Deep30

Taizo Son, the managing partner and sole decision-maker, approves every investment. Son was the founder and former CEO of GungHo Online Entertainment, the mobile gaming company behind Puzzle & Dragons. He invests personal capital rather than managing outside limited partner commitments, which means the investment committee is effectively one person.

No. Taizo Son is the younger brother of Masayoshi Son, SoftBank Group's chairman, but Deep30 operates independently of SoftBank. There is no shared capital, overlapping investment committee, or formal co-investment mandate between the two entities. Deep30's check sizes and stage focus — pre-seed and seed — are distinct from the Vision Fund's late-stage growth equity strategy.

Deep30 does not raise blind-pool venture funds on a traditional schedule. It deploys capital from Taizo Son's personal balance sheet on a deal-by-deal basis. This means there is no fundraising cycle, no external LP reporting requirement, and no pressure to deploy a fixed amount within a defined period — the firm can pause entirely during market dislocations without consequence.

The firm concentrates on pre-seed and seed rounds, often as the first institutional capital into a company. Deep30 will participate in follow-on rounds for portfolio companies that reach product-market fit, treating the initial seed check as a relationship anchor rather than a one-time exposure.

Mistletoe is a separate entity also founded by Taizo Son, functioning as a collective of startup studios and impact-focused initiatives aimed at entrepreneurial education and ecosystem building. Deep30 serves as the direct investment vehicle for for-profit venture deals, while Mistletoe runs educational programs and co-creation spaces. The two share Son's strategic oversight but maintain separate operational teams and investment scopes.

The firm's primary focus is the Tokyo startup ecosystem, and most portfolio companies are Japan-domiciled. Deep30 has historically reviewed deals across broader Asia, particularly in Southeast Asia and India, but only when founders have a technical connection to the Japanese market or a clear path to distribution there. It does not operate satellite offices.

Deep30 writes checks sized appropriately for pre-seed and seed rounds in Japan, typically in the range of $100,000 to $500,000 at initial entry. Because the firm is a single-LP vehicle, it can flex higher for exceptional opportunities without needing syndicate partners, but does not compete with Series A institutional lead investors.