KDDI Open Innovation Fund
Profile, fund size and portfolio
Parent KDDI CorporationHQ Tokyo, JapanFounded 2012
KDDI Open Innovation Fund is the corporate venture arm of KDDI Corporation (telecommunications). It was founded in 2012 and is based in Tokyo, Japan. It invests from Seed to Series A in AI, deepTech, mobility.
Every figure links to its source
Snapshot
Data behind this graphic
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Stage range | Seed to Series A |
| Sectors | AI, DeepTech, Mobility, Robotics, Enterprise, Consumer |
| Geography | Domestic and overseas startups |
| Offices | Tokyo (Global Brain HQ, Shibuya), Japan, Kyoto, Japan, San Francisco, United States, New York, United States, London, United Kingdom, Berlin, Germany, Hong Kong, China, Bangalore, India, Seoul, South Korea, Singapore |
Sources: S4 Global Brain: KDDI funds; S3 KDDI Open Innovation Fund portfolio (157 companies, investment month and fund).
Data behind this graphic
| Item | Companies | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise | 92 | 31.8% |
| Consumer | 81 | 28% |
| DX | 36 | 12.5% |
| IoT/AI | 33 | 11.4% |
| Entertainment | 31 | 10.7% |
| Fintech | 8 | 2.8% |
| Other | 8 | 2.8% |
A company can carry more than one tag
Sources: S3 KDDI Open Innovation Fund portfolio (157 companies, investment month and fund).
Data behind this graphic
| Measure | Value | Unit | Kind | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Headline size | JPY 30bn | Fund size | Stated by the firm or its parent | S4 |
| Companies backed | 157 | companies | Stated by the firm | S2 |
| IPOs | 4 | IPOs | Stated by the firm | S3 |
| M&A exits | 19 | exits | Stated by the firm | S3 |
| Companies on the firm's portfolio page | 157 | companies | Counted from the firm's own list | S3 |
Sources: S4 Global Brain: KDDI funds; S2 KDDI Open Innovation Fund (KDDI); S3 KDDI Open Innovation Fund portfolio (157 companies, investment month and fund).
Where it invests and who leads it
Geography
- Headquarters
- Tokyo, Japan
- Offices
- Tokyo (Global Brain HQ, Shibuya), Japan
- Kyoto, Japan
- San Francisco, United States
- New York, United States
- London, United Kingdom
- Berlin, Germany
- Hong Kong, China
- Bangalore, India
- Seoul, South Korea
- Singapore
Investment regionsS4S3
- Domestic and overseas startups
LeadersS8S9
- Yasuhiko YurimotoFounder / CEO, Global Brain (operator of the funds)LinkedInFirm page
- Tomohiro Ebata (江幡 智広)KDDI, head of business development including investments via Open Innovation Fund (GLOBIS profile; date unconfirmed)Find on LinkedInFirm page
- Kaz Shimizu (清水 和)Group leader of KOIF at KDDI (per search snippet; source page not opened)Find on LinkedInFirm page
Key facts
| Fact | Value | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent company | KDDI Corporation (TSE: 9433) | Single source | S2 |
| Parent industry | Telecommunications | Single source | S2 |
| Founded | 2012 | Single source | S5 |
| Headquarters | Tokyo, Japan | Single source | S6 |
| Status | Active | Single source | S3 |
| Capital source | Parent company only | Single source | S2 |
| Headline size | JPY 30bn (Fund size) | Reported by Global Brain: KDDI funds | S4 |
| Companies backed | 157 | Single source | S2 |
| Exits | 23 total, 4 IPOs, 19 M&A | Single source | S3 |
| Stages | Seed, Series A | Reported by Global Brain: KDDI funds | S4 |
Recent rounds
| Date | Company | Round | Amount | Led by the firm | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-01 | OptQC株式会社 | Investment (round not stated) | Not stated | S3 | |
| 2026-07-01 | Starlight Engine株式会社 | Investment (round not stated) | Not stated | S3 | |
| 2026-07-01 | 株式会社RevComm | Investment (round not stated) | Not stated | S3 | |
| 2026-07-01 | 株式会社JIJ | Investment (round not stated) | Not stated | S3 | |
| 2026-03-01 | 株式会社Recho | Investment (round not stated) | Not stated | S3 | |
| 2025-10-01 | 株式会社Antway | Investment (round not stated) | Not stated | S3 | |
| 2025-10-01 | Resemble AI Inc. (US) | Investment (round not stated) | Not stated | S3 | |
| 2025-09-01 | スカイファーム株式会社 | Investment (round not stated) | Not stated | S3 | |
| 2025-06-01 | Deeping Source Inc. (Korea) | Investment (round not stated) | Not stated | S3 | |
| 2025-04-01 | 株式会社10X | Investment (round not stated) | Not stated | S3 | |
| 2025-03-01 | RLWRLD Inc. (Korea) | Investment (round not stated) | Not stated | S3 | |
| 2025-02-01 | 株式会社New Innovations | Investment (round not stated) | Not stated | S3 | |
| 2024-12-01 | MODE, Inc. (US) | Investment (round not stated) | Not stated | S3 | |
| 2024-12-01 | MOSH株式会社 | Investment (round not stated) | Not stated | S3 | |
| 2024-10-01 | 株式会社 QunaSys | Investment (round not stated) | Not stated | S3 | |
| 2024-09-01 | ファインディ株式会社 | Investment (round not stated) | Not stated | S3 | |
| 2024-09-01 | Sakana AI株式会社 | Investment (round not stated) | Not stated | S3 | |
| 2024-09-01 | Bounce, Inc. (US) | Investment (round not stated) | Not stated | S3 | |
| 2024-08-01 | Groq Inc (US) | Investment (round not stated) | Not stated | S3 | |
| 2024-07-01 | 株式会社THINKR | Investment (round not stated) | Not stated | S3 |
Investments by year
Portfolio
The firm's portfolio page lists 157 companies: 134 active, 23 exited.S3
| Tag | Companies | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Active | 134 | 85.4% |
| Exited | 23 | 14.6% |
| Tag | Companies | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise | 92 | 58.6% |
| Consumer | 81 | 51.6% |
| DX | 36 | 22.9% |
| IoT/AI | 33 | 21% |
| Entertainment | 31 | 19.7% |
| Fintech | 8 | 5.1% |
| Other | 8 | 5.1% |
Every company on the KDDI Open Innovation Fund list
157 companies, as listed on the firm's own website: 134 active, 23 exited.S3 Read the firm's list.
Active 134
- 3rdkind株式会社
- 4DReplay, Inc. (Korea)
- Activ8株式会社
- Airmeet Inc. (US)
- Allganize Holdings株式会社（US）（Korea）
- Balena Ltd. (UK)
- BizteX株式会社
- Bounce, Inc. (US)
- DAIZ株式会社
- DATAMESH PTE. LTD. (Singapore)
- Deeping Source Inc. (Korea)
- Digital Alpha Group Pte. Ltd. (Indonesia)
- Digital Entertainment Asset Pte.Ltd. (Singapore)
- Eclypsium, Inc (US)
- Edmodo.Inc (US)
- fermata株式会社
- Geospock Ltd. (UK)
- GITAI USA Inc. (US)
- Groq Inc (US)
- GTRIIP Global, Inc. (Singapore)
- Hailo Network HoldingsLimited (UK)
- Halo Neuro Inc. (US)
- Hayden AI Technologies, Inc. (US)
- Idein株式会社
- iPrice Group Sdn. Bhd. (Malaysia)
- ISSUU.Inc (US)
- KaiOS Technologies (Singapore)
- Kirilys Therapeutics, Inc. (US)
- Letinar Co., Ltd (Korea)
- Mad Street Den Inc. (US)
- Miraise1号投資事業有限責任組合
- MODE, Inc. (US)
- Mojo Vision Inc. (US)
- Monohm Inc. (US)
- MOSH株式会社
- Neutron Holdings, Inc / Lime (US)
- NOT A HOTEL株式会社
- NUNW CO.,LTD.
- Okage株式会社
- OptQC株式会社
- Ossia Inc. (US)
- PB Inc. (US)
- PharmaX株式会社
- Pocket RD株式会社
- Pogoseat.Inc (US)
- PT Qlue Performa Indonesia (Indonesia)
- Repro株式会社
- Resemble AI Inc. (US)
- RLWRLD Inc. (Korea)
- RUN.EDGE株式会社
- Sakana AI株式会社
- Secret Double Octopus Ltd. (Israel)
- Securitize, Inc. (US)
- SHANGHAI YOGO ROBOT Co., Ltd. (China)
- SHE株式会社
- Starlight Engine株式会社
- Swift Navigation, Inc. (US)
- Telexistence株式会社
- Teserac, Inc. (US)
- Turing株式会社
- Unabiz Holdings Pte. Ltd. (Singapore)
- VentureBeat.Inc (US)
- VFR株式会社
- vivola株式会社
- WhereIsMyTransport Ltd (UK)
- WHYNOT Media Co., Ltd. (Korea)
- Xayn (Germany)
- エディットフォース株式会社
- エンブレース株式会社
- クラスター株式会社
- グローバル・ブレイン6号投資事業有限責任組合
- スカイファーム株式会社
- ナッジ株式会社
- ノイン株式会社
- パラレル株式会社
- ピクシーダストテクノロジーズ株式会社
- ビズリー（US）
- ファインディ株式会社
- ファストドクター株式会社
- モイ株式会社
- ラリー株式会社（US）
- ワンメディア株式会社
- 五常・アンド・カンパニー株式会社
- 株式会社 MONOCO
- 株式会社 QunaSys
- 株式会社10X
- 株式会社Antway
- 株式会社BitStar
- 株式会社CAMPFIRE
- 株式会社foriio
- 株式会社Gaudiy
- 株式会社GINKAN
- 株式会社Hosty
- 株式会社JIJ
- 株式会社Light
- 株式会社Modhaus (Korea)
- 株式会社mov
- 株式会社New Innovations
- 株式会社Origami
- 株式会社PoliPoli
- 株式会社PREVENT
- 株式会社Psychic VR Lab
- 株式会社Recho
- 株式会社RevComm
- 株式会社SHOWROOM
- 株式会社SPeak
- 株式会社stu
- 株式会社subsclife
- 株式会社The Chain Museum
- 株式会社THINKR
- 株式会社Thirdverse
- 株式会社TOUCH TO GO
- 株式会社Veritas In Silico
- 株式会社ZOYI Corporation (Korea)
- 株式会社アラヤ
- 株式会社アンビリアル
- 株式会社エアロネクスト
- 株式会社オプティマインド
- 株式会社クリーマ
- 株式会社シェアリング・ビューティー
- 株式会社スペースデータ
- 株式会社ソフトギア
- 株式会社ソラジマ
- 株式会社タイミー
- 株式会社ツクレル
- 株式会社トリビュー
- 株式会社ナノエッグ
- 株式会社ハコスコ
- 株式会社プレースホルダ
- 株式会社ミラティブ
- 株式会社ユーフォリア
- 株式会社ライバー
- 株式会社代々木アニメーショングループ
- 株式会社運動通信社
Exited 23
- 5Rocks,Inc. (Korea)
- Aspectiva Ltd. (Israel)
- August Home Inc. (US)
- DAILY CO., LTD. (Korea)
- KidsDiary株式会社
- Mist Technologies株式会社
- Moxtra Inc. (US)
- イタンジ株式会社
- シンクランチ株式会社
- スマートキャンプ株式会社
- ログリー株式会社
- 株式会社AppBroadCast
- 株式会社Loco Partners
- 株式会社nanapi
- 株式会社Synamon
- 株式会社TOLOT
- 株式会社アイリッジ
- 株式会社ギフティ
- 株式会社ジモティー
- 株式会社つみき
- 株式会社ルクサ
- 株式会社レアジョブ
- 株式会社葵
Notable outcomes
IPOs and acquisitions of portfolio companies. Price shown only where published.
| Company | Type | Year | Acquirer or exchange | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 株式会社TOLOT | Acquisition | Sale (売却); buyer not stated on page | S3 | ||
| 5Rocks,Inc. (Korea) | Acquisition | Sale (売却); buyer not stated on page | S3 | ||
| 株式会社AppBroadCast | Acquisition | Sale (売却); buyer not stated on page | S3 | ||
| 株式会社ギフティ | IPO | IPO (exchange not stated on page) | S3 | ||
| 株式会社ルクサ | Acquisition | Sale (売却); buyer not stated on page | S3 | ||
| 株式会社葵 | Acquisition | Sale (売却); buyer not stated on page | S3 | ||
| 株式会社レアジョブ | IPO | IPO (exchange not stated on page) | S3 | ||
| 株式会社ジモティー | Acquisition | Sale (売却); buyer not stated on page | S3 | ||
| 株式会社nanapi | Acquisition | Sale (売却); buyer not stated on page | S3 | ||
| 株式会社つみき | Acquisition | Sale (売却); buyer not stated on page | S3 | ||
| ログリー株式会社 | IPO | IPO (exchange not stated on page) | S3 | ||
| スマートキャンプ株式会社 | Acquisition | Sale (売却); buyer not stated on page | S3 | ||
| シンクランチ株式会社 | Acquisition | Sale (売却); buyer not stated on page | S3 | ||
| 株式会社アイリッジ | IPO | IPO (exchange not stated on page) | S3 | ||
| Moxtra Inc. (US) | Acquisition | Sale (売却); buyer not stated on page | S3 |
Fund vehicles
| Vehicle | Size | Year | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KDDI Open Innovation Fund (1号) | JPY 5bn | 2012 | 運用総額50億円; 運用期間 to Feb 2024, 12 years | S2 |
| KDDI Open Innovation Fund 2号 | JPY 5bn | 運用総額50億円; to June 2028 | S2 | |
| KDDI Open Innovation Fund 3号 (KOIF3号) | JPY 30bn | 2018 | 運用総額300億円; launched April 2018 with Global Brain; to March 2030 | S2 |
| KDDI Open Innovation Fund V (5号) | JPY 5bn | 2025 | 運用総額50億円; AI and DeepTech; to April 2035 | S2 |
| KDDI Regional Initiatives Fund 1号 | JPY 3bn | 運用総額30億円; regional revitalization | S4 |
For founders
| Item | What the firm says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Stages | Seed, Series A | S4 |
| Beyond capital | Provision of KDDI group assets and business collaboration across a wide range of fields | S2 |
| Contact form | www.kddi.com/open-innovation-program/contact/ | S2 |
History
- KDDI sets up KDDI Open Innovation Fund (JPY 5.0bn planned), operated by Global Brain (1 Feb 2012).S5
- KOIF 3 established with Global Brain (April), raising the fund size from JPY 5.0bn to JPY 20.0bn at launch.S6
- KOIF V (5号) fund, JPY 5.0bn, for AI and DeepTech, term to April 2035.S2
- 157 companies invested as of 25 August 2026; latest entries OptQC (Aug 2026), Starlight Engine (Jul 2026).S3
Where sources disagree
Official pages
Read the firm's own pages for current information.
Sources
- S1KDDI Open Innovation Program contactFirm
- S2KDDI Open Innovation Fund (KDDI)Firm
- S3KDDI Open Innovation Fund portfolio (157 companies, investment month and fund)Firm
- S4Global Brain: KDDI fundsThird-party report
- S5KDDI 2012 release: establishment of KDDI Open Innovation FundParent company
- S6KDDI 2018 release: KDDI Open Innovation Fund 3 established with Global BrainParent company
- S7Global Brain officesThird-party report
- S8Global Brain members: Yasuhiko Yurimoto, Founder / CEOThird-party report
- S9GLOBIS person page: Tomohiro Ebata (KDDI, head of business development incl. Open Innovation Fund)Press
- S10Yasuhiko Yurimoto LinkedIn (search result; Global Brain post announces his personal LinkedIn)Third-party report
Disclaimer and corrections
Not affiliated. This page is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by KDDI Open Innovation Fund 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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