What Legend Partners does

Legend Partners (株式会社レジェンド・パートナーズ) is a Tokyo-based venture capital and business creation firm founded on March 11, 2014, headquartered in Roppongi, Minato-ku, with registered capital of 36.55 million yen. The firm operates a dual-engine model: (1) Venture Investment & Development, where it takes minority stakes in promising external startups at founding or early post-founding stages and provides deep consulting commitment, and (2) Business Creation & Development, where it identifies social problems domestically and internationally, organizes expert partners, takes majority stakes at company establishment, and develops new businesses end-to-end. Investment focus spans three sectors: real estate/space, cutting-edge technology, and medical/life sciences.

The firm's portfolio comprises approximately 20+ companies across Japan, the United States, and Israel, including two IPO exits (Accrete, WOODY), one buy-out (Cyber Security Cloud), and international investments in EQUIPBOARD, Invisible Technologies, Homma, Starcity, Articoolo, and PayKey. Two wholly/partially controlled subsidiaries — Coinspace (space technology services) and Kuratsugu (traditional Japanese house renovation) — demonstrate the business creation model in action. In 2019, Legend Partners established a joint venture, NES Inc. (NES株式会社), with Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank to manage startup investment funds at institutional scale, with CIO Nobuhiro Imagawa serving as NES Representative Director.

The firm is led by Representative Director Tomoaki Ishikawa (CEO-equivalent, since 2015, ex-Opt Inc. and Keio University), Investment Chief/Partner Nobuhiro Imagawa (CIO, since 2016, ex-Opt Ventures, University of Washington), and Founder/Chairman Tomohito Ebine (non-standing, Keio University and Sanno Institute MBA, previously President & CEO of Opt Inc. where he grew sales 150x). The firm generates revenue through investment returns (transaction fees/equity appreciation), business creation majority-stake returns, and consulting services to portfolio companies. No public pricing exists; deal terms are negotiated individually.

Name

Legend Partners

Legal name

株式会社レジェンド・パートナーズ

Website

https://legend-partners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Legend Partners is a Tokyo-based venture capital and business creation firm founded in 2014 that makes minority startup investments and creates majority-stake businesses in real estate/space, technology, and medical/life sciences across Japan, the US, and Israel, with ~20+ portfolio companies and a fund management JV with Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital and Business Incubation

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)

Keywords

• Venture capital investment
• Business creation
• Startup incubation
• Early-stage investment
• Portfolio development

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

Revenue model

1. Venture Investment Returns: Minority investments in external startup companies, providing capital at early stages with consulting support, generating returns through equity appreciation and exits.
2. Business Creation & Development: Majority-stake investments in newly established companies, where Legend Partners organizes expert partners and drives business development from inception.
3. Consulting Services: Deep consulting commitment to portfolio companies from early stages, providing strategic and operational guidance.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Legend Partners is a Tokyo-based venture investment and business creation firm that makes minority equity investments in early-stage external startups while providing deep consulting support, and also creates entirely new businesses by organizing field experts and taking majority stakes at company formation. The firm focuses on three sectors: real estate/space, cutting-edge technology, and medical/life sciences, with portfolio companies spanning Japan, the United States, and Israel.

Product overview

Legend Partners operates as a venture capital and business development firm offering two core services: Venture Investment & Development (providing minority investments and deep consulting to external startups from early stages) and Business Creation & Development (creating new businesses with majority ownership by organizing expert partners). The company focuses on three main sectors: Real Estate/Space, Cutting-edge Technology, and Medical/Healthcare. The portfolio includes specific ventures such as Coinspace (space technology) and Kuratsugu (traditional house renovation), alongside approximately 20+ portfolio companies spanning Japan, the US, and Israel.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Venture Investment & Development

Quantifiable outcome

• Helped Opt grow sales 150x over 9 years

Named customers23 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• F VenturesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerF Ventures organizes student entrepreneurship awareness events; Legend Partners' chairman Tomohito Ebine spoke at TORYUMON event to inspire student entrepreneurs.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• World Innovation Lab (WiL): Japan-US cross-border VC operating with a corporate LP base and sector-vertical focus. Directly comparable to Legend Partners' Japan-anchored, sector-focused, cross-border investment strategy.
• Spiral Capital: Japan-focused VC investing in technology-driven startups. Comparable in stage, sector focus, and use of corporate JV structures to deploy capital.
• JAFCO Group: Japan's largest venture capital firm, investing across stages and sectors with a similar focus on supporting Japanese startups to IPO. Comparable as a domestic VC competitor serving the same founder and LP ecosystem.
• Coral Capital: Tokyo-based early-stage VC with a Japan-US cross-border mandate. Directly comparable in firm size, stage focus, and geographic posture.
• East Ventures: Pan-Asian early-stage VC with deep Japan operations. Competes for similar seed-stage Japanese founders and shares a heavy investing/operating-support orientation.
• Global Brain: Tokyo-based VC investing in deep tech and tech-enabled startups across Japan and overseas. Highly comparable given similar cross-border mandate, technology focus, and early-stage orientation.
• Anri: Tokyo-based early-stage VC taking concentrated minority stakes in Japanese startups with deep founder support. Closely comparable in size, stage, and hands-on GTM to Legend Partners.
• Delight Ventures: Japanese early-stage VC with a sector-specialist and hands-on support model. Comparable as a domestic early-stage competitor to Legend Partners.

Broad incumbents

• MUFG Capital: Venture and growth capital arm of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. Comparable to Legend Partners' bank-affiliated fund structure (NES) and a competitor for institutional startup capital in Japan.
• SMBC Venture Capital: Venture arm of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, one of Japan's largest banking groups. Directly comparable to the NES JV structure as a bank-affiliated VC but at vastly larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments6 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Legend Partners