What Incubate Fund does

Incubate Fund KK is an independent, Japan-headquartered venture capital firm founded in 2010 that specializes in seed-stage investment in technology startups. The firm operates a multi-vehicle capital platform comprising a flagship seed fund, the ¥30 billion IF Growth fund (May 2025) targeting Series A and later growth-stage investments, and the IFLP Fund-of-Funds line (IFLP1 ¥6.9B, IFLP2 ¥10B, IFLP3 established 2025) that LP-invests in independent seed VCs, functioning as a 'GP of GPs.' Cumulatively, the firm has raised and deployed more than ¥150 billion across over 800 portfolio investments, with 29 realized IPOs and 80 M&A exits from a 290+ active portfolio.

The firm has built a community-building layer that operates alongside its capital deployment: the annual Incubate Camp (19 editions since 2010, 280+ alumni, ¥50B+ raised by alumni post-program), the Blue Field Program for corporate-startup collaboration, IF Women's Community, Circuit Meeting, and the Asia Leaders Summit. Revenue is generated from three streams: (1) annual management fees (typically ~2% of committed capital) across its multiple fund vehicles, (2) carried interest on the 29 IPOs and 80 M&A exits from its active portfolio, and (3) capital gains on direct equity stakes. Geographically, the firm extends coverage beyond Japan via Incubate Fund India (founded 2016), Incubate Fund Brazil (2021), a Singapore-based operations team, and the KK Fund partnership for Southeast Asia, supported by 60+ team members and institutional banking partnerships (Mizuho Bank, SMBC Asia Rising Fund JV).

The firm was founded by five co-founders (Akaura, Homma, Wada, Murata, and McInerney) and has maintained an independent ownership structure while scaling capital and team. Its core product is not a technology but an investment platform, with the FoF vehicles (IFLP) and the Incubate Camp community as its most distinctive architectural features relative to standard seed VCs.

Name

Incubate Fund

Legal name

インキュベイトファンド株式会社 (Incubate Fund KK)

Website

https://incubatefund.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Incubate Fund KK is a Japan-based independent venture capital firm founded in 2010 that specializes in seed-stage technology investments. It operates a multi-vehicle platform including a flagship seed fund, the IF Growth fund, and the IFLP Fund-of-Funds program, supporting 290+ portfolio companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Seed-Stage Venture Capital

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM), Emerging Manager / Seeding Platforms (Multi-Manager) (FSANAGAF), Micro-VC & Angel Funds (FSANAAAI)

Keywords

• Seed-stage venture capital
• Startup investment
• Fund-of-funds management
• Growth equity funding
• Founder community building

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Fund management fees: Recurring management fees on assets under management across multiple flagship and partner funds, including the ¥30B IF Growth Fund (2025) and ¥20.5B seed fund (2025).
2. Capital gains on portfolio exits: Returns from IPOs (29 portfolio IPOs including SQUEEZE, ispace, Schoo, Medley, GameWith, Pixie Dust Technologies) and M&A exits (80 portfolio M&A exits).
3. Carried interest on successful exits: Performance-based share of profits from successful fund realizations, typical of VC fund economics.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Incubate Fund is an independent Japan-headquartered venture capital firm founded in 2010 that specializes in seed and early-stage startup investments as a lead investor, guided by a "First Round, Lead Position, Build Industries" philosophy. The firm manages multiple fund vehicles including flagship seed funds, the IFLP fund-of-funds line, and the IF Growth fund, while operating accelerator and community programs (Incubate Camp, Blue Field Program, IF Women's Community, Asia Leaders Summit) to support portfolio founders.

Product overview

Incubate Fund KK is a Japan-headquartered independent venture capital firm (founded 2010) that operates as a multi-program platform rather than a single product. Its architecture combines (1) seed-stage flagship venture investment, (2) the IFLP fund-of-funds line that LP-invests in young independent seed VCs, and (3) the IF Growth fund for growth-stage rounds. Around this core, the firm has built a community/programs layer that includes the annual Incubate Camp accelerator, the Circuit Meeting and Saikyo Inquiry Form for finance-readiness support, the Blue Field Program (BFP) for pre-founders, Incubate Academy for students, the IF Women's Community (IWC) for women founders, and the Asia Leaders Summit networking event. As of the latest disclosures, the portfolio totals 290 companies, with 80 M&A exits and 29 IPOs, and cumulative AUM reached approximately ¥98.3 billion (IFLP2 close) plus the ¥30 billion-scale IF Growth vehicle.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Incubate Camp: Entrepreneur community and acceleration program launched by Incubate Fund in 2010 for early-stage founders.
• Incubate Fund India
• Incubate Fund Brazil
• IF Growth

Products and services

• Seed-stage Flagship Venture Investment Lead-position seed and early-stage venture capital investments into Japanese startups, led by five General Partners (Tohru Akaura, Masahiko Homma, Keisuke Wada, Yusuke Murata, Paul McInerney). Portfolio totals 290 companies with 80 M&A exits and 29 IPOs.
• IFLP Fund-of-Funds Multi-vehicle LP investment program (IFLP1 ¥6.9B in 2018, IFLP2 ¥10B closed 2023, IFLP3 launched 2025) that allocates capital to young, independent Japanese seed-stage VC GPs to expand the population of General Partners in Japan's seed ecosystem.
• IF Growth Fund Growth-stage venture fund established 2025 (approximately ¥30 billion in scale) targeting domestic growth-stage startups, particularly in deep-tech. Operates in parallel with a ¥20.5 billion seed fund.
• IF Growth 1 Fund First vehicle of the IF Growth line. Mizuho Bank LP commitment deepening debt/equity financing support and new-industry creation for Japanese startups.
• Incubate Camp Signature annual 1-night, 2-day joint entrepreneur/investor business retreat (held since 2010) pairing 16 selected seed/early-stage founders with GP/partner-class guest VCs to refine pitches and unlock seed funding. Has scaled across 18+ editions with cumulative founder participation exceeding 280 and post-program funding exceeding ¥50 billion.
• Circuit Meeting Half-day business consultation and financing program for seed-stage entrepreneurs offering 1-on-1 sessions with Incubate Fund GPs and partner-fund GPs in a single afternoon, reducing the friction of repeatedly pitching to VCs.
• Blue Field Program (BFP) Closed-door monthly study-group community hosted at the Incubate Fund office for aspiring founders. Members develop scalable business concepts, present pitches to GP Keisuke Wada and partner-fund GPs, and collaborate in a member-only Slack workspace.
• Incubate Academy University/graduate-student lecture program in which Incubate Fund GPs teach about the VC industry, founder-VC dynamics, and Japan/overseas startup trends, with the goal of building the next generation of VC talent.
• IF Women's Community (IWC) Community run by female members of Incubate Fund for women entrepreneurs and aspiring women founders. Built on a Slack workspace; offers peer networking, founder office hours with external VCs, and events with senior entrepreneurs; surpassed 150 members by mid-2023.
• Asia Leaders Summit Invitation-only annual summit organized by GP Masahiko Homma (Singapore-based), gathering ~200 top-tier VCs and tech CEOs from Japan, China, ASEAN, and India. Rotates location across Asia each year.
• Saikyo Inquiry Form (最強の問い合わせフォーム) Founder-facing web form that books a 15-minute direct consultation with an Incubate Fund capitalist for pitch-book review and fundraising-readiness advice; self-reported 100% response rate.

Quantifiable outcome

• 290+ portfolio companies, 29 IPOs, 80 M&A exits
• +2 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor, flagship and strategic.

• Kinki UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 December 2025Comprehensive partnership agreement signed March 2022; Masahiko Homma serves as Visiting Professor at Kinki University. Jointly hosted business plan contests for graduate students.
• Incubate Fund Asia (India-focused arm)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 August 2025Incubate Fund Asia expanded India focus in 2025; part of a strategic shift by Japanese VCs toward Indian markets due to stronger IPO/exit performance. Operates alongside Incubate Fund India.
• Mitsubishi UFJ Capital (Link Capital)strategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 May 2025Link Capital is a spin-off VC founded by former Incubate Fund member Aono, supported via IFLP Fund-of-Funds. Demonstrates the GP-incubation relationship.
• Incubate Fund BrazilflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2021Incubate Fund Brazil established in 2021, led by Mauricio Omura, as a regional entity for Brazilian seed investments under the broader Incubate Fund umbrella.
• Incubate Fund IndiaflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Incubate Fund India established 2016 in India, led by GP Nao Murakami, supporting Indian startup ecosystem with dedicated India-focused funds.
• KK FundflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015KK Fund is a Southeast Asia-focused seed VC founded by Incubate Fund partners Koichi Saito and Kuan Hsu in 2015, supported via IFLP Fund-of-Funds. Functions as the regional Southeast Asia vehicle.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• JAFCO: Japan's largest listed venture capital firm with ¥300B+ AUM across multi-stage funds. Founder/GP Akaura spent 8.5 years at JAFCO. Comparable as the dominant domestic VC peer offering both seed and growth capital, though JAFCO is broader/older and publicly listed rather than independent seed-focused.
• Global Brain: Large independent Japanese VC with deep-tech focus and overseas presence (US, Europe, Asia). Comparable as a lead investor in deep-tech/fund-of-funds adjacent strategy, though Global Brain operates at larger AUM and broader stage range than Incubate Fund.
• World Innovation Lab (WiL): Cross-border (US-Japan) VC with growth-stage focus, providing Japanese startups international expansion support. Comparable as a Japan-anchored VC with overseas reach, though WiL is larger and more growth-stage oriented.

Direct peers

• ANRI: Tokyo-based independent seed-stage VC with a strong founder-community focus (ANRI Founder Gym) and similar 'First Round, Lead' thesis. Most direct peer in Japan by stage focus and deal size, competing for the same Japanese seed founders and running overlapping portfolio community events.
• Genesia Ventures: Tokyo-headquartered early-stage VC active in Japan and Southeast Asia, focused on seed and Series A rounds. Has co-invested with Incubate Fund (e.g., Boost Health ¥150M seed), making it both a co-investor and a competitor for the same deal flow.
• Skyland Ventures: Independent Japan-focused seed VC (Fukuoka and Tokyo). Directly comparable stage focus, seed-lead strategy, and founder community emphasis; competes for the same early-stage deal flow especially in regional Japan.
• B Dash Ventures: Tokyo-based early-stage VC running the B Dash Camp accelerator. Has co-invested with Incubate Fund (e.g., Future Space Transport System ¥3.2B third-party allocation) and directly competes in the Japanese seed and Series A market.
• Coral Capital: Tokyo-headquartered seed-stage VC with a strong founder-support platform and community focus. Directly comparable stage focus, deal size, and 'lead investor' thesis targeting Japanese early-stage founders.
• UTEC (University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners): Tokyo-based deep-tech/University of Tokyo-affiliated VC focusing on science-driven startups. Has co-invested with Incubate Fund (e.g., Powerwave ¥910M Series A). Comparable as a deep-tech-active Japan VC, with stronger academic-tech sourcing angle.

Emerging players

• KK Fund: Southeast Asia-focused seed VC co-founded by Incubate Fund partners Koichi Saito and Kuan Hsu in 2015. Functions as Incubate Fund's regional Southeast Asia vehicle via IFLP support; operates in adjacent geographies and shares GP-level ties.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/IncubateFund
• Facebookfacebook.com/incubatefund

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments400 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Incubate Fund