# Hike Ventures

Hike Ventures is a Venture Capital based in San Francisco, Japan.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Venture Capital
- **Headquarters:** San Francisco, Japan
- **Region:** Asia
- **Address:** Tokyo, Japan
- **Founded:** 2018
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** hikevc.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/hike-ventures

## Regulatory record

- **CRD number:** 300071
- **Registration status:** Registered
- **Reports private funds:** Yes
- **IAPD record:** https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/300071

## About

Hike Ventures is a seed-stage firm investing in real-world AI. Since 2018 it has backed companies where AI amplifies people rather than simply replacing them, following the principle Algorithm + Human > Algorithm or Human. It focuses on startups that solve real-world problems with proprietary operational data, not foundation models themselves.

## Sectors

- Artificial Intelligence
- Machine Learning

## People

- Mikihiro Yasuda — General Partner, San Francisco
- Taka Shoji — General Partner, Tokyo

## Questions

### What investment stages does Hike Ventures typically target?

Hike Ventures concentrates on the earliest stages of the venture lifecycle—seed and startup rounds. The firm writes first checks, often leading or co-leading initial financings before institutional venture firms enter. From public record, the strategy extends into early Series A follow-ons where the firm holds pro-rata rights, but the primary emphasis remains on pre-traction and seed-stage deployment.

### Is Hike Ventures a corporate venture arm, or does it operate as an independent fund?

Hike Ventures is structured as an independent asset manager, not a corporate venture capital entity. This is a key structural distinction in Japan's venture market, where corporate venture arms—affiliated with companies like NTT Docomo, Sony, or Toyota—dominate early-stage allocations. As an independent firm, Hike Ventures avoids the channel conflicts that can arise when portfolio companies are restricted from partnering with a corporate parent's competitors.

## Related profiles

- [Hike Capital](https://altss.com/profile/hike-capital)
- [Hikma Ventures](https://altss.com/profile/hikma-ventures)

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Last updated: 2026-08-11T15:06:57.816Z

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