Investor Profile: Globis Capital Partners — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

Globis Capital Partners (GCP) is the firm that helped build Japan's venture industry — literally. Founded in 1996 by Yoshito Hori as Japan's first independent early-stage VC, it has grown to over ¥180 billion in cumulative assets under management across seven funds, backed 230+ companies, and produced 38 IPOs — including Mercari, Visional, and Yappli. Its eighth fund is projected to exceed ¥70 billion.

The thesis: hands-on company building, Japanese roots, global ambition

GCP's mission is to "create world-class industries emerging from Japan." Its model is explicitly hands-on — what it calls a management ecosystem of people, capital, and knowledge: funding, management know-how, plus network and human resources. The firm stays close to entrepreneurs' aspirations and "refines businesses alongside them," aiming to create society-transforming companies rather than simply financing them.

Fund history and size

The journey from a ¥540 million first fund in 1996 to GLOBIS Fund VII at ¥72.7 billion (2022) maps Japan's entire startup arc: a ¥20 billion joint fund with Apax Partners (1999), Fund III at ¥18 billion (2006), Fund IV at ¥11.5 billion (2013), Fund V at ¥16 billion (2016) plus Fund V-S at ¥4 billion (2020), and Fund VI & VI-S at ¥40 billion (2019). Japan's GPIF — the world's largest pension fund — invested in Fund VII, a first for a Japanese VC fund. GCP invests across the seed and growth stages of tech companies.

Notable portfolio

GCP's spotlights read like a history of Japanese tech: Mercari (Japan's first startup unicorn), SmartNews, Gree, Works Applications, Visional, Yappli, MEDLEY, ANDPAD, Mirrativ, CADDi, KAKEHASHI, and TELEXISTENCE. 30 M&As round out a 38-IPO exit record.

Programs and value-add

In 2019 GCP launched G-STARTUP, an accelerator aiming to produce 100 unicorns — by 2023 it had already supported 173 startups. GCP X, formed in 2020, is a dedicated value-add team for organizational development, CXO-level recruiting, and operational support. In 2024 the firm opened a San Francisco office to support portfolio companies' global expansion.

Key people

Founder and Managing Partner Yoshito Hori — who also founded the GLOBIS business school — alongside co-founding partner Soichi Kariyazono and a deep bench of Tokyo-based partners.

How to apply for funding

GCP does not publish an open application form for direct investment; the structured entry point is the G-STARTUP accelerator for early-stage Japanese startups, while growth-stage founders can reach the investment team through the firm's Tokyo headquarters via globiscapital.co.jp. The San Francisco office exists to pull portfolio companies outward into global markets.