Investor Profile: DEEPCORE — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

(DEEPCORE)

For AI founders in Japan researching DEEPCORE funding, working out how to get funding from the firm starts with an unusual fact: it is both an incubator and a venture fund, built by SoftBank Group specifically to fix Japan's shortage of global AI companies. Launched in January 2018 as a wholly-owned SoftBank Group subsidiary, DEEPCORE exists to develop young AI entrepreneurs — especially in deep learning — and to back the startups that emerge from its community.

Investment thesis: how DEEPCORE funding works

DEEPCORE's thesis is community-first: find promising people before they are fundable, surround them with compute, mentorship and corporate projects, then invest. The firm aims to accelerate the adoption of deep learning in society by creating an ecosystem where AI engineers, researchers and entrepreneurs collaborate — including joint research with institutions such as the Matsuo Lab at the University of Tokyo, a leader in deep learning research. It invests exclusively in AI, at seed and early stage, with a stated mission of nurturing Japan's next generation of AI up-and-comers.

Sectors and stages

AI only, seed and early stage, Japan-focused. The investment arm, DEEPCORE TOKYO, backs seed and early-stage AI startups — the first fund held a portfolio of 18 AI-focused startups, many of them Japanese, and the firm has signalled an ambition to grow that to around 70. Sectors within AI are broad, from surveillance software to robotics to voice commerce.

Fund size and cheque size

The first fund raised about $55 million (6 billion yen) in 2018, and SoftBank planned a second, larger fund within a few years. Exact current fund size and per-company cheque ranges are not publicly disclosed. The incubator side of the house is as important as the fund: members get an advanced co-working and R&D facility plus an AI computing platform with GPUs, backed by NVIDIA.

Notable portfolio

First-fund investments include AI surveillance software company Vaak, digital dispatch service provider UsideU (operator of Collaboroid), travel-app operator Scheme verge (Horai), San Francisco-based Engineer.ai (whose $29.5 million Series A included DEEPCORE), and San Jose voice-commerce startup Kea ($2.8 million seed round with DEEPCORE participating).

Partners

The company is led by CEO Katsumasa Niki, and its AI credibility is anchored by adviser Yutaka Matsuo, the renowned University of Tokyo AI expert who was appointed to SoftBank Group's board. The firm's investment team operates the fund alongside the incubation business.

Programmes run

The centrepiece is KERNEL HONGO, the AI-focused incubation community and co-working/R&D facility in Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo. The Kernel community ran to 300 members — 80% of them students — with weekly meetings and events where young founders exchange ideas and collaborate with companies and research institutes on cutting-edge projects. DEEPCORE has also partnered internationally, including a deal-flow and collaboration pact with Hong Kong AI accelerator Zeroth.

How to apply for funding

There is no conventional accelerator application form. DEEPCORE selects members for its incubation activities through an open recruiting process — joining the KERNEL community in Tokyo is the front door, and the firm funds startups it spots there. AI founders can also reach the firm through the contact channels on deepcore.jp. The practical playbook: be in Tokyo, be building in AI, and get into the Kernel orbit.