Dentsu Ventures
Profile, fund size and portfolio
Dentsu Ventures is the corporate venture arm of Dentsu Group Inc. (advertising and marketing services). It was founded in 2015 and is based in Tokyo, Japan. It invests from Seed to Late stage in marketing technology, media and entertainment, artificial intelligence.
Every figure links to its source
Snapshot
Data behind this graphic
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Stage range | Seed to Late stage |
| Sectors | Marketing technology, Media and entertainment, Artificial intelligence, Gaming and Web3, Fintech, Health and biotech |
| Geography | Global ; Global with focus on the U.S., Europe and Asia ; Japan only (Portfolio companies by region, from the firm's portfolio page) |
| Offices | Tokyo, Japan |
Sources: S1 Dentsu Ventures site (English): message, portfolio, team, fund.
Data behind this graphic
| Item | Companies | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Active | 47 | 75.8% |
| Exited | 15 | 24.2% |
Status as the firm tags it
Sources: S1 Dentsu Ventures site (English): message, portfolio, team, fund.
Data behind this graphic
| Measure | Value | Unit | Kind | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Headline size | JPY 20bn | Fund size | Stated by the firm or its parent | S3 |
| Companies backed | 62 | companies | Stated by the firm | S1 |
| Companies on the firm's portfolio page | 62 | companies | Counted from the firm's own list | S1 |
Sources: S3 Dentsu Group release: establishes Dentsu Ventures Fund II (date not shown in page text); S1 Dentsu Ventures site (English): message, portfolio, team, fund.
Where it invests and who leads it
Geography
- Headquarters
- Tokyo, Japan
- Offices
- Tokyo, Japan
Portfolio companies by regionS1
Portfolio companies by region, from the firm's portfolio page
LeadersS1
- Kotaro SasamotoManaging PartnerLinkedInFirm page
- Daiji HoribeGeneral PartnerFind on LinkedInFirm page
- Kevin HasegawaGeneral PartnerFind on LinkedInFirm page
- Daisuke TakemoriGeneral PartnerFind on LinkedInFirm page
- Tatsuru IsayamaPrincipalFind on LinkedInFirm page
Key facts
| Fact | Value | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent company | Dentsu Group Inc. | Single source | S3 |
| Parent industry | Advertising and marketing services | Single source | S3 |
| Founded | 2015 | Single source | S1 |
| Headquarters | Tokyo, Japan | Single source | S1 |
| Status | Active | Single source | S2 |
| Capital source | Parent company only | Single source | S1 |
| Headline size | JPY 20bn (Fund size) | Single source | S3 |
| Companies backed | 62 | Single source | S1 |
| People on the team page | 11 | Single source | S1 |
| Stages | Seed, Series A, Series B, Growth, Late stage | Single source | S1 |
Notable outcomes
IPOs and acquisitions of portfolio companies. Price shown only where published.
| Company | Type | Year | Acquirer or exchange | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arraiy | Acquisition | Matterport | S1 | ||
| Cheddar | Acquisition | Altice | S1 | ||
| Cue | IPO | S1 | |||
| Exo | Acquisition | Aspire Food | S1 | ||
| Grail | Acquisition | Illumina | S1 | ||
| Hoodline | Acquisition | Nextdoor | S1 | ||
| Loom.ai | Acquisition | Roblox | S1 | ||
| Mira Labs | Acquisition | Apple | S1 | ||
| nextbit | Acquisition | Razer | S1 | ||
| Ricecurry | IPO | S1 | |||
| Smarking | Acquisition | ParkHub | S1 | ||
| TSUKURUBA | IPO | S1 | |||
| Twist Bioscience | IPO | S1 | |||
| Tynker | Acquisition | Byju’s | S1 | ||
| UBIQUITY6 | Acquisition | Discord | S1 |
Portfolio
The firm's portfolio page lists 62 companies: 47 active, 15 exited.S1
| Tag | Companies | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Active | 47 | 75.8% |
| Exited | 15 | 24.2% |
Every company on the Dentsu Ventures list
62 companies, as listed on the firm's own website: 47 active, 15 exited.S1 Read the firm's list.
Active 47
- agolo
- Asobica
- Astrocade
- Clear Labs
- CLUE
- CULTA
- double jump.tokyo
- emole
- Facilo
- Fiddler
- FOLIO
- forest
- FUNDiT
- HERALBONY
- infobox
- Innovative Space Carrier
- Inworld
- KaKa Creation
- KAKEHASHI
- KAUCHE
- Knowledge Work
- Kognitos
- Livelike
- MACROFAB
- Mellow
- Metagen Therapeutics
- Mysten Labs
- Narvar
- NEW STANDARD
- NOVARCA
- OpenWeb
- Overtime
- Roforco
- Scalebase
- Skyflow
- Solsten
- SORAJIMA
- Survios
- SUSHITOP MARKETING
- Techtouch
- Turing
- Two Bit Circus
- UPSIDE Foods
- VidMob
- Voicy
- WOTA
- Yoyogi AnimationGroup
Exited 15
- Arraiy
- Cheddar
- Cue
- Exo
- Grail
- Hoodline
- Loom.ai
- Mira Labs
- nextbit
- Ricecurry
- Smarking
- TSUKURUBA
- Twist Bioscience
- Tynker
- UBIQUITY6
Fund vehicles
| Vehicle | Size | Year | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dentsu Ventures Global Fund I | JPY 10bn | 2015 | Established April 2015; 10 years to March 2025; global with focus on U.S., Europe and Asia | S1 |
| Dentsu Ventures Fund II | JPY 10bn | 2021 | Established April 2021; 10 years to March 2031; global; seed to late stage | S1 |
| Dentsu Ventures SGP Fund (電通ベンチャーズSGP投資事業有限責任組合) | Not published | 2023 | Formed March 2023; term to March 2033; Japan; seed to late stage; size not published | S2 |
For founders
Recent rounds
History
- Dentsu Ventures launched April 2015 with Global Fund I of JPY 10bn.S1
- Global Fund I partner moved from Dentsu Inc. to Dentsu Group Inc. (January).S1
- Dentsu Ventures Fund II of JPY 10bn established April 2021, total JPY 20bn.S3
- SGP Fund formed March 2023 with full-scale operation from April 2023.S4
- Investments announced: Astrocade (May 11), Knowledge Work (Aug 4), Facilo (Sep 17).S2
Official pages
Read the firm's own pages for current information.
- Website dentsu-v.com/en/
- Portfolio dentsu-v.com/en/#portfolio
- LinkedIn company page linkedin.com/company/dentsu-ventures
Sources
- S1Dentsu Ventures site (English): message, portfolio, team, fundFirm
- S2Dentsu Ventures site (Japanese): fund table with SGP fund, newsFirm
- S3Dentsu Group release: establishes Dentsu Ventures Fund II (date not shown in page text)Parent company
- S4Dentsu-ho: SGP Fund launch interview (Sasamoto and Yamamoto)Parent company
- S5PR Times: Facilo Series B JPY 6.4bn (Dentsu Ventures follow-on mention, 2026-09-17)Portfolio company
- S6PR Times: Knowledge Work Series C first close JPY 3.5bn (2026-08-04)Portfolio company
- S7Search result listing Kotaro Sasamoto LinkedIn profile and Dentsu Ventures company pageThird-party report
Disclaimer and corrections
Not affiliated. This page is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Dentsu Ventures or any company named on it. Names and trademarks belong to their owners. Informational only. This is a public-source reference. It is not investment, legal or tax advice and not an offer or solicitation. Sources. Each figure names its source. Figures may have changed. Please read the firm's official pages, linked above. Corrections and takedown. To report an error or ask for a change or removal, use the correction form or email Richard@CorporateVentureCapital.com.
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