Mirai Sozo Investments Establishes "Mirai Sozo Fund No. 3"

Mirai Sozo Investments Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and Representative Director: Hiroyuki Okada; hereinafter "Mirai Sozo Investments") is pleased to announce that, in collaboration with universities and research institutions including Tokyo Institute of Science (Science Tokyo), it established "Mirai Sozo San-go Toshi Jigyo Yugen Sekinin Kumiai" (hereinafter "Mirai Sozo Fund No. 3"), a fund specializing in GX (Green Transformation) and deep tech fields, in December 2025. The Mirai Sozo Fund No. 3 was established following our selection as the management operator for the GX Innovation Promotion Support Fund publicly solicited by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. At the first closing, the fund has reached 80% of its target size of 6.0 billion yen (maximum: 8.0 billion yen). Through investments and hands-on support focused on seed/early-stage university-originated startups and advanced technology ventures, the fund aims to foster Japan-originated GX innovation and create new industries.

◆ Vision and Track Record of Mirai Sozo Investments

Since its establishment in 2014, Mirai Sozo Investments has been a venture capital firm primarily investing in seed/early-stage startups, starting from technology seeds originating from academia, including Tokyo Institute of Science. We accompany the social implementation of technology from the R&D stage through post-founding fundraising and hands-on support, engaging in activities to "create the future ourselves." To date, through two funds, "Mirai Sozo Fund No. 1" (total 3.34 billion yen) and "Mirai Sozo Fund No. 2" (total 4.25 billion yen), we have invested primarily in deep tech startups, achieving four IPOs: Synspective Inc., QD Laser, Inc., KIYO Learning Co., Ltd., and Tsukuruba Inc. Furthermore, in GX-related themes such as next-generation solar cells, next-generation innovative reactors, unused heat power generation, and green ammonia, we have accumulated a track record of investing in and supporting startups advancing large-scale fundraising and demonstration projects both domestically and internationally. Additionally, as the "Commercialization Promotion Organization" for regional GAP Funds under the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)'s University-originated New Industry Creation Fund Program "Startup Ecosystem Co-creation Program," we participate nationwide, handling numerous large GAP fund adoptions and university-originated startup creations, serving as one of Japan's leading university-originated startup creation hubs.

◆ Overview of Mirai Sozo Fund No. 3

◆ Investment Team

The General Partners (GP) operating the fund consist of three members: President and Representative Director Hiroyuki Okada, who is well-versed in GX/energy policy/nuclear technology and finance; Director/Co-founder Daisuke Kaneko, who has experience in fund design, operation, and multiple IPOs through Funds No. 1 and 2; and newly from this fund, Executive Officer Ryohei Takahashi, who has exit experience as a founder of a university-originated venture and, within our company, oversees the growth team with a track record of creating five ventures. Furthermore, including principals/capitalists with rich investment and business development experience in fields such as GX/energy/semiconductors/robotics, we have built a structure capable of supporting deep tech startup growth from both technological and business perspectives.

◆ Features of Mirai Sozo Fund No. 3

"Venture Creation" that supports deep tech seamlessly from pre-founding to IPO

Mirai Sozo Fund No. 3's strength is "Venture Creation," providing consistent support from the pre-founding research seed stage through growth phases with an eye toward IPO. While utilizing JST's GAP Fund, various SBIR (Small/Startup Business Innovation Research) schemes, and public support schemes like NEDO, we advance customer acquisition, business model construction, and management team formation in parallel with technology verification, executing lead investments in seed rounds at the time of founding. Thereafter, through business development, supply chain construction, and domestic/international partner development, we connect with subsequent rounds involving VCs, CVCs, business corporations, and financial institutions, thereby supplying the capital and human resources necessary for the prolonged growth of startups in stages.

A "Growth Hub" role leveraging a nationwide university network centered on Tokyo Institute of Science and involving regional industries

Primarily with Tokyo Institute of Science, with which we have an organizational collaboration agreement, and as the commercialization promotion organization for research seeds under the JST "Startup Ecosystem Co-creation Program" for Kyushu Institute of Technology, Nagasaki University, Ibaraki University, Shinshu University, Hiroshima University, Nagoya University, Yokohama City University, and Utsunomiya University, we have built a state where research seeds and startups "gather inbound" from across Japan. In commercialization, we emphasize connecting regional core companies, mid-sized/SMEs, and infrastructure operators with technology seeds, aiming not merely to generate university-originated startups but to nurture them as "projects that update the regional industrial structure itself." This fund aims to function as a "hub" that not only invests alone but actively involves domestic/foreign VCs, CVCs, regional financial institutions, and business corporations to form growth rounds from the seed to growth stages. In the pre-founding/seed stages, we lead business hypothesis verification and joint demonstrations with regional companies; in subsequent stages, through co-investments and follow-on investments, we attract larger capital and industrial players, simultaneously realizing the scaling of deep tech startups centered on GX and the advancement/restructuring of regional industries.

About Mirai Sozo Investments Co., Ltd.

Mirai Sozo Investments accompanies the social implementation of technology from pre-founding to post-founding business expansion for R&D-based startups, engaging in activities to "create the future ourselves." We are an independent venture capital firm founded in 2014. In 2016, we concluded an organizational collaboration agreement with Tokyo Institute of Technology (now Tokyo Institute of Science) to promote social collaboration activities and established a venture capital fund. To date, through Mirai Sozo Funds No. 1 and 2, we have invested in R&D-based startups, primarily Tokyo Institute of Science-related ventures, achieving four IPOs and four M&As. The Mirai Sozo Fund No. 3, established in December 2025, features "Venture Creation," providing consistent support from the pre-founding research seed stage through growth phases with an eye toward IPO. Furthermore, as a commercialization promotion organization in university-originated new industry creation programs and regional startup ecosystem co-creation programs, we have secured numerous GAP fund adoptions, functioning as a "growth hub" connecting researchers, regional companies, and financial institutions. Additionally, selected for NEDO's "Support Project for Securing Management Personnel in University-originated Startups (MPM)," we operate a Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) system and are engaged in supplying and nurturing management talent for R&D-based startups. We will advance ecosystem formation surrounding R&D-based startups through collaboration agreements with the Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation, Kanto Headquarters; Tsukuba Research Support Center; Kitakyushu City; Kyushu Institute of Technology; university-affiliated VCs; and others. https://miraisozo.co.jp Website: https://miraisozo.co.jp