Nippon Venture Capital

What Nippon Venture Capital does

Nippon Venture Capital (NVCC, 日本ベンチャーキャピタル株式会社) is a Tokyo-headquartered, privately held venture capital firm founded in 1996 that invests capital and provides hands-on operational support to Japanese entrepreneurs and venture companies, with the stated goal of producing IPO outcomes. As of December 24, 2025, the firm reports 174 cumulative portfolio IPOs, making it one of the longer-tenured domestic VC franchises by exit count. NVCC operates a series of core flagship funds (NVCC1号 through NVCC10号, the most recent established in June 2024) alongside university-affiliated spinout vehicles, including the Kyoto University Venture NVCC 1号 (¥45B, 2007) and 2号 (¥54B, 2018), the Nagoya University & Tokai Region Wide-Area Venture Fund 1号 (¥25B, 2016), the Osaka University Venture NVCC 1号 (¥11B, 2019), and the Keihanna ATR Fund (¥47B, 2015). The firm frames itself as an "open innovation platform" mediating between startups, large Japanese corporates (e.g., Daiwa House Industry), and academic institutions, offering portfolio companies management seminars, corporate introductions, and access to the NVCC Venture Management Academy in addition to equity capital.

NVCC's revenue mechanics are typical of a closed-end VC: management fees on committed capital under management (estimated industry-standard ~2%) plus performance-based carried interest on successful exits. The firm is privately held with 11–50 employees and no disclosed parent, secondary transactions, or public-market listing. Distribution is direct via fund vehicles, supplemented by university partnership channels, regional bank co-investment (Saitama Resona Bank / SME Infrastructure Development Organization, 2007), and occasional syndication with major bank-affiliated VCs (Nissay Capital, SMBC Venture Capital, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, as observed in the December 2025 SALESCORE Series B). Leadership currently rests with President & Representative Director Tagaya Minoru (appointed June 2019), with Okuhara Shuichi serving as Chairman; both have multi-year NVCC tenures, and external corporate board representation includes Shionogi CEO Teishiro Tashiro. The firm does not offer a standalone software or SaaS product and is not a technology company; its competitive differentiation rests on relationship networks, serial fund execution, and an institutional track record rather than proprietary technology or AI-driven investment processes.

Name

Nippon Venture Capital

Legal name

日本ベンチャーキャピタル株式会社

Website

https://nvcc.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Nippon Venture Capital is a Tokyo-based venture capital firm founded in 1996 that invests in Japanese startups across university-spinout, technology, healthcare, and growth stages, reporting 174 cumulative portfolio IPOs through serial flagship and university-affiliated funds.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525), Miscellaneous Financial Investment Activities (523999)

SIC

Investors, Nec (6799)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYFSANAAAF

Corporate Venture Capital (CVC)

Financial & Insurance/Private Equity & Venture Capital/Venture Capital Firms

SECONDARYFSANAHAF

Corporate Strategic Partnership & Ecosystem Investment Arms

Financial & Insurance/Private Equity & Venture Capital/Corporate Venture Capital (CVC)

Keywords

• Venture capital investment
• Startup funding
• IPO preparation
• University venture funds
• Hands-on support

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Fund Management Fees: NVCC generates revenue through management fees charged on the funds it manages, typically calculated as a percentage of committed capital under management.
2. Carried Interest (Success Fees): Performance-based carried interest from successful portfolio company exits and IPOs, representing a share of profits from successful investments.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Nippon Venture Capital (NVCC) is a Japanese venture capital firm that invests capital in early-stage Japanese startups and venture companies through multiple investment funds, while providing hands-on management support, business development assistance, and access to a broad network of large Japanese corporations and universities. The firm operates a series of NVCC investment funds plus university-affiliated venture funds, with 174 portfolio company IPOs achieved cumulatively as of December 2025.

Product overview

Nippon Venture Capital (NVCC) is a Japanese venture capital firm established in 1996 that provides investment funding and hands-on support services to entrepreneurs and venture companies. The firm operates multiple investment funds (including NVCC1号 through NVCC10号 and university-originated venture funds) and does not offer a standalone software product or SaaS platform. The firm's primary offerings are investment funds, investment management services, and ecosystem support programs including management seminars and startup networking events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NVCC Series Investment Funds (NVCC No.1 through No.10 Investment Business Limited Partnerships) A series of investment funds managed by Nippon Venture Capital that directly invest capital into Japanese venture companies across multiple industries, with the most recent fund (No.10) established in June 2024.
• Kyoto University Venture NVCC No.1 Investment Partnership A 45 billion yen university-affiliated investment partnership established in 2007 with Kyoto University to promote entrepreneurship and commercialize research from Kyoto University.
• Kyoto University Venture NVCC No.2 Investment Partnership A 54 billion yen follow-on university-affiliated investment partnership with Kyoto University to continue supporting ventures from Kyoto University research.
• Osaka University Venture NVCC No.1 Investment Partnership An 11 billion yen university-affiliated investment partnership established in 2019 with Osaka University to support ventures originating from Osaka University research.
• Nagoya University & Tokai Region Universities Wide-Area Venture Fund No.1 A 25 billion yen regional university venture fund established in 2016 with Nagoya University and four other Tokai-region universities to support regional academic entrepreneurship.
• Keihanna Academic Science City ATR Venture NVCC Investment Partnership A 47 billion yen fund established in 2015 with ATR to commercialize technology developed at Keihanna Science City.
• Saitama Growth Enterprise Support Fund Investment Partnership A 20 billion yen regional growth-enterprise support fund established in 2007 with the SME Infrastructure Development Organization and Saitama Resona Bank.
• NVCC Seminars and Events Program

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• 大和ハウス工業株式会社 (Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd.)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 September 2020Daiwa House, a leading Japanese general housing manufacturer with sales of 4 trillion yen, participates in NVCC's ecosystem through NVCC management seminars. Takeuchi Takeo, Chairman and CEO, has shared insights on innovation and business philosophy at NVCC events.
• 大阪大学 (Osaka University)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2019Established 阪大ベンチャーNVCC1号投資事業有限責任組合 with 11 billion yen fund size in 2019 to promote entrepreneurship from Osaka University research.
• 名古屋大学・東海地区大学 (Nagoya University & Tokai Region Universities)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 March 2016Established 名古屋大学・東海地区大学広域ベンチャー1号投資事業有限責任組合 with 25 billion yen fund size in 2016, in partnership with Nagoya University, Gifu University, Toyohashi University of Technology, Nagoya Institute of Technology, and Mie University.
• 株式会社国際電気通信基礎技術研究所 (ATR)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 February 2015Established けいはんな学研都市ATRベンチャーNVCC投資事業有限責任組合 with 47 billion yen fund size in 2015 to commercialize technology developed by ATR in Keihanna Science City.
• 京都大学 (Kyoto University)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 August 2007Established 京大ベンチャーNVCC1号投資事業有限責任組合 with 45 billion yen fund size in 2007 to promote entrepreneurship from Kyoto University research. Followed by 京大ベンチャーNVCC2号投資事業有限責任組合 with 54 billion yen in 2018.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• JAFCO Group: JAFCO is Japan's largest venture capital firm and a publicly traded incumbent with ¥400B+ AUM across multiple vintages. It operates broadly across all stages and sectors in Japan, making it a comparable peer in the Japanese VC ecosystem with substantially larger scale.
• JIC Capital: JIC Capital is a Japanese government-affiliated growth capital investor, operating with substantially larger capital base. It is a broad incumbent in Japanese VC, focusing on later-stage and growth capital where NVCC's smaller fund sizes may not compete.

Direct peers

• Nissay Capital: Nissay Capital is the corporate venture capital arm of Nippon Life Insurance, focused on Japanese venture investments. It is a direct peer that NVCC has co-invested alongside (e.g., SALESCORE Series B 2025), operating in the same Japanese VC market with similar sector coverage.
• SMBC Venture Capital: SMBC Venture Capital is the CVC arm of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation investing in Japanese startups. It is a direct peer participating in the same rounds as NVCC (e.g., SALESCORE Series B), targeting similar Japanese growth-stage companies with corporate backing.
• Mitsubishi UFJ Capital: Mitsubishi UFJ Capital is the corporate venture arm of MUFG Bank, one of Japan's largest banks. A direct peer that co-invested with NVCC in SALESCORE's Series B, operating in the same Japanese venture market with similar stage and sector focus.
• Globis Capital Partners: Globis Capital Partners is a Japan-focused independent venture capital firm investing across early to growth stages. It is a direct peer in the independent Japanese VC space, with similar focus on backing Japanese founders and producing IPO outcomes.
• ANRI: ANRI is an early-stage venture capital firm in Japan focused on seed and Series A investments in technology startups. It is a direct peer competing for the same Japanese founder/early-stage deal flow that NVCC targets through its newer funds.
• Daiwa Corporate Investment: Daiwa Corporate Investment is the corporate venture arm of Daiwa Securities Group, investing in Japanese startups and growth companies. It is a direct peer in Japanese VC with corporate backing and similar focus on Japanese growth-stage opportunities.
• Incubate Fund: Incubate Fund is an independent early-stage Japanese VC firm. It is a direct peer competing for seed and early-stage Japanese venture deals with similar independent ownership structure to NVCC.

Emerging players

• World Innovation Lab (WiL): WiL is a venture capital firm investing in Japan, US, and other markets with corporate LPs including Japanese giants. It is an emerging player with broader geographic reach than NVCC but comparable corporate LP structure and Japan focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments228 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Nippon Venture Capital