Global Brain

Global Brain is a Tokyo-based venture capital firm founded in 1998, specializing in early-stage investments across various sectors, including e-commerce, software, gaming, media, IoT, education, entertainment, and fintech. The firm has expanded its investment activities to the US and Asia, targeting series A-stage technology companies. Since its inception, Global Brain has invested in approximately 30 companies, achieving seven initial public offerings and seven mergers and acquisitions. The firm supports its portfolio companies by providing not only capital but also strategic guidance, partnerships, and team-building resources to help them reach their milestones. Global Brain is particularly adept in e-commerce, operating a platform called EC-PLANET, which encompasses several group companies, including a large online sports goods store and a logistics firm offering comprehensive fulfillment services. This network, along with Global Brain's connections to established Japanese companies, facilitates market entry for US and Asian businesses into Japan.

Kaori Akiba

Principal, Corporate Management Group

Tatsunori Arai

Director, Investment Group

Megumi Asatsuma

Corporate Management Group, Director

Anjani Bansal

Partner, India Office Representative

Brooke Beers

Partner

Takuji Chida

Director, Investment Groups

Hogil Doh

General Partner, Investment Group

Thomas Duong

Principal

Brian Flucht

Partner and Head, US Division

Daisuke Furukawa

Venture Partner

Hajime Furuya

Venture Partner

Kenji Hayashi

Principal, Investment Group

Shohei Hayashi

Partner

Harue Hayashi

Partner and Vice Chief Fund Management Officer

Yosuke Hirai

Director

Joopyo Hong

Partner Investment Group

Naoki Horie

Principal, Investment Group

Jang Hyeokjin

Principal, Investment Group

Shohei Ichimiya

Partner, US Office

Nozomu Ikuta

Principal

Kotona Inaida

Director, Fund Management Group

Tomoaki Ishikure

Investment Group Partner

Yoshinari Ito

Venture Partner

Yuki Ito

Director

Hiroyuki Izumi

Partner, Investment Group

Ken Kajii

General Partner, Investment Group

Naoki Kamimaeda

Partner and Europe Division Head

Masaru Kaneshiro

Principal

Daisuke Kashiro

Partner, Investment Group

Kirin Kato

Principal

Takashi Kato

Partner, San Francisco Office Representative

Masaya Kawakami

Partner

Hiroyuki Kawamoto

Principal

Ko Kawaragi

Director

Maiko Kayata

Principal

ByeongJin Kim

Principal, Fund Management Group

Jungyong Kim

Principal, Investment Group

Riichiro Kimura Ph.D

Director, Investment Group

Kenta Kitsuka

General Partner

Issei Kokubu

Principal, Investment Group

Yoshiomi Kubota

Principal

Jinya Kurita

Director

KyungHun Lee

Partner, South Korea Office Representative

YingQi Liang(Joy)

Principal, Investment Group

Chukaku Lin

Principal

Atsushi Matsuda

Venture Partner

Akira Matsumoto

Principal, Investment Group

Natsumi Matsuoka

Principal

Hiroshi Mihayashi

Principal

Tomoko Minagawa

Director, Investment Group

Ai Minamizaki

Principal, Investment Group

Shigeru Mitarai

Principal

Kazuhiko Miyama

General Partner

Shuhei Mori

Principal

Seiichiro Mukai

Director

Satoko Murata

Principal, Investment Group

Kohtaro Nagawa

Director, Investment Group

Tasuke Nakagawa

Partner / M&A

Mitsutaka Nakao

Principal, Investment Group

Shien Nakayama

Director, Investment Group

Yuya Namiki

Director

Ying Jian Ng

Director, Investment Group

Daisuke Nishida

Partner, Investment Group

Akiko Noguchi

Director, Corporate Management Group

Rina Obi

Investment Director

Sho Ohtani

Principal, Investment Group

Tetsui Okada

Director, Investments Group

Mayu Okamoto

Principal

Akane Okuyama

Director

Shingo Otaki

Partner, Investment Group

Naoki Sadakuni

Venture Partner

Enen Sai

Principal, Fund Management Group

Kazuki Sakuragawa

Partner and Editor in Chief, Corporate Management Group

Masumi Sato

Principal

Naoki Sato

Principal, Investment Group

Tomoki Sekiguchi

Principal

Rie Shibata

Director, Fund Management Group

Takeru Shigemura

Director

Miku Shimamura

Principal

Hiroshi Shimazu

Managing Director

Masamune Shin

General Partner, Investment Group

Ayu Shinoyama

CFO and Board Member

Chisa Shinsakaue

Director

Divyansh Singh

Principal

Hiroto Sorita

Director, Investment Group

Sachiko Sugiura

Principal

Yusuke Suzuki

Partner

Kazumo Tachibana

Director

Mana Takabayashi

Director, Investment Group

Hiroki Takai

Director, Investment Group London Office

Toko Takao

Principal

Hideyuki Tanaka

Principal

Marika Tazaki

Partner

Hirotaka Togashi

Director, Investment Group

Haruka Tsujii

Principal

Atsushi Ueda

Principal, Investment Group

Takuya Ukai

Principal, Investment Group

Tetsuya Urimoto

Director, Investment Group

Noriko Usui

Partner and Chief Fund Management Officer

Keita Washizu

Principal

Hirokazu Watanabe

Partner

Keita Wazhizu

Principal, Investment Group

Masao Yamada

Senior Partner, Investment Groups

Kazunori Yamaguchi

Partner, Investment Group

Ryozo Yamamoto

Partner, Investment Group

Michiko Yamazaki

Principal, Investment Group

Isao Yasuda

Senior Partner

Takuro Yoda

Principal, Investment Group

Sayaka Yoshino

Director

Miku Yoshio

Partner, Investment Group

Yasuhiko Yurimoto

Founder and President and CEO & Board Member

Miyazawa Yusuke

Venture Partner

Lusheng Zou

Director, Investment Group

Past deals in Media

Patra

Series D in 2022
PATRA is a marketplace that sells multiple corporate brand products produced by influencers in addition to brands originating in-house. PATRA provides a trend media for women who sends the latest in girl trends, watched by more than one million women in the middle of Instagram.

MOV

Series C in 2022
Mov is a Web Design company.

WHYNOT Media

Series C in 2021
WHYNOT Media Co., Ltd. is a South Korean company established in 2016 that specializes in developing and operating a video content streaming platform. The company focuses on producing and distributing a variety of entertainment content, including web series, short films, and web dramas. Notable titles in its portfolio include "Secret Crushes," "Always a Boyfriend," "Never a Boyfriend," and "Office Watch." By tailoring its content to fit specific cultural backgrounds, WHYNOT Media aims to enhance viewer engagement and accessibility, thereby creating a diverse range of entertainment options for its audience.

WHYNOT Media

Series C in 2021
WHYNOT Media Co., Ltd. is a South Korean company established in 2016 that specializes in developing and operating a video content streaming platform. The company focuses on producing and distributing a variety of entertainment content, including web series, short films, and web dramas. Notable titles in its portfolio include "Secret Crushes," "Always a Boyfriend," "Never a Boyfriend," and "Office Watch." By tailoring its content to fit specific cultural backgrounds, WHYNOT Media aims to enhance viewer engagement and accessibility, thereby creating a diverse range of entertainment options for its audience.

Noin

Venture Round in 2021
Noin, Inc. offers online content creation and media development services. The company also offers sales account management and social media management services for online businesses. The company was founded in 2016 and is based in Tokyo, Japan.

Patra

Venture Round in 2019
PATRA is a marketplace that sells multiple corporate brand products produced by influencers in addition to brands originating in-house. PATRA provides a trend media for women who sends the latest in girl trends, watched by more than one million women in the middle of Instagram.

One Media

Venture Round in 2019
One Media, Inc. is a Tokyo-based company founded in 2014 that specializes in visual storytelling through animated messages. The company focuses on transforming messages into engaging video content, managing the entire process in-house. This includes video distribution, viewing data analysis, and creative planning and production. By integrating these services, One Media aims to deliver video content that provides unique value to its clients.

Patra

Venture Round in 2018
PATRA is a marketplace that sells multiple corporate brand products produced by influencers in addition to brands originating in-house. PATRA provides a trend media for women who sends the latest in girl trends, watched by more than one million women in the middle of Instagram.

Patra

Venture Round in 2018
PATRA is a marketplace that sells multiple corporate brand products produced by influencers in addition to brands originating in-house. PATRA provides a trend media for women who sends the latest in girl trends, watched by more than one million women in the middle of Instagram.

PORT

Venture Round in 2018
They operate several vertical media specialized in various fields and develop content marketing that meets user needs. Since it is a vertical media, the content that meets the needs of the user and the advertising that promotes it are very effective, and the user's actions within the media become active, so a lot of behavior data can be obtained. By collecting, integrating, and utilizing that data, they not only expand the vertical media entry territory, but also develop real products in-house and provide a consistent service with “media x real”.

Sports Bull

Venture Round in 2016
Sports Bull is an internet sports media management company that operates an online news platform focused on publishing sports-related articles. The platform collaborates with various sports media outlets to provide a wide array of content, including news articles and videos on current events in the sports world. This allows sports fans to stay informed about diverse sports topics and developments, ensuring they have access to up-to-date information on various events and scenarios within the sports industry.

Every

Venture Round in 2016
Movie Media Business ,Talent Management Business ,Advertisement Business.

PORT

Venture Round in 2016
They operate several vertical media specialized in various fields and develop content marketing that meets user needs. Since it is a vertical media, the content that meets the needs of the user and the advertising that promotes it are very effective, and the user's actions within the media become active, so a lot of behavior data can be obtained. By collecting, integrating, and utilizing that data, they not only expand the vertical media entry territory, but also develop real products in-house and provide a consistent service with “media x real”.

Mist Technologies

Venture Round in 2015
Mist Technologies, Inc. is a Tokyo-based company that specializes in content delivery services, leveraging peer-to-peer data delivery technology. Founded in 2013, the company offers a range of products designed to enhance video playback and content sharing. Its offerings include the Mist Inline Player for video playback on mobile devices, a 360° Sphere Video Player for immersive video experiences, and a Video Thumbnailer that creates lightweight video thumbnails. Additionally, Mist Technologies provides MistCDN, a browser-based content delivery solution, and Webdrop, a tool for file exchange between browsers on the same local area network. As a subsidiary of Adways Inc., Mist Technologies focuses on enabling faster and more efficient content distribution among users in close geographical proximity.

Mist Technologies

Venture Round in 2014
Mist Technologies, Inc. is a Tokyo-based company that specializes in content delivery services, leveraging peer-to-peer data delivery technology. Founded in 2013, the company offers a range of products designed to enhance video playback and content sharing. Its offerings include the Mist Inline Player for video playback on mobile devices, a 360° Sphere Video Player for immersive video experiences, and a Video Thumbnailer that creates lightweight video thumbnails. Additionally, Mist Technologies provides MistCDN, a browser-based content delivery solution, and Webdrop, a tool for file exchange between browsers on the same local area network. As a subsidiary of Adways Inc., Mist Technologies focuses on enabling faster and more efficient content distribution among users in close geographical proximity.

Richmedia

Venture Round in 2014
Rich Media offers media portal, Web creation, and search engine optimization (SEO) services.

Mind Palette

Series C in 2014
Mind Palette focusing on "mobile * social media" as their main business, they aim to further the realization of a society in which each individual transmits informationin real time and new values are generated by connecting other people. To this end, they conduct the provision of exciting Internet services for both users and creators.

PORT

Seed Round in 2014
They operate several vertical media specialized in various fields and develop content marketing that meets user needs. Since it is a vertical media, the content that meets the needs of the user and the advertising that promotes it are very effective, and the user's actions within the media become active, so a lot of behavior data can be obtained. By collecting, integrating, and utilizing that data, they not only expand the vertical media entry territory, but also develop real products in-house and provide a consistent service with “media x real”.
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