How many total Deep Tech companies are there in Tokyo?

As of May 2026, Tokyo has 247 active Deep Tech companies.

How many Deep Tech companies in Tokyo are funded?

As of May 2026, 129 companies have received funding in this sector.

What is the total funding raised by Deep Tech companies in Tokyo?

Deep Tech companies in Tokyo have collectively raised $2.5B in funding till date.

Who are the top investors in Deep Tech companies in Tokyo?

The top investors in Deep Tech companies in Tokyo by number of investments are Plug and Play Tech Center and SoftBank Vision Fund.

Which is the highest funded Deep Tech company in Tokyo?

As of May 2026, Sakana has raised $379M in funding, highest among the funded Deep Tech companies in Tokyo.

How many exits have occurred in Deep Tech companies in Tokyo?

Deep Tech sector in Tokyo has seen 5 acquisitions and 18 IPOs.

How many Deep Tech unicorns are there in Tokyo?

Tokyo has produced 2 unicorns in the Deep Tech sector till date.

List of 284 Deep Tech Startups in Tokyo, Japan & Market Trends (May 2026)

The Deep Tech sector in Tokyo, Japan comprises 284 companies, including 129 funded companies having collectively raised $2.5B in venture capital money and private equity. Out of these, 63 are Series A+ funded, and 2 have achieved unicorn status.

Deep Tech sector in Tokyo, Japan has seen 5 acquisitions and 18 IPOs. This represents almost 8.1% of all such companies - which is higher than the 5.0% exit rate of tech companies in general.

This sector includes companies that are developing products based on innovative technology and scientific developments such as blockchain, AI, advanced robotics, IoT , etc.

Includes companies implementing technologies like blockchain, artificial intelligence, computer vision, robotics, nanotechnology, IoT into their products. Also includes companies providing infrastructure to develop blockchain, AI, IoT technology such as development tools, smart contracts, and sensor technology, among others. Excludes companies developing products of conventional technology (Shallow Tech) such as conventional digital platforms, conventional robotics in industrial automation, among others.

Key Metrics

Total Companies

284

Top Companies

Tier4 Robotics, Softbank Robotics & more

Total Funding

$2.5B

Funded Companies

129

Series A+ Companies

Series C+ Companies

Unicorns Created

IPOs

Acquisitions

View complete details of this sector

There are 284 Deep Tech startups in Tokyo, Japan which include Tier4 Robotics, Softbank Robotics, Soracom, Telexistence, Sakana. Out of these, 129 startups are funded, with 63 having secured Series A+ funding, and 2 achieving unicorn status.

Over the past 10 years, an average of 13 new companies have been launched annually. Notably, several of these startups have been founded by alumni of The University of Tokyo, Stanford University and Keio University.

1. Tier4 Robotics

Autonomous driving platforms and intelligent vehicle systems. It focuses on creating scalable technologies for self-driving cars using open-source software and hardware integration. The company supports mobility and logistics applications by offering platforms that enable automated vehicle control and deployment.

Key facts about Tier4 Robotics

Founded Year: 2015
Location: Tokyo (Japan)
Stage: Series B
Total Funding till date: $279M
Investors: JAFCO Group, Quanta Computer and 11 Others
Latest Funding Round: Series B, Jun 16, 2024, $*****
Tracxn Score: 69/100 What is this?
Competitors Rank: 6 of 202 Competitors

2. Softbank Robotics

Provider of humanoid social robots for homes and businesses. Its product offerings include a bipedal assistant that can be used to welcome, inform and entertain people and a robot built to be used by enterprises for providing robotic assistance and customer interaction. It is equipped with an algorithm for a communication attitude adjustment, called the emotion engine, which enables it to perceive emotions and fine-tune its response. Its humanoid robot is envisioned for assisting the elderly and for healthcare assistance. In addition, the company has developed self-driving cleaning robots that work alongside teammates and allow for staff to simultaneously focus on higher-value tasks.

Key facts about Softbank Robotics

Founded Year: 2012
Location: Tokyo (Japan)
Stage: Acquired
Total Funding till date: $117M
Investors: Foxconn Electronics, Alibaba Group and 1 Other
Latest Funding Round: Grant (prize money), Jan 01, 2018, $*****
Tracxn Score: 67/100 What is this?
Competitors Rank: 5 of 259 Competitors

View full list of companies in this sector

3. Soracom

Provider of IoT connectivity solutions and platform services for device management. It offers tools for data transmission, security, and remote device access. The platform supports various network services, including private networks and gateways. It provides resources such as documentation, webinars, and guides for developers.

Key facts about Soracom

Founded Year: 2014
Location: Tokyo (Japan)
Stage: Public
Total Funding till date: $11.4M
Investors: Pavilion Capital Partners, World Innovation Lab and 9 Others
Latest Funding Round: Post IPO, Mar 26, 2024, $*****
Tracxn Score: 65/100 What is this?
Competitors Rank: 4 of 226 Competitors

4. Telexistence

Provider of AI-based multi-utility humanoid robots. Its features include a hybrid control system, UI and UX interface, and more.

Key facts about Telexistence

Founded Year: 2017
Location: Tokyo (Japan)
Stage: Series B
Total Funding till date: $210M
Investors: SoftBank Group, KDDI Open Innovation Fund and 16 Others
Latest Funding Round: Series B, Jul 06, 2023, $*****
Tracxn Score: 64/100 What is this?
Competitors Rank: 1 of 8 Competitors

5. Sakana

Sakana AI is a Tokyo-based R&D company founded by former Google AI engineers, David Ha and Llion Jones. Inspired by nature, Sakana AI aims to design collective artificial intelligence models.

Key facts about Sakana

Founded Year: 2023
Location: Tokyo (Japan)
Stage: Series B
Total Funding till date: $379M
Investors: Lux Capital, Khosla Ventures and 25 Others
Latest Funding Round: Series B, Nov 17, 2025, $*****
Tracxn Score: 64/100 What is this?
Competitors Rank: 8 of 128 Competitors

Access the full list of 284 Deep Tech Startups in Tokyo, Japan

Companies founded year-on-year in the Deep Tech sector in Tokyo

30 Deep Tech startups in Tokyo were founded in 2016 - this is the most number of startups founded in any year in the last 10 years.

Total Number of Companies

Year	No. of companies
2025	8
2024	11
2023	10
2022	18
2021	13
2020	9
2019	13
2018	14
2017	13
2016	30

Stage-wise distribution of Deep Tech sector companies in Tokyo

Out of the total 284 Deep Tech companies in Tokyo, 129 have secured funding. Among them, 63 have reached Series A or higher, and 49 to Series B or beyond.

Founded - 284

Funded - 129

Series A+ - 63

Series B+ - 49

Series C+ - 34

Company Stage	No. of companies
Founded	284
Funded	129
Series A+	63
Series B+	49
Series C+	34

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Total funding year-on-year in the Deep Tech sector in Tokyo

The Deep Tech sector in Tokyo saw a total funding of more than $2.23B in the last 10 years. The most amount of funding was in 2024 at more than $354M.

Total Funding

Year	Total Funding
2025	$258M
2024	$354M
2023	$338M
2022	$157M
2021	$251M
2020	$90.8M
2019	$215M
2018	$121M
2017	$282M

Recent Funding Rounds in Deep Tech in Tokyo

In the year 2025, till December 2025, Deep Tech companies in Tokyo have raised $257M in equity funding across 16 rounds. In the same period last year (i.e. till December 2024), Deep Tech companies in Tokyo had raised $354M across 19 rounds. So, 2025 has seen a 27.44% drop in funding in Deep Tech companies in Tokyo as compared to 2024.

Here are some recent, important funding rounds in Deep Tech companies in Tokyo:

Company	Round Raised	Amount Raised	Funding Date	Investors
Recho	Series A	1999	Dec 10, 2025	SBI Investment
Notta	Series B	1270	Dec 09, 2025	Granite Asia
Sakana	Series B	6385	Nov 17, 2025	MUFG and 5 more
RT Corporation	Series B	4194	Oct 30, 2025	NSK
RoboTruck	Seed	1059	Sep 17, 2025	JIC Venture Growth Investments and 1 more

See a more detailed list of funding rounds

Plug and Play Tech Center is the top investor in Deep Tech companies in Tokyo based on number of companies invested.

Here are some top investors in Deep Tech companies in Tokyo:

Investor	Location	Top Portfolio Companies
Plug and Play Tech Center	Sunnyvale (United States)	KEKKAI
SoftBank Vision Fund	London (United Kingdom)	-
HAX	San Francisco (United States)	-
Mitsubishi UFJ Capital	Tokyo (Japan)	Modalis Therapeutics, GITAI, Dynamic Map Platform and Infostellar
EQT	Stockholm (Sweden)	-

See a more detailed list of investors

In the year 2023, till January 2023, 1 acquisition happened in Deep Tech sector in Tokyo. Last year, in 2022, a total of 1 acquisition happened in Deep Tech sector in Tokyo.

Here are some recent, important acquisitions in Deep Tech sector in Tokyo:

Company	Acquisition Type	Acquisition Date	Acquirers
OriCiro Genomics	Business Acquisition	Jan 04, 2023	Moderna
Softbank Robotics	Business Acquisition	May 20, 2022	United Robotics Group
Rigaku	Business Acquisition	Jan 06, 2021	The Carlyle Group
Midokura	Business Acquisition	Jun 07, 2019	Sony Semiconductor
Life Robotics	Business Acquisition	Feb 2018	FANUC

See a more detailed list of acquisitions

Acquisition trends in Deep Tech sector in Tokyo

Here are the acquisition trends in Deep Tech sector in Tokyo:

Total Number of Acquisitions

Year	No. of companies
2026	-
2025	-
2024	-
2023	1
2022	1
2021	1
2020	-
2019	1
2018	1
2017	1

In the year 2025, till March 2025, 1 IPO happened in Deep Tech sector in Tokyo.

Here are some recent, important IPOs in Deep Tech sector in Tokyo:

Company	IPO Date	Exchange Symbol
Dynamic Map Platform	Mar 27, 2025	Tokyo Stock Exchange (TYO)
Hmcomm	Oct 28, 2024	Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE)
Soracom	Mar 26, 2024	Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE)
Brains Technology	Jul 28, 2021	Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE)
Arara	Nov 19, 2020	Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE)

See a more detailed list of IPOs

Companies founded by alumni from top colleges in the Deep Tech in Tokyo

Most number of Deep Tech startups in Tokyo have been founded by alumni from The University of Tokyo, Stanford University and Keio University.

College	No. of companies
The University of Tokyo	5
Stanford University	3
Keio University	2
Carnegie Mellon University	1
Columbia University	1
IMD Business School	1
National University of Singapore (NUS)	1
Stanford Business School	1
University of Cambridge	1
University of Oxford	1

Total funding in Deep Tech companies founded by alumni from top colleges in Tokyo

In the last 10 years, Stanford University graduates' Deep Tech companies in Tokyo have raised the most funding among top colleges. The University of Tokyo alumni are second, and University of Toronto alumni are third.

College	Total Funding
Stanford University	$569M
The University of Tokyo	$403M
University of Toronto	$379M
Keio University	$279M
National University of Singapore (NUS)	$190M
Stanford Business School	$190M
IMD Business School	$17M
Carnegie Mellon University	$11.4M
Columbia University	-
University of Cambridge	-