DEFTA Partners

George Hara, as Group Chairman & CEO, leads the firm's overall investment direction and strategy. The investment and business development functions are managed by a team that includes Satoshi Tsubotani (General Manager), Takeo Sako (Deputy General Manager), and Masahide Isono (Principal), operating from both the San Francisco and Yokohama offices. The firm does not publicly detail investment committee structure or voting protocols.

DEFTA's sourcing model relies on George Hara's long-standing networks in technology and government, particularly in Japan and the US. The firm's dual presence in Silicon Valley and Yokohama provides access to both Western innovation clusters and Asian corporate partnerships. Its unusual relationship with BRAC in Bangladesh also creates proprietary infrastructure and tech-enabled service opportunities that most venture firms never see.

DEFTA's public statements do not list explicitly excluded sectors. The stated focus is on information and communication technology, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare, with a recent pivot toward advanced therapeutics and health IT. Sectors outside these domains — such as heavy industry, commodities, or consumer goods — appear absent from their portfolio, but no formal exclusion policy is disclosed.

The firm's public materials describe direct investments in over 100 companies, without mention of fund-of-funds commitments or LP positions in other venture firms. The bracNet joint venture in Bangladesh demonstrates a willingness to use operating-company and project-level structures, but evidence of fund investments in third-party managers is not publicly available.