Investor Profile: World Innovation Lab — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

World Innovation Lab funding is built on one big idea: the bridge between startups in the United States and Asia and the corporate giants of Japan. Founded in 2014 and based in Palo Alto, California and Tokyo, Japan, World Innovation Lab (WiL) describes itself on wilab.com as a US- & Japan-based fund that serves as a bridge between startups and corporations — using its network of leading Japanese and Asian corporations and government entities to accelerate portfolio companies' global expansion, with a particular focus on Japan.

Investment thesis

WiL partners with leading global corporations and government entities in Japan and Asia. The model works in both directions: US and European startups get help scaling in Japan, while Japanese startups are supported to innovate and globalise. Its focus is growth investment capital for innovators across digital transformation, health tech, sustainability, Web3 and emerging technologies. Beyond direct investing, WiL runs WiL Strategic Partners, a fund-of-funds arm, and manages corporate VC vehicles including the Tokio Marine Fund and the Fujiyama Bridge Lab Fund, plus mandates such as Suzuki Global Ventures, a $100M fund focused on mobility, sustainability and digital transformation.

Sectors and stages

Stated sectors include fintech, insurtech, automation and productivity, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, developer tools, health tech, sustainability and Web3. It is multi-stage: in the United States investments are generally concentrated on later rounds such as Series B and beyond, particularly in B2B SaaS, while in Japan it also deploys capital into early-stage companies.

Cheque size and fund size

A current formal cheque size is not publicly disclosed. Historic reference: in a 2015 interview, co-founder Gen Isayama said WiL typically invested $5–30M per company across multiple rounds — a 2015 figure, not current guidance. On fund size, the June 2022 announcement is the anchor: WiL raised more than $1B in additional capital, bringing total commitments to over $1.9B across seven funds — WiL Fund I ($360M, 2014), WiL Fund II ($521M, 2017), WiL Ventures III, two fund-of-funds and two corporate VC funds. The firm reported 15 unicorns in its portfolio.

Notable portfolio

The headline names the firm cites are Asana, Mercari, Wise and Auth0 (acquired by Okta in 2021). Its 15-unicorn roster also includes Algolia, Automation Anywhere, DataRobot, Kong, Sendbird, Rippling and UnQork.

Key people

Gen Isayama, co-founder and CEO; co-founding member Masataka Matsumoto; and Rob Theis, Chief Investment Officer & General Partner.

Programmes for founders

WiL runs MOMENT, its US-Japan VC conference (Palo Alto 2015; Tokyo 2016 and 2023, the latter drawing 500+ attendees with METI). There is no open accelerator with a public application. In 2015 WiL committed mentors to Delhi-based GHV Accelerator — mentorship only, no dedicated corpus.

How to apply for funding

How to get funding from World Innovation Lab: no dedicated pitch form, founder email or application page could be verified on the firm's public site — founders are directed to the official site at wilab.com. Confirm you are dealing with the Palo Alto and Tokyo VC; other unrelated "Innovation Lab" entities exist online.