If you are raising capital and researching how to get funding from Rakuten Capital, this profile is your starting point. Rakuten Capital is a Seed, Series A, Series B, Early to growth stage, Late stage investor focused on Information Technology, Fintech (payments, lending, asset management, FX/remittances, insurance, blockchain), E-commerce, Mobility, Healthcare, Marketing / AdTech, with Rakuten Ventures: US$200 million (global) / JPY 10 billion (Japan); Rakuten FinTech Fund: US$100 million (announced 2015). Firm-wide total 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.
Rakuten Capital funding: the investment thesis
Rakuten Capital is the corporate venture capital arm of Rakuten Group, headquartered in Tokyo, supporting portfolio companies globally with funding, operational support, and sector expertise. It focuses on transformative products and technologies in commerce, communications, marketing, financial services, mobility, and healthcare, targeting businesses with potential for strategic synergies and game-changing technology.
Its 'data-friendly approach' uses consumer and industry data accumulated within the Rakuten ecosystem to inform a distinctive investment strategy and support portfolio companies.
Cheque size and fund firepower
Rakuten Capital has publicly disclosed Rakuten Ventures: US$200 million (global) / JPY 10 billion (Japan); Rakuten FinTech Fund: US$100 million (announced 2015). Firm-wide total 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, Series A, Series B, Early to growth stage, Late stage — rather than to the headline fund number.
Sectors and stages
The firm invests across Information Technology, Fintech (payments, lending, asset management, FX/remittances, insurance, blockchain), E-commerce, Mobility, Healthcare, Marketing / AdTech, and its sweet spot is the Seed, Series A, Series B, Early to growth stage, Late 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 Rakuten Capital in public sources include:
- Careem
- Carousell
- GoTo
- Lyft
- Upstart
- Currency Cloud
- WePay
Partners, programs and perks
People named in public sources: Oskar Mielczarek de la Miel (Managing Partner, FinTech Fund). Founder-to-partner fit matters — find the partner whose portfolio looks most like you.
How to apply for funding
To pitch Rakuten Capital: unverified — no public pitch route confirmed in read sources
Whichever route you use, lead with the one-line fit: stage, sector, traction. Partners at focused firms triage on mandate fit first and everything else second.
Why it matters for founders
Rakuten Capital is built for founders in Information Technology, Fintech (payments, lending, asset management, FX/remittances, insurance, blockchain), E-commerce, Mobility, Healthcare, Marketing / AdTech raising at the Seed, Series A, Series B, Early to growth stage, Late stage. Come with mandate fit proven in your first paragraph, a cheque ask sized to the stage, and two portfolio companies you can explain why you resemble. That is how you get past the first screen.