What Delight Ventures does

Delight Ventures is an independent Japanese venture capital firm founded in 2019 by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, with operational presence in the San Francisco Bay Area through Managing Partners Dai Watanabe and Shuhei Kawasaki. The firm is led by DeNA founder Tomoko Namba as Managing Partner alongside former DeNA executives Shintaro Asako, Ryo Bando, and Shuhei Kawasaki, with Global Advisors Ann Miura-Ko (Floodgate/Mayfield) and Craig Sherman (Meritech Capital). DeNA serves as founding LP and strategic ecosystem partner.

The firm operates two core business segments. Venture Investment deploys pure equity capital (JPY 10–100 million tickets) into seed to Series A startups with decision timelines of two weeks to two months. Venture Builder co-founds companies alongside professionals who retain their day jobs, taking approximately 20% equity in exchange for in-house engineering product development support; this segment is operationalized through three programs—V-ShIP (AI x vertical industry co-founding with up to JPY 50M investment), M-ShIP (PEST-driven momentum shift), and DelightX (San Francisco-based AI accelerator offering up to USD 60,000 per founder). The firm manages four fund vehicles across two affiliated GPs (Delight Capital and Delight Builder), with the most recent—Venture Builder Fund III—closing at approximately JPY 5 billion in November 2025 with explicit AI-thematic concentration.

As of November 2025 the portfolio comprised 90 companies spanning AI, biotech (Cosomil liquid biopsy), renewable energy (Tensor Energy), construction SaaS (CraftBank), agri-food (Dish Will), supply chain AI (VALANCE), and consumer (OSHIAI, ABABA). The firm targets Japanese founders building globally competitive businesses and generates returns through carried interest on liquidity events, supplemented by management fees across fund vehicles.

Name

Delight Ventures

Legal name

株式会社デライト・ベンチャーズ

Website

https://delight-ventures.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Delight Ventures is an independent Japanese venture capital firm founded in 2019 that invests seed-to-Series A equity and co-founds startups with in-house engineering support, serving Japanese entrepreneurs targeting global markets through venture investment and venture builder programs including a San Francisco AI accelerator.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital Services

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)

Keywords

• Venture capital investing
• Seed stage funding
• Venture builder services
• Startup incubation programs
• AI startup investment

Headquarters

HQ city

Shibuya

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Returns (Carried Interest): Delight Ventures generates returns through carried interest on successful exits of portfolio companies. The firm invests equity in seed to Series A startups and realizes returns upon liquidity events (IPO, M&A). Both Venture Investment (pure equity investment) and Venture Builder (co-founding and equity investment) models contribute to this return stream.
2. Co-founding / Joint Venture Model: Venture Builder model involves taking an approximately 20% equity stake in exchange for providing product development support (engineers co-develop initial products with entrepreneurs) and startup incubation services. This serves as both a support mechanism and a revenue/equity generation model for the fund.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Delight Ventures is an independent Japanese venture capital firm that invests seed to Series A equity capital in Japanese startups and provides co-founding/venture builder support with in-house engineering resources. It runs two business lines (Venture Investment and Venture Builder) across multiple funds, including a JPY 5 billion Builder Fund III formed in November 2025. As of November 2025, the firm has invested in 90 portfolio companies combined.

Product overview

Delight Ventures operates two core business segments: Venture Investment (pure capital investment in seed to early-stage startups) and Venture Builder (co-entrepreneurship support with hands-on product development). Under Venture Builder, they run three incubation/acceleration programs: V-ShIP for vertical industry × AI co-founding, M-ShIP for momentum shift new industry creation, and DelightX for US cross-border AI startup acceleration in San Francisco. The firm manages multiple investment funds including Fund III (¥5 billion, November 2025) for venture building activities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DelightX: Global AI startup creation program in San Francisco Bay Area with maximum USD 60,000 funding and mentorship from top-tier VCs and serial entrepreneurs.
• V-ShIP
• M-ShIP

Products and services

• Venture Investment Seed to Series A equity investment business that invests in promising Japanese startups (JPY 10M–100M ticket sizes) and supports their growth for global expansion. Targets entrepreneurs who want to build world-class businesses from Japan, providing capital, DeNA network access, and post-investment operational guidance. Decision speed is 2 weeks to 2 months.
• Venture Builder Co-entrepreneurship support program that enables working professionals to start businesses alongside their current jobs, taking an approximately 20% equity stake in exchange for in-house engineering product co-development. Manages V-ShIP, M-ShIP, and DelightX sub-programs. As of November 2025, 34 companies have been built through this model.
• V-ShIP (Vertical Shift Incubation Program) Incubation program combining industry domain expertise with AI, supporting co-founders with up to JPY 1 million verification funds and up to JPY 50 million investment for vertical industry transformation. Targets employed professionals with deep industry expertise looking to build AI × industry startups.
• M-ShIP (Momentum Shift Incubation Program) Incubation program supporting entrepreneurs who create new industries based on social structural changes driven by PEST (Political, Economic, Social, Technological) factors, with investment amount negotiated relative to each venture's needs. Targets founders building momentum-shift businesses from macro trends.
• DelightX San Francisco-based acceleration program supporting Japanese entrepreneurs in launching AI startups globally, providing up to USD 60,000 funding, mentorship from top-tier VCs and serial entrepreneurs, and integration into the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Targets Japanese founders building AI startups from day one in the US.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90 portfolio companies invested as of November 2025
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• 株式会社デライト・ビルダー (Delight Builder)coreOthers · 1 March 2023Delight Builder serves as the GP for Venture Builder Funds 2 and 3, managing co-founding and incubation operations. Related entity within the Delight Ventures ecosystem.
• 株式会社デライト・キャピタル (Delight Capital)coreOthers · 1 September 2019Delight Capital serves as the General Partner (GP) for Fund 2, managing the fund's investment operations. Related entity within the Delight Ventures ecosystem.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• World Innovation Lab (WiL): Japan-US cross-border VC investing in early-to-growth stage startups. Comparable cross-border orientation and Japan-anchored thesis; competes for similar Japanese founders targeting US markets.
• Globis Capital Partners: Tokyo-based early-stage VC. Comparable stage focus, Japanese-centric thesis, and operator-investor DNA. Often co-invests alongside Delight Ventures in Japanese startups.
• DNX Ventures: Japanese VC focused on B2B SaaS and developer tools startups with US expansion support. Directly comparable to Delight's venture investment thesis and frequently co-invests with the firm (e.g., Asterminds).
• UTEC (University of Tokyo Edge Capital): Tokyo-based early-stage VC specializing in deep tech (synthetic biology, AI, materials). Comparable as a Japanese early-stage investor with technical founder focus; has co-invested in Kousomil alongside Delight.
• ANRI: Tokyo-based seed-stage VC with a strong focus on tech and AI startups. Comparable as a Japanese early-stage investor with similar founder-friendly positioning; has co-invested with Delight in Kousomil.
• Global Brain: Leading Japanese independent VC investing from seed through growth stages. Directly comparable: frequently co-invests with Delight Ventures (e.g., co-led CUSTA's Pre-Series A) and shares deal flow in Japanese and Southeast Asian startups.
• Angel Bridge: Tokyo-based seed-stage VC. Comparable stage focus and Japanese founder base; has co-invested in CraftBank (Series B) and Logomix alongside Delight Ventures.

Broad incumbents

• JAFCO: Japan's largest and most established VC firm with broad stage and sector coverage. Comparable as a major Japanese VC but operates at significantly larger scale with broader mandate; has co-invested in Delight portfolio companies (Logomix).
• SMBC Venture Capital: Venture arm of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. Comparable as a Japanese VC with deeper institutional backing; has co-invested with Delight Ventures (e.g., VALANCE seed round).
• Mitsubishi UFJ Capital: Venture arm of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. Comparable as a Japanese institutional VC with broader corporate mandate; co-invested alongside Delight Ventures in VALANCE and Logomix.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/Delight_VC

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments77 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Delight Ventures