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Global Brain
Global Brain launched in 1998, when Yasuhiko Yurimoto transitioned from operating roles at Japanese technology companies to build a venture firm...
Global Brain
Global Brain launched in 1998, when Yasuhiko Yurimoto transitioned from operating roles at Japanese technology companies to build a venture firm structured explicitly around corporate partnership. Most Japanese VCs in that era raised from financial institutions; Yurimoto instead anchored Global Brain to major Japanese corporates — KDDI, Mitsui Fudosan, and others — creating a sourcing model where portfolio companies gain distribution and R&D channels alongside equity capital. The firm remains headquartered in Tokyo but has opened offices in Seoul, San Francisco, and London. The firm invests across seed, early-stage, and growth rounds, writing initial checks from under $500k up to $10M for later-stage positions. Its sector coverage concentrates on deep tech and enterprise software: AI/ML, robotics, industrial automation, mobility, and healthtech. Portfolio companies the firm has backed publicly include SmartNews, the AI-driven news aggregation platform that achieved unicorn status; Geek+, the Chinese warehouse robotics company; and ExaWizards, the Tokyo-listed AI solutions provider. Geographically, Global Brain splits its deal flow roughly between Japan and Korea on one side, and the US and Europe on the other — an unusually balanced footprint for an Asia-headquartered VC. Global Brain reports over $1.2 billion in total assets under management and deployment since inception across more than 10 funds (per the firm, 2023). The Seoul office operates GB Korea Fund, while the San Francisco presence supports cross-border US-Japan portfolios. The firm runs KDDI Open Innovation Fund, a corporate venture vehicle operated on behalf of the Japanese telecommunications giant, and multiple funds with Mitsui Fudosan targeting proptech. In 2023 Global Brain closed its GB-VII Growth Fund and continued raising its US-focused vehicle, making it one of the few Japanese VCs actively deploying from dollar-denominated funds. The structural differentiator is the firm's corporate-backed, multi-fund architecture. Rather than acting as a pure financial sponsor, Global Brain embeds portfolio companies into its corporate LPs' distribution networks, R&D pipelines, and customer bases. This turns limited partners into go-to-market partners — a sourcing and value-creation model that separates it from most Japanese venture firms and gives it staying power through cycles where purely financial VCs retrench.
General information
Firm type
Venture Capital
Year founded
1998
AUM
$500M - $1B (Altss estimate)
Location
Region
Asia
Country
Japan
City
Tokyo
Corporate office
Tokyo, Japan
Additional offices
Seoul, South Korea · San Francisco, CA, United States · London, United Kingdom
Principals
Yasuhiko Yurimoto
CEO & Founder
Naoki Kamimeguri
CFO & Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Global Brain?
Yasuhiko Yurimoto founded the firm in 1998 and serves as CEO, holding final authority on fund strategy and key investment committee decisions. The partnership includes Naoki Kamimeguri as CFO and investment partners based in Tokyo, Seoul, San Francisco, and London who lead sourcing and diligence within their respective regions. The structure is partnership-driven with regional autonomy for early-stage decisions and firm-wide IC review for growth-stage commitments.
How does Global Brain source proprietary deal flow?
Global Brain's corporate LP base — which has included KDDI, Mitsui Fudosan, and other Japanese industrials — functions as a proprietary sourcing channel. Portfolio companies frequently emerge from the R&D labs, supplier networks, and strategic priorities of those corporate partners. The firm also runs corporate venture programs where it scouts startups on behalf of specific corporate partners, generating deal flow that competing financial-only VCs rarely see in Japan or Korea.
Is Global Brain a pure-play VC or does it operate corporate venture programs?
Global Brain operates both. The firm manages its own flagship venture funds investing across seed to growth stages, while simultaneously running dedicated corporate venture capital vehicles — most notably the KDDI Open Innovation Fund — where a single corporate LP provides the capital and Global Brain executes the investment strategy. This dual structure is core to its identity and gives portfolio companies access to corporate distribution and R&D partnerships.
Does Global Brain invest outside Japan?
Yes. Global Brain maintains active offices in Seoul, San Francisco, and London, with portfolio exposure split across Japan, Korea, the United States, and Europe. The firm has invested in US-headquartered companies like SmartNews (which has major Japanese operations) and Chinese-founded but globally operating companies like warehouse robotics firm Geek+. Cross-border execution is a stated differentiator.
What investment stages does Global Brain target?
The firm is stage-agnostic in its venture practice, writing initial checks from seed rounds of under $500,000 up to growth-stage investments of $10 million or more. Its flagship funds maintain reserve capital for follow-on investments, and the corporate venture vehicles often participate alongside the main funds at multiple stages. This allows continuity from a company's earliest institutional round through later private growth rounds.
Which sectors does Global Brain explicitly avoid?
The firm does not publicly maintain an exclusion list, but its investment history shows no participation in sectors such as weapons manufacturing, gambling, tobacco, or extractive fossil fuel industries. Its focus remains on technology sectors where its corporate strategic partners — telecommunications, real estate, industrial automation, and consumer technology — have operational alignment.
How is Global Brain structured relative to its corporate LPs?
The firm operates as an independent venture capital manager, not a captive unit of any single corporation. Its corporate partners are limited partners in its funds and participants in dedicated CVC programs, but Global Brain retains full investment discretion and operates its own partnership governance. This independence distinguishes it from in-house corporate venture arms and is designed to avoid conflicts when portfolio companies engage with multiple strategic partners.
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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