Rakuten Capital has been made aware of incidents involving the unauthorized use of the Rakuten
brand name, by individuals working for ‘Rakuten Global Ventures’ attempting to solicit
investment transactions designed to defraud members of the public.
While this company cites the Rakuten name, Rakuten Capital wishes to make clear that Rakuten,
Inc. and its subsidiaries has no association whatsoever with ‘Rakuten Global Ventures’.
About Rakuten Capital
Rakuten Capital is the corporate venture capital arm of Rakuten, a global
leader in internet services headquartered in Tokyo.
Launched in 2014, Rakuten Capital provides investment funding, sector experience and operational
support to its portfolio companies from around the world. Globally, Rakuten Capital has invested
in more than 60 companies including Lyft, Cabify, Carousell, GoJek and Pinterest.
Rakuten’s broad range of online and off-line services include e-commerce, travel, FinTech,
digital contents and communications, as well as credit cards, banking, securities, insurance,
electronic money and professional sports.
- Transformative Business
- Focus on transformative products and technologies especially in the fields of Commerce, Communications, Marketing, Financial Services, Mobility and Healthcare.
- Founder Friendly Support
- With access to Rakuten’s ecosystem of more than 70 services, global businesses and technology expertise across Asia, Europe and the Americas, Rakuten Capital provides financial, operational and strategic support for founders and entrepreneurs.
- Data Friendly Approach
- Utilizing consumer and industry data extensively accumulated within Rakuten’s ecosystem, Rakuten Capital explores a truly unique investment strategy with exceptional support to all of its portfolio companies.
Our Funds
Investing across the IT sector, Rakuten Ventures partners with early and growth-stage startups to build services that can have a lasting impact in an increasingly competitive digital age. Rakuten Ventures combines the objectivity and network of traditional venture funds with the unique access to Rakuten’s global businesses to help portfolio companies unlock the distribution and expertise necessary to stay ahead of the curve.
| Fund Size | US$ 200 Million (Global) JPY 10 Billion (Japan) |
|---|---|
| Sector | Information Technology |
| Stage | Early to Growth Stage |
| Geographic Coverage | Global |
Rakuten FinTech Fund invests in disruptive financial services startups across the world. The fund targets investments in innovative financial services businesses that offer attractive return potential. The FinTech Fund leverages Rakuten’s expertise in financial services, including card and payments services, banking, insurance, securities and asset management to help portfolio companies grow and expand into new markets.
| Fund Size | US $100 Million |
|---|---|
| Sector | Payments, Lending, Asset Management, FX / Remittances, Insurance, Blockchain and other emerging technologies |
| Stage | Early to Mid Stage |
| Geographic Coverage | Global |
Rakuten Global EC Fund invests in e-commerce startups and merchants internationally. The aim of the fund is to create and grow e-commerce businesses together by leveraging data and resources of the Rakuten Ecosystem.
| Sector | EC (Manufacturers, Wholesalers, Retailers, Marketplace Operators, C2C platforms and more) |
|---|---|
| Stage | Early to Late Stage |
| Geographic Coverage | Global |
Rakuten Mobility Investment focus on disruptive ridesharing startups and mobility platforms across the world. The investment platform targets early to late stage investments in innovative companies that offer attractive return potential.
| Sector | Mobility |
|---|---|
| Stage | Early to Late Stage |
| Geographic Coverage | Global |
Rakuten Strategic Investment focuses on transformative startups who potentially have game changing technology or products and demonstrate strategic synergies to Rakuten’s global ecosystem. Rakuten Capital commits to provide startups with strategic support to grow further and faster, which could also aid in expanding the Rakuten ecosystem.
| Stage | Growth Stage |
|---|---|
| Geographic Coverage | Global |
TEAM
Partners
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Hiroshi TakasawaRakuten Asia Pte. Ltd.Hiroshi TakasawaHead of Rakuten Asia Regional Headquarters
Group Managing Executive Officer, Rakuten, Inc.
Hiroshi is President of the Investment and Incubation Company where he is responsible for leading Rakuten Capital various investment funds including Rakuten Ventures, Rakuten FinTech Fund, Rakuten Global EC Fund and Rakuten Mobility Investment.
Hiroshi joined Rakuten in 2005 and established Rakuten Strategic Partners, a private equity investment platform with which he actively engaged in venture investments, buyout investments and other M &A related transactions. He has also held a number of executive and key positions such as President of Rakuten Securities Holdings, Chairman of Rakuten Investment Management and President of Rakuten Life Insurance before becoming Head of Rakuten Asia Regional Headquarters in Singapore. He is currently based in Singapore, overseeing various investment projects.
Prior to joining Rakuten, Hiroshi worked at Nomura Securities, Nomura Securities International (NY) and GMAC Commercial Mortgage Japan, managing various investments and financial products. He is a member of the Japanese Association of Turnaround Professionals. -
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Saemin AhnRakuten VenturesSaemin AhnManaging Partner, Rakuten Ventures
Executive Officer, Rakuten, Inc.
Saemin is Managing Partner at Rakuten Ventures. He has held this position since the fund’s inception in 2013.
Based in Singapore, Saemin invests in diverse verticals such as advertising technology, artificial intelligence and on-demand business around the world. Some of the portfolio investments he manages include Carousell, ViSenze, Pocketmath, Epic!, and Algorithmia. -
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Oskar Mielczarek de la MielFinTech Fund/Mobility InvestmentsOskar Mielczarek de la MielManaging Partner, Rakuten Capital and Executive Officer at Rakuten, Inc.
Oskar is the Managing Partner in charge of Rakuten’s growth venture investments in industries such as Fintech, Mobility, Digital Media, and Healthcare.
Previously, Oskar acquired extensive investment, advisory and operational experience in the financial industry, including banking at JP Morgan and Merrill Lynch, private equity and retail financial services in North America and Europe. Oskar is responsible for Rakuten’s mobility investments, including ride-sharing leaders Lyft and Careem, as well as leading on-demand delivery leader Glovo.
Other key investments sourced include Fintech disruptors such as BlueVine, Upstart, Azimo, Currencycloud, and Acorns among others. Recent investments include Fever, a millennial data-driven entertainment curation platform.
Oskar earned his MBA at Harvard Business School and BA at ICADE in Spain.
Members
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Adit SwarupRakuten VenturesAdit SwarupPartner, Rakuten Ventures
Adit is based in Singapore and his areas of focus include artificial intelligence, consumer technology, and digital media. He currently serves as a board member for Carousell, ViSenze, and Galaxy.ai. Prior to joining Rakuten Ventures, Adit worked in the corporate legal function, restructuring and turnaround industry, and capital markets, bringing more than $2.5 billion worth of deals in transaction experience. Adit earned his Bachelor of Commerce, specialising in Finance and Economics, at McGill University. -
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Aman MehtaFinTech Fund/Mobility InvestmentsAman MehtaAssociate, Rakuten FinTech Fund/Rakuten Mobility Investments
Aman is an associate for the Fintech Fund and Mobility Investments at Rakuten Capital. Previously he was a part of the Global Strategy and Corporate Development team for Naspers’ Fintech portfolio. Prior experience includes strategic consulting and operations while at McKinsey and Uber, as well as IIM Ahmedabad’s incubator CIIE.
Aman earned his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Thapar University in India. -
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Hannah KimFinTech Fund/Mobility InvestmentsHannah KimPrincipal, Rakuten FinTech Fund/Rakuten Mobility Investments
She is responsible for investments in international fintech and mobility startups.
Prior to joining Rakuten, she was a senior associate on the TMT team at HSBC and worked on a number of M&A debt financing transactions. Prior experience also includes equity research at JMP Securities, currency risk management/debt analysis for managed funds at KKR & Co L.P, and capital market at Provident Funding.
Hannah earned her MA at University of Southern California and BA at University of California, Los Angeles.
Hannah is also a CFA charter holder. - more
Hiromichi AokiPlanning & Strategic InvestmentHiromichi AokiGeneral Manager, Planning & Strategic Investment
Hiromichi is General Manager in charge of strategy and planning of Rakuten Capital.
Prior to joining Rakuten, Hiromichi had extensive experience in investment banking, private equity and asset management at Nomura in New York, Tokyo, London and Hong Kong.
Hiromichi earned BA in Commercial Science at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, Japan -
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Michael PiechalakFinTech Fund/Mobility InvestmentsMichael PiechalakPartner, Rakuten FinTech Fund/Rakuten Mobility Investments
Michael is a partner at Rakuten Fintech Fund, based in the U.S. He leads investments in international fintech and mobility startups. Including projects within the Corporate Development Department of Rakuten, he has completed over 15 deals since joining the company in 2014. Prior to joining Rakuten, Michael spent over 10 years in private equity and investment banking positions with firms in the U.S. including H.I.G. Capital and Lehman Brothers. Michael earned his MBA at Duke University and his undergrad degree at Northwestern University. -
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Nicole JangRakuten VenturesNicole JangInvestment Manager
Nicole is an Investment Manager at Rakuten Ventures and is responsible for investment in Japanese startups. She has experiences in strategic consulting and financial institutions such as Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Bank of America in Korea and US. Nicole earned her BA at University of Southern California, Los Angeles. -
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Regina HoRakuten VenturesRegina HoAssociate, Rakuten Ventures
Regina is an Associate at Rakuten Ventures. In this role, she provides analytical and business development support to portfolio companies and contributes to the sourcing and due diligence processes of new investment opportunities.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the National University of Singapore. -
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Shoichiro SuzukiEC FundShoichiro SuzukiGeneral Manager, Rakuten Global EC Fund
Sho is General Manager in charge of Rakuten Global EC Fund, based in Singapore. He is passionately looking for innovative EC and related start-ups in SEA, USA, and Japan.
Prior to establishing Rakuten Global EC Fund, Sho has spent over 10 years working in companies related to new business development, open innovation, corporate venture investment, and a co-founder and COO of a startup, before joining CEO Office in Rakuten.
Sho earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Tokyo.
PORTFOLIO
Category
Region
Funds
NEWS
Rakuten Capital leads $35 million investment in social event discovery platform Fever.
Rakuten Global EC Fund invests in Singapore based cashback service “ShopBack”.
Rakuten Ventures invests in a UI/UX analytics and consulting company, Uncover Truth.
Rakuten Ventures invests in membership based e-commerce platform, Black Fish.
Rakuten Ventures invests in corporate food subscription and delivery service, Okan.
Rakuten Capital invests in New York based big-data funding platform and advisory “Cyndx”
Rakuten Capital leads $20 million Series C investment in UK-based online remittance player “Azimo”
Rakuten Capital invests in Tokyo-based the change investment application provider "Toranotec".
California-based fintech payment company “Wepay” was acquired by J.P.Morgan.
Rakuten FinTech Fund invests in London-based premium finance software “PremFina”.
Rakuten invests in Barcelona-based on-demand delivery service “Glovo”.
Rakuten Global EC Fund invests in Tokyo-based bedding manufacture “airweave”.
Rakuten Global EC Fund invests in Tokyo-based genetic health company “Genesis Healthcare”
Rakuten FinTech Fund invests in Switzerland-based mobile healthcare company “dacadoo”
Rakuten Ventures invests in Tokyo-based data technology company “from scratch.”
Rakuten FinTech Fund invests in Berlin-based InsurTech company “Simplesurance.”
Rakuten FinTech Fund makes additional investment in London-based fintech SaaS company “Currency Cloud.”
Rakuten FinTech Fund invests in California-based fintech lending company “Upstart.”
Rakuten FinTech Fund invests in Tokyo-based fintech asset management company “Folio.”
CAREERS
Currently,not available
CONTACT
ACCESS
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1536 Luxembourg
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Rakuten Crimson House West 800 Concar Dr.,
San Mateo, California, 94402
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Rakuten Crimson House East(Singapore)
138 Market Street #32-01, CapitaGreen,
Singapore 048946
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Rakuten Crimson House
(Tokyo)
158-0094
Rakuten Crimson House, 1-14-1
Tamagawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo
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