships: Boomy, Groover, Chartmetric, Rightsify, POPSwebsite

AI sample generator verification in progresswebsite

4 core verticals: tools, media, community, accesswebsite

Rightsify partnership — licensed AI datasetswebsite

SE Asia expansion via POPS + immersive experienceswebsite

TONE3000: largest AI-modeled sounds marketplacewebsite

Portfolio spans royalties, livestream, AI, gamingwebsite

Century-long innovation track record in sound/musicwebsite

Core verticals: Creative Tools, Media, Community, Accessibilitywebsite

Unlocking new creative paths, disrupting ownership modelswebsite

9 portfolio companies: Songboy, Freebeat, CommonTime, Offside, Mogul, Meld, Nero, TONE3000website

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-backed100yr vision

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

designUXcreator-first

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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

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