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Carbide Ventures
Carbide Ventures is an early-stage investment firm founded by former operators from Treasure Data, an enterprise customer data platform acquired by Arm.
Carbide Ventures
Carbide Ventures is an early-stage investment firm founded by former operators from Treasure Data, an enterprise customer data platform acquired by Arm. The firm’s general partners — Weirich, Yoshikawa, Kengo Horiuchi, Pankaj Tibrewal, and Stephen Lee — bring experience scaling companies from zero to over $100M in annual recurring revenue. The underlying capital source is not publicly disclosed; the firm may be a single-family office or an independent venture firm. The firm makes high-conviction investments at pre-seed, seed, and Series A stages across B2B enterprise software, AI/ML, fintech, and healthcare. Known portfolio positions include Plaud (ambient AI hardware, invested 2025), Lumber (construction back office, 2023), and OfferFit (acquired by Braze in 2025) (per the firm's website). Carbide also lists holdings in QuEra Computing (quantum computing, invested 2023), Calyptia (acquired by Chronosphere in 2023), and Dyad (AI for healthcare, invested 2022). Geographically, the firm invests across North America, Europe, and Asia, with a stated emphasis on the US-Japan corridor. As of 2025, Carbide employs nine investment professionals across offices in Palo Alto and Tokyo. The team includes seven general partners, one partner, and one principal. AUM is not disclosed. In 2025 the firm added portfolio companies including Plaud, LakeFusion, and WALT AI (per the firm's website). The firm also features Special Limited Partner Bill Tai, a venture capitalist since 1991 whose prior investments include Zoom and Canva. Carbide differentiates itself by having a team composed entirely of former operators — not career financiers — who have built multiple unicorns. The firm offers hands-on support across go-to-market, product, technology, and finance, and actively helps portfolio companies enter the Japanese market. Its syndicate-like structure with a small number of general partners and a special limited partner positions it as a hybrid between a traditional venture firm and a family office operating company.
General information
Firm type
Family Office
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Palo Alto
Corporate office
526 Bryant St, Palo Alto, CA 94301, United States
Additional offices
Japan Office: Holland Hills Mori Tower RoP #1308, 5-11-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-0001, Japan
Principals
Dan Weirich
General Partner
Hiro Yoshikawa
General Partner
Kengo Horiuchi
General Partner
Pankaj Tibrewal
General Partner
Stephen Lee
General Partner
Bill Tai
Special Limited Partner
Takuo Inoue
Partner
Toshiaki Hagiwara
Principal
Kate Fry
CFO
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who makes investment decisions at Carbide Ventures?
A group of six general partners — Dan Weirich, Hiro Yoshikawa, Kengo Horiuchi, Pankaj Tibrewal, Stephen Lee, and Bill Tai as Special Limited Partner — collectively decide on investments. General Partners Weirich and Yoshikawa are former CEO and CFO/COO of Treasure Data. Investment decisions are made by this partnership, not a single individual (per the firm's website).
How does Carbide source proprietary deal flow?
The firm taps its operators’ networks from building Treasure Data and other unicorns. Its US-Japan corridor gives it access to Japanese startups seeking US expansion and US companies targeting Japanese markets. The general partners also maintain relationships with other venture firms and corporate partners in both regions (per the firm's website).
Is Carbide structured as a single family office or a venture firm?
Carbide Ventures presents itself as an early-stage venture firm rather than a single-family office. Its website lists general partners and a portfolio of 20+ active and exited companies. The underlying capital source is not disclosed, making its family office status uncertain.
What investment stages does Carbide typically target?
The firm focuses on pre-seed, seed, and Series A rounds. It makes high-conviction bets and writes checks to lead or co-lead rounds. Portfolio initial investments range from 2021 to 2025, indicating a consistent early-stage focus (per the firm's portfolio page).
Which sectors does Carbide explicitly avoid?
Carbide does not publicly list excluded sectors. However, its portfolio is concentrated on B2B enterprise software, AI/ML, fintech, and healthcare, with no notable investments in consumer or heavy industrial sectors (per the firm's portfolio page).
What is Carbide's known posture on co-investments alongside external GPs?
Carbide lists co-investments alongside firms that acquired its portfolio companies, such as Chronosphere acquiring Calyptia and Braze acquiring OfferFit. The firm does not disclose a specific co-investment program, but its track record shows it participates in syndicated rounds with other VCs (per the firm's website).
Where does the underlying wealth come from?
Carbide Ventures does not disclose the source of its capital. The general partners were former operators at Treasure Data, but the identity of the family or institution behind the fund has not been made public. Without a wealth origin statement, this remains unknown.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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