DBJ Capital

What DBJ Capital does

DBJ Capital Co., Ltd. (DBJキャピタル株式会社, DBA: DBJ-CAP) is a Tokyo-based venture capital firm and the wholly-owned subsidiary of Development Bank of Japan (DBJ / 株式会社日本政策投資銀行), a Japanese government-backed policy financial institution. The firm traces its venture capital operations to 1996 through predecessor entity Shinsei Investment and was reorganized and rebranded as DBJ Capital in 2010, at which time the DBJ Capital Investment Limited Partnership was established with total committed capital of 473.2 billion yen (~$3.0-3.2B USD). DBJ Capital serves as the unlimited liability general partner, while DBJ serves as the sole limited partner. The firm operates with a lean team of 10 investment professionals from its headquarters in Otemachi Financial City South Tower, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, and is led by Representative Director and CEO Kurabayashi Susumu (appointed March 2025).

DBJ Capital deploys capital across seed/early-stage investments as its baseline, while also actively pursuing follow-on investments (追加投資) at middle and later stages. The firm targets domestic Japanese startups across five explicit category pillars: Enterprise, Consumer, Deep Tech, Climate Tech, and Bio & Healthcare, with a portfolio exceeding 100 companies. Active verticals include regenerative medicine and cell therapy (Megakaryon, Cellusion, RestoreVision, T Cell Nouveau), genomics and radiopharmaceuticals (TL Genomics, RadioNano Therapeutics), fusion energy (Kyoto Fusioneering), space and robotics (GITAI, Trajectory, DigitalBlast), mobility (MaaS Tech Japan, Sorajima), AI-themed (J-CAT, Jiffcy, FastLabel, AI inside/Aiforce legacy), and consumer/wellness (MOSH, SOZOW, Timers). The firm has also begun selective international deployment, with a direct investment in Vietnamese edtech Vuihoc (VH Edtech Pte. Ltd., December 2025) and indirect exposure via commitments to international VC funds.

The business model is conventional venture capital fund management — earning management fees on committed/invested capital plus carried interest on realized exits. Multiple portfolio companies have achieved IPO on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and the firm has executed strategic exits via trade sales (e.g., A-Traction to Asahi Intec, March 2021). The firm has been recognized by AMED (Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development) as an accredited VC under its Drug Discovery Startup Ecosystem initiative, and by NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization) under its R&D-type Startup Support Program — both designations that channel government co-investment into DBJ Capital-backed startups. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed.

Name

DBJ Capital

Legal name

DBJキャピタル株式会社（DBJ Capital Co., Ltd.）

Website

https://www.dbj-cap.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DBJ Capital Co., Ltd. is a Tokyo-based venture capital firm and wholly-owned subsidiary of Development Bank of Japan, managing a 473.2 billion yen fund that provides seed-to-later-stage investments to Japanese startups across enterprise, consumer, deep tech, climate tech, and bio & healthcare sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Other Financial Vehicles (525990), All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Strategic Real Assets & Infrastructure Venture Investing (FSANAHAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Corporate Strategic Partnership & Ecosystem Investment Arms (FSANAHAF)

Keywords

• Venture capital investments
• Seed-stage equity funding
• Growth-stage venture capital
• Follow-on investments
• Limited partnership fund management

Headquarters

HQ city

Otemachi

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Investment Management: DBJ Capital generates returns through managing venture capital investments in domestic startups and providing capital to VC funds domestically and internationally. The firm operates the DBJ Capital Investment Business Limited Partnership with total committed capital of 473.2 billion yen.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Core offering

DBJ Capital operates a single venture capital fund — the DBJ Capital Investment Business Limited Partnership (DBJキャピタル 投資事業有限責任組合) with 473.2 billion yen in committed capital — through which it makes equity investments in Japanese startups from seed/early-stage to middle/later-stage add-ons. The firm manages portfolio growth using the DBJ Group's industry knowledge and partner network, and lends credibility to investees via its policy-based financial institution parentage.

Product overview

DBJ Capital operates as the venture capital subsidiary of Development Bank of Japan (DBJ), offering a single unified investment fund structure. The core offering is the DBJ Capital Investment Fund Limited Partnership (DBJキャピタル 投資事業有限責任組合), which provides stage-agnostic, long-term investment support to Japanese startups. The firm makes seed/early-stage investments as the baseline while actively pursuing追加投資 (add-on investments) at middle and later stages. DBJ Group's deep industry knowledge, extensive partner network spanning Japanese regions to global markets, and the credibility of the DBJ Group complement the financial backing to accelerate portfolio company growth.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DBJ Capital Investment Business Limited Partnership (DBJキャピタル 投資事業有限責任組合) The core investment fund vehicle operated by DBJ Capital, providing long-term investment support to Japanese startups across all growth stages from seed/early-stage through middle/later-stage add-on investments. The fund has total committed capital of 473.2 billion yen, with DBJ Capital as the general partner and DBJ as the limited partner.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Coral Capital: Coral Capital is a Japan-focused seed/early-stage VC that has co-invested with DBJ Capital in deals such as Oceanic Constellations. It overlaps on early-stage Japanese startup investing but is smaller, independently managed, and lacks the policy-bank CVC structure that DBJ Capital operates under.
• ANRI: ANRI is a Tokyo-based early-stage VC backing Japanese founders. It competes in the same deal universe as DBJ Capital but is independent, smaller, and primarily seed-stage, whereas DBJ Capital is stage-agnostic and backed by a policy financial institution.

Direct peers

• Globis Capital Partners: Globis Capital is a leading Japanese independent VC that co-invests with DBJ Capital (e.g., Oceanic Constellations Series B) and shares a similar stage-agnostic investment approach. Both firms target Japanese startups but Globis operates as an independent manager rather than a policy-bank CVC arm.
• MUFG Innovation Partners: MUFG Innovation Partners is the venture investment arm of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, structurally analogous to DBJ Capital as a financial-institution CVC. Both deploy capital from a parent financial institution into Japanese startups and benefit from credibility advantages linked to their banking parents.
• SMBC Venture Capital: SMBC Venture Capital is the CVC arm of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and a direct comparable: both are wholly-owned VC subsidiaries of large Japanese financial institutions, invest across stages, and target Japanese startups in similar sector baskets.
• JAFCO Group: JAFCO is Japan's largest independent venture capital firm investing across stages and sectors. It is comparable to DBJ Capital because both deploy institutional capital into Japanese startups from seed/early to later stages and target overlapping categories including deep tech and biotech.
• SBI Investment: SBI Investment is a major Japanese VC operating multiple funds across stages with an affiliated broker-dealer (SBI Securities). It is comparable to DBJ Capital as a domestic multi-stage VC with sector breadth, though SBI's capital base and exit capabilities differ structurally.
• INCJ (Japan Investment Corporation / Innovation Network Corporation of Japan): INCJ is a government-backed innovation fund successor that deploys capital into Japanese deep tech and life sciences startups. It is comparable to DBJ Capital because both are policy-aligned capital providers operating at the intersection of industrial strategy and venture investing, and both have made major commitments to sectors like biotech and materials.
• Japan Asia Investment Co., Ltd. (JAIC): JAIC is a Japanese venture and growth capital firm with deep ties to Japanese corporates. It is comparable to DBJ Capital as a domestic Japanese VC with multi-stage capabilities and corporate-investor relationships, and one DBJ Capital director previously led JAIC's strategic CVC business.

Broad incumbents

• Nissay Capital (Nippon Life Insurance CVC): Nissay Capital is the venture investment arm of Nippon Life Insurance, a major Japanese institutional investor. It is comparable in that both it and DBJ Capital deploy insurance/banking-affiliated LP capital into Japanese startups, though Nissay operates more broadly across buyouts and growth equity.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments188 records

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

Frequently asked questions about DBJ Capital