Venture Capital · Profile from Venture Capital Research Companion
JAFCO Group Co., Ltd. (formerly Japan Associated Finance Co.)
Japan's oldest and largest independent venture capital firm, founded in 1973 under the Nomura Securities group, which has backed roughly a thousand companies to IPO, built the template for Japanese "IPO-pipeline" venture investing, ran overseas arms that backed FireEye, Palo Alto Networks, Bill.com and Tudou, and since 2020 has refocused on concentrated, lead-investor positions in Japanese start-ups and mid-market buyouts.
At a glance
- Founded
- April 1973, Tokyo, as Japan Associated Finance Co., Ltd. (日本合同ファイナンス)
- Founders
- Established by the Nomura Securities group with other Japanese financial institutions (reported shareholders included Sanwa Bank and Nippon Life; the exact founding consortium is not consistently documented, verify)
- Headquarters
- Tokyo (Toranomon); historically offices across Japan, plus Palo Alto, Singapore, Shanghai/Beijing, Taipei and Seoul through overseas subsidiaries
- Ownership / structure
- Publicly listed company (TSE Prime, ticker 8595). Listed over-the-counter in the 1980s and on the TSE First Section from 2001 (reported). Nomura was long the largest shareholder; it reduced or sold its stake in the late 2010s (verify). Renamed JAFCO Group Co., Ltd. in October 2020. Manages funds as general partner and invests its own balance sheet alongside them
- Leadership (2026)
- President and CEO Shinichi Fuki (verify current title and roster); a partner-led investment team introduced in the 2010s
- AUM / capital raised
- Not reliably disclosed as a single figure; total commitments under management in the ~¥300–400bn range in recent years (estimate, verify). Recent flagship "SV" funds in the ~¥50–100bn range (reported, verify)
- Stage focus
- Historically all stages from early venture to pre-IPO, plus management buyouts. Since the late 2010s: early- and growth-stage Japanese technology companies, where it aims to lead and hold board seats, and mid-market buyouts and business succession deals
- Signature investments
- Japan: Money Forward, Cyberdyne, UUUM (reported) and hundreds of TSE Mothers/JASDAQ IPOs. US (Jafco Ventures, later Icon Ventures): FireEye (~47x, reported), Palo Alto Networks, Bill.com. Asia (JAFCO Asia): Tudou and many Chinese, Taiwanese and Korean IPOs. Disappointments: post-IPO collapses of theme stocks; the 2000s dot-com and post-Livedoor bust in Japanese IPOs; a 2000s loss cycle that forced write-downs
7 deals and moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
2006
Tudou
Series B
2008
FireEye
Venture Round
2008
Palo Alto Networks
Venture Round
2010
Billcom
Series C
2013
Cyberdyne
Pre-IPO Venture Investment
2013
Money Forward
Series A Third-Party Allotment
2015
UUUM
Pre-IPO Venture Investment