Our company name "Animal Spirits" originates from a term used by economist Keynes in his book "The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money."
Originally, it referred to the "animal spirits" that drive economic activity and investment - a concept also translated as "vigor," "ambitious drive," or "passionate determination to achieve." We interpret this phrase as:

1. "The impulse to take on challenges that one believes must be realized, even without being asked"

2. "The driving force of entrepreneurs who create new value even in uncertain environments"

3. "The essential energy that moves society forward"

Startups are born not from following others' instructions, but from the passion that wells up from within their founders. We believe that these "Animal Spirits" are the source of economic growth and innovation, and we chose this name with the desire to spread this mindset throughout Japanese society.

Our company operates two main business segments:

1. Venture Investment Business
We manage the "Animal Spirits Fund I," which primarily invests in seed and early-stage startups. Rather than taking a "hands-on" approach to portfolio company management, we provide support and accompaniment as needed.

2. Advisory Business
Building on our track record from previously managing the growth capital fund "THE FUND," we now provide advisory services to "Mizuho Growth Partners," a later-stage fund. Through this, we indirectly support the growth of later-stage startups and work to expand Japan's startup ecosystem.

Through these two business segments, we aim to support the future that startups create while contributing to the revitalization of Japan's overall innovation environment.

We provide an audio explanation of the Animal SpiritsⅠ Fund on our Voicy page at the link below. Please take a look.Please note that the audio is in Japanese only.

Animal Spirits FundⅠ has been established!

Managing Partner Asakura co-founded a startup called Naked Technology with his friends in 2006 while still in university. The company raised funds from multiple VCs and developed middleware and applications for feature phones. As CEO, Asakura sold the company to Mixi in 2011.

After joining Mixi through the acquisition, Asakura served as an executive officer and later as Representative Director, President and CEO, leading the company's transformation from a social networking business. He spearheaded a turnaround that grew the company's market capitalization from 18 billion yen at the time he became CEO to a scale of 500 billion yen.

Similarly, Venture Capitalist Kawahara is also an entrepreneur who has experience exiting his own startup through M&A.

Under our philosophy of "social transformation for future generations," we have two major goals:

First is to help create startups that exceed 1 trillion yen in enterprise value. While "1 trillion yen" as a number doesn't have absolute significance, we see it as a benchmark for identifying companies capable of fundamentally transforming society. Our role is to closely support entrepreneurs who can bring about such significant changes, starting from their seed and early stages.

Second is to consistently achieve net investment returns of 3x or more. This serves as an indicator of our investment methodology's reproducibility and sustainability, and represents our responsibility to our LP investors.

The goal of "creating startups exceeding 1 trillion yen in enterprise value" isn't strictly tied to the 10-year fund life. Rather, we believe we can sufficiently contribute to our mission of "social transformation for future generations" by supporting companies in their early stages that continue to grow after IPO and eventually reach the trillion-yen scale.

While 1 trillion yen is certainly an ambitious target, our managing partner Asakura has experience leading a listed company that grew from 18 billion yen to over 500 billion yen in market capitalization, so we're confident this isn't an unrealistic figure.

Regardless of industry, we invest in startups with high growth potential that will lead to "social change for future generations”. In addition, we focus on the following themes that are of particular importance to us.

"Protecting the nation": Startups that work to improve productivity and establish social systems to make Japan's inevitable super-aging society sustainable.
Digital Transformation, Artificial Intelligence, IoT, robotics, healthcare, etc.

"Preserve the Earth": Startups that work on building systems to realize a de-carbonized, recycling-oriented economy.
Climate Tech, natural energy, food tech, mobility, supply chain, etc.

"Pioneering the Frontier": Startups working to create new industries that will transform the way people live.
Space development, Generative AI, blockchain, wellbeing, etc.

We primarily invest in seed-stage and early-stage startups. We also invest in middle stage and beyond, mainly through follow-on investments in existing portfolio companies.
The terms "seed," "early," and "mid-stage" are not distinguishable based on external criteria such as valuation, business performance, or the name of the funding round. Therefore, when considering investment, we make decisions based on the specific circumstances of each individual company.

We rarely use the term "hands-on." Here's why:
- Entrepreneurs themselves understand their business best
- Excessive intervention can hinder a startup's growth
- In the early stages, the founder's time and thought processes are the greatest drivers of growth, and intervention can damage these resources

Our Founding Partner, Asakura, has personally experienced how unnecessary external interference can negatively impact corporate management, both in startups and public companies.

With this in mind, when requested by startups, we strive to provide support in:
- Fundraising (introducing next-round investors, building equity stories )
- Business strategy advice (business model validation, financial model creation, etc.)
- Network support for hiring and customer development

Our role is that of a behind-the-scenes supporter and running mate.

We believe that entrepreneurs should be the protagonists in startup management, and by avoiding micromanagement from VCs as outsiders, we can achieve enhanced corporate value - this is our philosophy.

The amount of investment depends on the growth phase of the startup and the amount raised, but we have invested between 15 million yen and 300 million yen per round in the past. The maximum investment amount is 500 million yen.
The median investment amount is around 150 million yen.

Regardless of its role in the round - lead investment, co-lead investment, or follower investment - Animal Spirits will make the investment.

Regardless of its role in the round - lead investment, co-lead investment, or follower investment - Animal Spirits will make the investment.

The growth of the startups in which we invest and their success in raising the necessary capital are very important to us at Animal Spirits.
We will make follow-on investments in rounds after the initial investment, if additional investment from Animal Spirits could contribute to the growth of the startup in light of its business situation after the investment.

Animal Spirits is based in Tokyo, but will invest in startups outside of Tokyo.
The first fund's first investment, Crassone, is a startup based in Nagoya.

Animal Spirits also invests in startups that are registered or based outside of Japan.
However, Animal Spirits does not actively seek investment opportunities in startups outside of Japan.
The main type of startup investments we expect to make in overseas regions are businesses by entrepreneurs with ties to Japan, or businesses that are closely related to Japan.

The fund size of the Animal Spirits No. 1 Fund is approximately 6 billion yen.

While it varies depending on individual circumstances such as the startup's phase and sector, we typically complete our investment decision and funding within 1-3 months from the initial meeting.
- Seed stage: Tends to be shorter (around a few weeks)
- Early to middle stage: Due to more business performance verification items, takes up to about 3 months
- We do not make "same-day investment decisions" as a rule

As investors who will be accompanying startups for nearly 10 years, we value taking time to build mutual understanding with startups. We believe this process is important not only for us as venture capitalists but also for startup management teams.

Conversely, if we decide not to invest, we strive to respond as quickly as possible to avoid delaying the startup's fundraising process.

Additionally, consulting with us as early as possible before your desired funding timing will allow for a smoother investment evaluation process. We welcome discussions even at preliminary stages when business plans are not yet finalized, so please feel free to contact us.

Below is our typical investment process:
- Document Review: First, please send us your company overview and pitch deck so we can evaluate whether Animal Spirits can be helpful in your fundraising.
- Initial Meeting (about 30 minutes, online): To use both parties' time effectively, we start with a brief online meeting. If we need to verify real operations or products, we may consider an on-site visit separately.
- Additional Q&A Exchange: After the initial meeting, we will send you a list of additional questions, and based on your responses, we may schedule follow-up meetings.
- Investment Terms Proposal & Reference Checks: Once discussions progress, we will present terms including investment amount and valuation, and conduct reference checks on key personnel as needed.
- Investment Committee Resolution: Based on the proposed terms and reference check results, our internal investment committee makes the final decision. After approval, funds can be transferred within a short period.

Additionally, you may also submit a presentation video via Loom or similar platforms along with the preliminary documents.

While respecting each startup's growth phase and the founder's intentions, we individually consider exit strategies to ensure fund returns. Many companies typically aim for an IPO (Initial Public Offering), but we also consider options like M&A (Mergers & Acquisitions).

For IPO:
Many companies choose this path to raise growth capital and enhance their social credibility. We provide support with IPO preparation and strengthening management systems.

For M&A:
Our managing partner, Asakura, has personal experience exiting his own startup through M&A and has helped other portfolio companies with their M&A exits. Since capital strategies and management policies differ by company, we work together to find the optimal approach for growth and investment returns.

We don't require exits within the fund's investment period. Our basic approach is to reduce burden on startups by responding flexibly, such as transferring shares to other investors through secondary transactions, based on the business's growth status.

Ultimately, after thorough discussions with entrepreneurs, we seek exit methods (IPO/M&A/Secondary, etc.) that both parties can be satisfied with.

While the key factors we focus on vary depending on the startup's growth phase, these two points are the most critical elements in our decision-making:

1. Founder's Qualities and Leadership
Whether they possess deep industry and market insight, unique perspectives, and the passion (animal spirits) and execution ability to achieve their mission.

2. Target Market Validity
Whether there is genuine customer need and room for growth.
Whether the theme contributes to "social transformation for future generations."

We focus on these two points consistently, regardless of whether it's seed stage or early stage.

As companies progress and accumulate sales and customer data, we examine additional factors such as unit economics, product-market fit, and organizational scalability.

However, our fundamental belief is that ultimately, the entrepreneur's passion and the significance of their target market heavily influence our investment decisions.

We are certainly able and eager to help with this. For example, we believe that connecting companies at similar business stages or entrepreneurs facing similar challenges can lead to beneficial collaborations and information exchange.

However, we do not organize large-scale study sessions, retreats, or similar events. Entrepreneurs are extremely busy, and with the recent increase in VC-sponsored events, we want to avoid causing "event fatigue" that could interfere with daily operations. Our policy is to allow entrepreneurs to focus their valuable time and mental energy on growing their businesses.

A few times a year, we host informal gatherings that our portfolio companies and LPs can freely attend, but participation is entirely optional. Our basic approach is to avoid placing excessive obligations on entrepreneurs and let them build their networks at their own pace.

The Animal Spirits FundⅠ was established on January 17, 2023.

Animal Spirits is a VC firm founded in 2023, so past investments are limited. Please see the link below for a list of our current investments. Please note that some of the investees include startups that have not announced their fundraising in their press releases.

List of Animal Spirits investment press releases

■Past Investments from Other Organizations
GP, which manages the Animal Spirits FundⅠ, has been involved in investment decision-making, advisory, etc. for the following companies through past companies and angel investments, etc.

Raksul (TSE Mothers listing, 2018)

Neural Pocket (TSE Mothers listing, 2020)

Loco Partners (acquired by KDDI, 2020)

Original Stitch (acquired by World, 2019)

Socket (acquired by KDDI, 2015)

Paystack (acquired by Stripe, 2020, Nigeria)

Andpad

Asobica

Reiwa Travel

overflow

Siiibo

WAmazing

FiNC Technologies

Money Design

smartround

Bodygram

Bespo

TeraWatt Technology (US)

TVision Insights (US)

Chaldal (Pakistan)

Anyplace (US)

Paperspace (US)

■Past investments from THE FUND

THE FUND, a growth capital fund managed by Signifiant Corporation, founded by GP Asakura, has invested in the following startups. Araki, a GP, is in charge of the investment review and other operations of "THE FUND".

SmartHR

Base Food (TSE Growth Listing, 2018)

Astroscale Holdings

Timee

bellFace

XICA

i grid solutions

hacomono

On the other hand, although not categorized as "investment performance," the most significant success stories in terms of investment returns are Naked Technology and Mixi, which GP represented and directly managed.

We are looking for a few Capitalist candidates.
If you are interested, please contact us via CONTACT with a link to your Linkedin or resume.
Please note that we are unable to respond to all inquiries.

If you know someone in common with us, we can respond more quickly if you contact us via a referral.

If you do not have a mutual acquaintance, please contact us via CONTACT on our website.

If you are inquiring about fundraising, please include a link to your pitch materials or other reference materials in the contact form.

Please note that due to the extremely limited number of people working at Animal Spirits, we are unable to reply to everyone who contacts us.