Top 25 Automotive Startup Investors in Japan (May 2026)

Portfolio highlights

• Carstay — Carstay Comfortable Overnight in car or tentdo itCar tripWith guests who want to enjoy.

Portfolio highlights

• DennoKotsu — Denno Kotsu is a Taxi dispatch system development and provision, taxi company contract dispatch service

Portfolio highlights

• DennoKotsu — Denno Kotsu is a Taxi dispatch system development and provision, taxi company contract dispatch service

Portfolio highlights

• Eight Knot — Eight Knot designs and develops autonomous navigation system for water mobility using robotics & AI.
• Wingcopter — Wingcopter is an award-winning German developer, manufacturer, and operator of unmanned eVTOL fixed-wing aircraft dedicated to improving the lives of people worldwide through meaningful commercial and humanitarian applications. The start-up focuses on the delivery of goods such as medicines to remote health facilities, packages, and food to privatehouseholds. With their unique, patented tilt-rotor mechanism, the electrically powered Wingcopters far exceed the range and payload capabilities of commercial multicopter drones. Taking off and landing vertically like multicopters, Wingcopters fly long distances as efficiently and quickly as fixed-wing aircraft, reaching ranges of up to 75 miles (120 kilometers) and a Guinness world record speed of 150 mph (240 km/h). Even in strong winds of up to 44 mph (71 km/h) or inclement weather, Wingcopters fly autonomously and reliably.Wingcopters are also used for the efficient inspection of public infrastructure and for long-range mapping applications.In 2020, Wingcopter was named a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum.
• Sunflower Labs — Sunflower Labs makes an autonomous outdoor security system that senses and deters unwanted visitors before they’re at your door. Our elegant sensors detect motion and vibration, differentiating between people, animals, and cars. When they detect something unusual, they’ll notify you and deploy a fully autonomous drone. The drone flies directly tothe scene and streams live video of what’s happening. Guided by our sensors, it follows the activity, performs a security “sweep,” and lands itself safely in its weatherproof docking station.

Portfolio highlights

• Blusink — Blusink is an ocean-based carbon removals company.
• EF Polymer — EF Polymer Private Limited providing 100% Organic and fully Biodegradable Super Absorbent Polymer cum Fertilizer to reduce Water and Fertilizer requirement for your plant. Let's grow organically.
• MORPHEUS — Development of Nose To Brain Drug Delivery System (DDS)

Portfolio highlights

• Ripplr — Ripplr is a full-stack tech distribution and logistics player that offers data-driven analytics and plugs and play system.
• VLP Therapeutics — VLP Therapeutics, LLC (VLP) was established in 2012 by seasoned biopharmaceutical veterans with mission to develop innovative medical treatment which transforms traditional vaccine and targeted antibody therapies to address global unmet medical needs. Its vision is to combat the 21st century global public health problems through revolutionary nextgeneration i-αVLP (inserted alpha VLP) Technology. The company is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland
• Hycamite TCD Technologies — Hycamite is decarbonising industry using its proprietary methane pyrolysis technology. It provides its industrial clients with low-carbon hydrogen and sustainable carbon products for demanding applications.

Portfolio highlights

• Astroscale — Astroscale is the first private company with a vision to secure the safe and sustainable development of space for the benefit of future generations, and the only company solely dedicated to on-orbit servicing across all orbits.
• Synspective — Synspective provides one-stop-solutions by satellite gathered geospatial data. The core technology was developed by the ImPACT program led by The Cabinet Office, Government of Japan, building small SAR satellites and constellations, allowing frequent observation of areas of interest (AOI). Synspective uses its satellites to produce SAR data which can be provided to both government and commercial clients as-is, as well as transform that data through AI solutions to produce insights and user-friendly information across industries.
• Clean Energy Connect — Clean Energy Connect is into offering green energy solutions. It invests in its own generation capacity for a stable electricity supply by not harming nature.

Portfolio highlights

• Seibii, Inc. — Transforming traditional car maintenance, repair, after-parts installation, road service industry of Japan by leveraging Technology.
• Leading Mark — Leading Mark, a rising human resources startup in Japan. Leading Mark is branching out into mid-career and international hiring. It currently has a one-man team in China working to bring the top Japanese-speaking Chinese students to domestic companies. He also touts his startup’s focus on the average job seeker. “We want to make sure that the usersget the info that he or she needs the most,” he says. Large scale, legacy players can sometimes prioritize the needs of the hiring company, and their commission, over the needs of applicants themselves. This leads to frustration and short-circuited careers.

Portfolio highlights

• H3 Dynamics — Hydrogen Propulsion from Drones to Passenger Aircraft | Solutions for Digitized Maintenance, Emergency Services & Parcel Delivery
• May Mobility — May Mobility is a leader in autonomous vehicle technology development and deployment. With more than 275,000 autonomous rides to date, May Mobility is committed to delivering safe, efficient and sustainable shuttle solutions designed to complement today's public transportation options. The company's ultimate goal is to realize a worldwhere self-driving systems make transportation more accessible and reliable, the roads safer, and encourage better land use in order to foster more green, vibrant, and livable spaces.
• EneCoat Technologies — EneCoat Technologies is working on materials development for perovskite solar cells and the commercialization of modules.EneCoat Technologies will create the future of energy through thin-film solar cells with the aims of protecting the environment and effectively utilizing natural energy sources.

Portfolio highlights

• Gunosy — Gunosy is a news curation application that covers a wide range of news from entertainment news to political news. The application finds its news from multiple web sources and presents them according to how hot the topic is. Gunosy’s features include categorized tabs; the ability to customize the categories that users need to follow and create theirown personal magazine; instant access to a wide variety of news; and push notifications to remind users of news updates.The company was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Japan.
• Telescope Japan — Telescope Japan Internet Company

Portfolio highlights

• Utill — Utill is anything that expands the possibilities of not only production but also our own services
• LIFESCAPES — LIFESCAPES is a research and manufacturer of brain-computer interface equipment.
• LUCA Science — LUCA Science develops innovative treatments intended for mitochondrial and related diseases.

Portfolio highlights

• DennoKotsu — Denno Kotsu is a Taxi dispatch system development and provision, taxi company contract dispatch service

Portfolio highlights

• Onepair — Onepair is a job consulting and recruiting company. Onepair is to co-creating careers by talking about real-world ace with active ace.
• Strainer Co., Ltd. — Strainer Co., Ltd. is an information distribution platform that conveys corporate information centered on financial data. Although there are not a few media to deliver financial information, the company's strengths are strong to be easily viewed, including financial information of overseas companies.
• LAMILA — LAMILA develops system that improves the creation of retail stores.

Portfolio highlights

• Teplo — Its 1st product Teplo Tea Maker allows tea lovers to brew the perfect cup of tea, each and every time of the day,
• MANTRA — MANTRA is a developer of machine translation technology.

Portfolio highlights

• Sukedachi — Sukedachi had focused on the unique business habit in the Japanese construction industry that construction workers are order receivers as workmen themselves and are also orderers as small enterprises, and the firm started this service. Sukedachi allows workpeople specialized in construction works receive to notification of recruitment ofconstruction jobs which meet their pre-registered conditions including residence and occupation. With this service, construction workers who are seeking jobs can contact directly to each desired construction site, and constructors suffering from chronic manpower shortage can recruit workers on almost ideal on-demand conditions.
• MANTRA — MANTRA is a developer of machine translation technology.

Portfolio highlights

• Plus — Plus.ai develops self-driving trucks to enable large-scale commercialization of autonomous transport. Based in Silicon Valley, Plus.ai was founded in 2016 by a group of Stanford PhD classmates who saw the strong potential of artificial intelligence to make a big impact on business and society. With trucking being the primary means of shipping inAmerica, the founders decided to focus on self-driving technology to transform the trillion-dollar commercial trucking industry. Plus.ai specializes in developing full-stack self-driving technology to enable large scale autonomous commercial fleets. We are one of the most advanced autonomous trucking companies today in terms of technological progress and were the first to obtain California’s Autonomous Testing License. The company has since been working on improving the robustness and safety of its fully functional Level-4 autonomous trucks. Plus.ai closely collaborates with the largest OEMs to build self-driving trucks that are safer than human-operated vehicles. The company operates a fleet of autonomous trucks in pilot programs with the top freight shipping companies.
• aetherAI — aetherAI is dedicated to developing web-based digital pathology workflow system and AI-powered diagnostic support. Its mission to use state-of-the-art information technology to improve the quality of healthcare.
• QT Medical — World's leading medical ECG/EKG machine company that aims to make hospital-grade 12-lead ecg machines available for everyone. Best portable ecg device during the pandemic. Focusing on innovations in the field of telemedicine and home care, we continue to invest in research and development of products that will bring better cardiac care to patients.

Portfolio highlights

• Cocoach — Cocoach provides online education service.
• Data Viz Lab — Data Viz Lab is a platform that offers data analysis, visualization consulting, and data human resource development support.
• ElevationSpace — ElevationSpace offers high quality & well equipped workspaces giving tenants a nurturing environment .

Portfolio highlights

• Wassha — Wassha provide the rental device and charging service using clean energy. WASSHA lends all devices to start WASSHA business. Remote management and monitoration of every operation made possible with our innovative technology, so that we can check every transactions like sales, customer information, and power generation.We are looking for businesspartners to expand WASSHA to off-grid areas! s a power supplier for off-grid Africa.
• Skipperi — Skipper is a meeting place for boats and boaters. Private individuals and companies can announce their boat rent for free. The boat can hire everyone whose skills and experience are on the boat owner's behalf. The boat owner decides who to rent their boats.
• Arpac Drones — ARPAC delivers important results in pest control through their own research and development of their aircraft and application systems; as well as, performing services in locations where other vehicles can not reach.

Portfolio highlights

• Seibii, Inc. — Transforming traditional car maintenance, repair, after-parts installation, road service industry of Japan by leveraging Technology.

Portfolio highlights

• Pyrenee — Pyrenee is a hardware startup that creates devices that protect people's lives.
• Antescofo — Antescofo is the mariage of world-class R&D and Business endeavours. Their technology is the result of 7+ years of R&D in the world’s largest laboratory dedicated to Music and Technology, IRCAM in Paris, and public experience with the most important musicians and orchestras around the world. The principle? Through Intelligent MachineListening, they recognize how humans perform music in real-time and use that information to synchronize content and provide an immersive experience! Antescofo was incorporated in July 2016 and based in Paris, France.
• Stake Technologies — Stake Technologies is a technology company that provides blockchain solutions to enterprises.

Portfolio highlights

• Seibii, Inc. — Transforming traditional car maintenance, repair, after-parts installation, road service industry of Japan by leveraging Technology.

Portfolio highlights

• Cerby — Collaborate without chaos. Cerby helps your team be productive while protecting your brand. Secure unmanageable applications. Only with Cerby.
• CYBO — CYBO provides products and services to understand cells deeply and to harness them widely.
• Bondy — Bondy is an HR Tech automation platform that specializes in connecting different HR processes.

Portfolio highlights

• DennoKotsu — Denno Kotsu is a Taxi dispatch system development and provision, taxi company contract dispatch service
• Replace — Replace operates " STAND3.0" that matches the opening of stalls and idle spaces.
• Man-Machine Synergy Effectors — The man-machine synergy effector (Human-Machine Synergy Effector) is a device that we propose as an "effector that realizes functions that cannot be realized only by humans or machines only by synergy between humans and machines (man-machine synergy)". Is a general term for concepts and categories.We believe that we can extend humancapabilities more.Our robotics is robotics as mechanical engineering, and we are not aiming to develop autonomous robots and artificial intelligence that make people unnecessary. By intuitively manipulating robots as a physical tool, we aim to increase the value of human labor, enrich society, and contribute to human well-being.

Portfolio highlights

• LisB — LisB provides cloud service development, smartphone, tuplet, PC application development web system.
• Astroscale — Astroscale is the first private company with a vision to secure the safe and sustainable development of space for the benefit of future generations, and the only company solely dedicated to on-orbit servicing across all orbits.
• Ispace Technologies — ispace is a private lunar robotic exploration company that is developing micro-robotic technology to provide a low-cost and frequent transportation service to and on the Moon, conduct lunar surface exploration to map, process and deliver resources to our customers in cislunar space.

Portfolio highlights

• Voicy — Voicy is a mobile platform that recruits both media personalities and news organizations; the entertainers read the news so users can get the latest info from their favorite voices.
• Carstay — Carstay Comfortable Overnight in car or tentdo itCar tripWith guests who want to enjoy.
• Telework — Telework is a multi-location workspace that utilizes vacant seats and rooms.