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

If you are raising capital and researching how to get funding from Mizuho Capital, this profile is your starting point. Mizuho Capital is a Seed, Early, Growth, Pre-IPO investor focused on IT/Internet, Biotechnology, Medicine & healthcare, Life sciences, Fintech, Services, with Multiple funds: Mizuho Life Science Fund No.1 grew from ¥5 billion to ¥10 billion (Jan–Jun 2020); Mizuho Growth Fund No.2 raised ¥10 billion; Mizuho Growth Support Fund IV closed at $274M; The Fund (with Signifiant) is ¥20 billion. Total AUM not publicly disclosed.. Below: its thesis in its own terms, what it looks for, the companies it has backed, and the practical route founders use to get a pitch in front of the team.

Mizuho Capital funding: the investment thesis

Mizuho Capital is the venture capital arm of Mizuho Bank, one of Japan's top five VC firms. It runs specialised funds spanning growth-stage hands-on investing, life sciences, fintech, business succession for SMEs, and primary-industry (forestry, fishery, agriculture) industrialisation.

The majority of its investments are in Japan's capital region, with some in Kansai and other regions plus selected investments abroad.

For founders, the practical read is simple: Mizuho Capital is not a spray-and-pray shop. Its public positioning centres on IT/Internet, Biotechnology, Medicine & healthcare, Life sciences, Fintech, Services at the Seed, Early, Growth, Pre-IPO stage level, so a pitch lands only when your company sits squarely inside that mandate. Study the portfolio pattern below before you write the first email.

Cheque size and fund firepower

Mizuho Capital has publicly disclosed Multiple funds: Mizuho Life Science Fund No.1 grew from ¥5 billion to ¥10 billion (Jan–Jun 2020); Mizuho Growth Fund No.2 raised ¥10 billion; Mizuho Growth Support Fund IV closed at $274M; The Fund (with Signifiant) is ¥20 billion. Total AUM not publicly disclosed.. That scale tells you two things: the firm can lead rounds rather than only follow, and it has the reserves to support winners in follow-ons. Founders should size their ask to the stage the firm plays at — Seed, Early, Growth, Pre-IPO stage — rather than to the headline fund number.

Sectors and stages

The firm invests across IT/Internet, Biotechnology, Medicine & healthcare, Life sciences, Fintech, Services, and its sweet spot is the Seed, Early, Growth, Pre-IPO stage. If your startup sits outside those sectors, this is not your investor — a focused mandate cuts both ways. If you are inside it, you are speaking to a team that sees dozens of comparable companies a year and will benchmark you against them.

Notable portfolio companies

Companies associated with Mizuho Capital in public sources include:

• Money Forward
• GENIEE
• BeaTrust
• Brave Group
• Zehitomo
• Wealthpark
• Mode Media

Partners, programs and perks

People named in public sources: Yusuke Omachi (President). Founder-to-partner fit matters — find the partner whose portfolio looks most like you.

How to apply for funding

Mizuho Capital has no publicly documented pitch route in the sources read for this profile. The default playbook applies: a warm introduction through a portfolio founder or a co-investor beats a cold email, and the contact details on the firm's official site are the legitimate front door.