About Rakuten Capital
Rakuten Capital is a corporate venture capital group that provides funding, sector experience and operational support to its portfolio companies across the world. Rakuten Capital is part of the Rakuten Group, one of the world’s leading internet service companies. Rakuten has built and invested in innovative internet businesses in e-commerce, financial services, digital content and advertising since 1997. Rakuten has ranked in the top 30 of Forbes Magazine‘s annual “World’s Most Innovative Companies” list, and operates in Asia, Europe and the Americas. The company is headquartered in Tokyo and is publicly traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
- Transformative Internet Businesses
- Focus on transformative internet businesses and technology-driven companies
- Value added support
- Expertise in internet and financial services businesses
- Global Network
- Access to Rakuten Group’s global network in Asia, Europe and the Americas
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 start-ups 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 start-ups and merchants internationally. The aim of the fund is to create and grow e-commerce businesses together, leveraging the 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 Investments focus on disruptive ride-sharing 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 |
TEAM
Partners
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Hiroshi TakasawaRakuten Asia Pte. Ltd.Hiroshi TakasawaRakuten Asia Pte. Ltd. CEO
Managing Executive Officer, Rakuten, Inc.
Hiroshi is a Managing Executive Officer of Rakuten and President of the Investment Company. He is responsible for Rakuten Capital, managing various investments including those of Rakuten Ventures, FinTech Fund, Global EC Fund and Mobility Investments. 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. Hiroshi 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 CEO of Rakuten Asia Pte. Ltd. He is currently based in Singapore, overseeing various investment projects.
Prior to joining Rakuten, Hiroshi worked at Nomura Securities Co., Ltd, Nomura Securities International (NY) and GMAC Commercial Mortgage Japan, Inc.,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, a post he has held 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 his investments 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 FinTech Fund/Mobility Investments
Executive Officer, Rakuten, Inc.
Oskar is the Managing Partner in charge of the FinTech Fund and Mobility Investments. He has led multiple investments in the fintech space and ride sharing, including Lyft, Cabify and Careem. Oskar serves as a board member for Cabify and Careem.
Prior to joining Rakuten, Oskar had extensive experience in the financial industry, including in investment banking and capital markets while at J.P. Morgan and Merrill Lynch, and in private equity and retail financial services in North America and Europe.
Oskar earned his BA at ICADE in Spain and MBA at Harvard Business School.
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 MehtaInvestment Analyst, Rakuten FinTech Fund/Rakuten Mobility Investments
Aman is an Investment Analyst 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 KimSenior Associate, 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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Hogil DohRakuten VenturesHogil DohPartner, Rakuten Ventures
Hogil is responsible for its investment activities inside and outside Japan. Prior to joining Rakuten Ventures, Hogil oversaw KPI management, marketing strategy and partnership planning within the Marketing Department of Rakuten’s domestic e-commerce business. Hogil spent the first five years of his professional career in Rakuten’s Corporate Development Department, where he led multiple key cross-border and domestic M&A transactions and venture capital related investments – including the acquisitions of Ebates and Kobo, the AirAsia Japan joint venture establishment, and a minority investment in Pinterest. -
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Michael PiechalakFinTech Fund/Mobility InvestmentsMichael PiechalakPrincipal, Rakuten FinTech Fund/Rakuten Mobility Investments
Michael is a principal 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 JangSenior Associate
Nicole is a senior associate 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 HoInvestment Analyst, Rakuten Ventures
Regina is an Analyst 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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Ryo OtakePlanning & Strategic InvestmentRyo OtakeAssociate, Planning & Strategic Investment
Ryo is responsible for investment activities and developing partnerships between portfolio companies and Rakuten group companies. He also leads internal business incubation initiatives across Rakuten.
Prior to Join Rakuten Capital, he was in charge of strategic planning and marketing for new services at Group-wide marketing division.
Earned a Bachelor of Arts in Policy Management from Keio University. -
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Shoichiro SuzukiEC FundShoichiro SuzukiGeneral Manager, Rakuten Global EC Fund
Sho is in charge of the Global EC Fund. He joined the CEO Office at Rakuten and founded the Global EC Fund in 2016 after handling several special CEO tasks to make Rakuten into a truly global innovation company. Prior to joining Rakuten, Sho was in charge of new businesses, venture investments and M&A projects at en-japan inc. as head of the CEO Office. Sho is also a serial entrepreneur. One of his founding businesses received multiple M&A offers, including from Rakuten. Sho has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Tokyo. - more
Takuya HosomuraPlanning & Strategic InvestmentTakuya HosomuraSenior Manager, Planning & Strategic InvestmentHe is responsible for partnerships between portfolio companies and Rakuten group companies as well as its investment activities, also leading open innovation initiatives across Rakuten. Prior to joining Rakuten, at Sumitomo Corporation, he worked for multiple investment/divestiture activities and the business developments for the subsidiaries in the European automotive industry, including work experiences in Europe.
Earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Waseda University and an MBA from Bond University.
PORTFOLIO
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NEWS
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
Rakuten Europe S.a.r.l. (Luxembourg)
2, Rue du Fosse
1536 Luxembourg
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Rakuten Crimson House West (USA)
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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CONTACT US
Please contact Rakuten Capital at the email address below.
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