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Good practice Imported

Kyoto-iCAP — Kyoto University Innovation Capital

Japan · Kyoto · See the Japan profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 54% 67/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Kyoto University's captive venture-capital arm has raised three funds worth over ¥54 billion since 2016 and built an 86-company deep-tech portfolio — deliberately funding the high-risk research-to-startup gap that Japan's cautious private VC market avoids.

54 JPY billion
Total funds raised across three vintages (since 2016)
86 companies
Portfolio companies (as of 2024)
Kyoto-iCAP — Kyoto University Innovation Capital

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Kyoto University Innovation Capital Co., Ltd.
Period
2014–present
Keywords
technology transfer, university venture capital, deep-tech spin-outs, IP commercialisation

Context

Kyoto-iCAP is a wholly owned Kyoto University venture-capital subsidiary, certified under Japan's Industrial Competitiveness Enhancement Act, established in 2014 to fund and support deep-tech spin-outs from Kyoto University and other national universities.

Activities

It provides venture capital plus entrepreneur-in-residence and executive-coaching programmes to de-risk deep-tech startups before private investors get involved, drawing capital from limited partners including Bank of Kyoto, Astellas Pharma, Shimadzu and SMBC Trust.

Results

Since 2016 it has raised three funds worth over ¥54 billion (Innovation Kyoto 2016: ¥16.001bn; Innovation Kyoto 2021: ¥18.14bn; Fund III: ~¥20bn) and built an 86-company portfolio spanning biotech (31), machinery/materials/energy (25), healthcare devices (16), IoT/AI (7) and food/agriculture (7); portfolio company Chordia Therapeutics listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in June 2024.

Implementation
Indicative cost
High (€500k–€5M) — Funded through three institutional fund vintages totalling over ¥54 billion in committed capital from corporate/bank limited partners, rather than a simple annual government budget line.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Built up over roughly a decade: founded 2014, first fund closed 2016, subsequent funds in 2021 and later, portfolio maturing to 86 companies with a 2024 IPO exit.
Staffing & skills
Venture-capital investment team, Entrepreneur-in-residence programme staff, Executive coaching/mentoring staff

Conditions for success

  • Legal certification enabling a university to run an equity-investing VC subsidiary
  • Strong limited-partner base of corporate and banking investors
  • Access to a steady deep-tech IP pipeline from affiliated universities

Where it fits

Governance type
university-affiliated venture capital subsidiary
Scale
national (Kyoto University plus other national universities)
Income level
high-income

Commonly funded by

Own resources / municipal budget

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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