YJ Capital

YJ Capital, originally established as the corporate venture capital arm of Yahoo Japan Corporation, underwent a significant rebranding in 2020, emerging as Z Venture Capital. This strategic shift aligned the firm more closely with its parent company, Z Holdings (now LY Corporation, a subsidiary of SoftBank Group), reflecting a broader vision for its investment activities. Based in Tokyo, Japan, Z Venture Capital maintains a global investment mandate, with a particular emphasis on opportunities within Japan and the wider Asian market, leveraging its deep regional insights and network.

The firm's investment strategy spans a comprehensive range of stages, from Seed and Early Stage Venture to Later Stage Venture investments. Z Venture Capital seeks out innovative startups that demonstrate strong potential for growth and, crucially, those that can benefit from or contribute to the extensive ecosystem of LY Corporation. This ecosystem includes prominent platforms such as Yahoo! Japan, LINE, PayPay, and ZOZO, offering portfolio companies unparalleled access to a vast user base, technological resources, and strategic partnerships, thereby accelerating their market penetration and scaling efforts.

Z Venture Capital has built a robust portfolio of high-growth companies across various sectors. Notable investments include Grab, a leading super app in Southeast Asia; PayPay, one of Japan's largest mobile payment services; and Demae-can, a prominent food delivery platform. The firm actively manages significant capital, including a fund that was reported to be approximately ¥30 billion (equivalent to roughly $200 million USD at the time of its announcement), enabling substantial deployments. Typically, Z Venture Capital's initial cheque sizes range from a few hundred thousand dollars to several million dollars, reflecting its flexibility to engage with companies at different growth phases and its commitment to providing meaningful capital support.