Founders evaluating DNX Ventures funding are evaluating a bridge between Silicon Valley and Tokyo. Founded in 2011 in San Mateo and Tokyo (formerly Draper Nexus Ventures), DNX Ventures is an early-stage B2B venture firm built around a corporate network spanning the US and Japan — the first question it asks founders is whether its network of enterprise buyers and partners can move their business forward. The firm states $500 million in AUM on its site, and its third fund, Fund III, closed at approximately $315 million around 2020.
Thesis and focus: how to get funding from DNX Ventures
The firm invests at seed, seed-plus and Series A in cybersecurity, enterprise AI, SaaS and cloud, climate and deep tech, retail tech, fintech and sustainability. It operates through two arms: DNX Technology Ventures (US) and DNX Capital (Japan and ASEAN). In 2024 it launched a Tokyo venture studio with the 1842 Fund for software startups.
Cheque size
Press coverage of Fund III cites cheques of $1M–$5M per round; the firm does not state a cheque range on its own site.
Notable portfolio
Verified portfolio companies include Macrometa, Mitiga, PayStand, Diligent Robotics, Banzai, HERP, Techtouch and Adacotech.
Partners
Managing partners include Q Motiwala (US), Mitch Kitamura (Managing Partner & COO), Hironobu (Rio) Maeda (San Mateo) and Akira Kurabayashi (Managing Partner & Head of Japan).
How to apply for funding
No public pitch portal was found on the firm's sites. Founders contact the firm via the website (offices: 55 E 3rd Ave, San Mateo, CA; and Tokyo, Minato-ku). The sharpest pitch here names the specific Japanese enterprise customers or partners DNX's network could unlock — that is literally the firm's first question.
The firm's reason to exist is the network: DNX Ventures asks founders upfront whether its web of enterprise buyers and partners across the US and Japan can accelerate their business — and structures its value-add around that answer. The 2024 Tokyo venture studio launch with the 1842 Fund extends the model from investing into company-building for software startups. For B2B founders, especially in cybersecurity, AI infrastructure and fintech, the Japan channel is a genuine differentiator few US VCs can replicate.
Why it matters for founders
DNX Ventures is distinctive for founders with Japan ambitions: its corporate network across Japanese enterprise is the product, not just the capital. If your B2B startup can use Tokyo as a growth lever, approach with a Japan go-to-market thesis attached — that is what this firm is built to fund.