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Japanese investors back $38.1b into European tech startups
Japanese investment in European tech startups has surged since 2019, with Japanese investors and funds joining over €33 billion (US$38.1 billion) of deals, according to data from NordicNinja and Dealroom.
This marks a sharp rise from the €5.3 billion (US$6.1 billion) invested in the five years before the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement took effect.
Major Japanese corporates such as Mitsubishi, Sanden, Yamato Holdings, and Marunouchi Innovation Partners have been active backers, alongside VC firms like NordicNinja and Toyota’s Woven Capital.
Deep tech and AI are key sectors, accounting for 70% of Japan-linked deals in Europe in 2024.
Notable recent investments include Wayve in the UK, Quantinuum in the UK, and Multiverse Computing in Spain.
Industry leaders say Japanese investors bring manufacturing expertise and are increasingly sought after as partners, though language and cultural barriers can slow dealmaking.
Despite a forecast dip to €3 billion (US$3.5 billion) in Japanese investment for 2025, interest in Europe from Japan remains strong.
🔗 Source: CNBC
🧠 Food for thought
Implications, context, and why it matters.
Japan’s €33B push in European tech sits next to a much larger US presence
- Since 2019, investors from Japan joined €33 billion of European deals 1 compared with $426 billion in European tech over the past decade 2 while US money fills about $75 billion of a $375 billion growth-stage gap 3.
- Deep tech and AI took 70% of Japan-to-Europe deals in 2024 1, which points to sector bets over broad ecosystem backing. Forecasts see a drop to €3 billion in 2025 from higher 2024 levels 1, so this looks like a cyclical peak.
- At home, the startup scene counts eight unicorns as of end-2024 4, with university spinouts up nearly threefold since 2014 5.
European deep tech founders can unlock Japanese manufacturing partners with focused Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) outreach
- Corporate investors from Japan such as Mitsubishi or Sanden bring manufacturing know-how and supply chain access 1. That helps European deep tech startups that build physical products in energy or materials or quantum computing. Founders should map active Japanese Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) units in their field.
- Decision making can be slower, with more consensus and deeper due diligence 1. Start talks several months earlier than with US or European investors, and plan for extensive technical validation.
- Advisory firms can build Japan to Europe deal services 1. They can help startups with language barriers or cultural hurdles that slow deals, and link teams to entrepreneurs-in-residence programs used by funds like Kyoto University Innovation Capital (Kyoto iCAP) 5.
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