About W inc
W inc is a venture capital firm located in Shibuya, Japan. As of Sep 2026, W inc is an active investor, having invested in 72 companies, with 2 new investments in the last 12 months. It primarily invests in Seed round in Japan based startups. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from Consumer to Retail and High Tech. Most recently it participated in the $***** Series A round of ARK Overall, W inc portfolio has seen 1 IPO and 3 acquisitions including key companies like GarageBank, Nagisa and Creema. A lot of funds co-invest with W inc, with names like SMBC Venture Capital sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. W inc has team of 7 people including 2 partners.Key Metrics
Team Members
Rounds of Entry
Seed, Series A & 3 more
Portfolio IPOs
Portfolio Acquisitions
Portfolio Soonicorns
W inc's List of Top Investments
W inc has a portfolio of 72 companies. Their most notable investments are in Meet Career and Carstay.Their portfolio spans across Japan, Indonesia and United States. They have invested in Consumer, Retail, High Tech and 21 other sectors, across stages such as Seed, Series A and 3 more. Here is the list of top investments by W inc:
1. Paytner
Key facts about Paytner
- Founded Year: 2019
- Location: Minato (Japan)
- Stage: Series D
- Total Funding till date: $18.5M
- Investors: Mizuho Financial Group, JIC Venture Growth Investments and 34 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series D, Sep 01, 2026, $*****
2. Catlog
Developer of wearable health monitoring devices for domestic feline pets. These devices track physiological data including activity levels, respiratory rates, and body temperature. The system provides automated notifications regarding health status changes and maintains digital logs for monitoring animal wellness over time.
Key facts about Catlog
- Founded Year: 2018
- Location: Shibuya (Japan)
- Stage: Series B
- Total Funding till date: $22.9M
- Investors: W Ventures, Mizuho Bank and 18 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series B, Feb 21, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
3. E-Cloud
App-based crowdfunding platform for businesses. The platform lets users invest in ventures or businesses before registering for an IPO. It also lets founders or owners register their businesses to find funding for their ventures.
Key facts about E-Cloud
- Founded Year: 2018
- Location: Tokyo (Japan)
- Stage: Series A
- Total Funding till date: $3.7M
- Investors: Genesia Ventures, W inc and 5 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series A, Feb 13, 2025, $*****
4. Parallel
Online platform for calling and play games. Its platform allows users to enjoy various contents while talking with close friends.
Key facts about Parallel
- Founded Year: 2017
- Location: Minato City (Japan)
- Stage: Series C
- Total Funding till date: $7.92M
- Investors: Shizuoka Financial Group, KDDI and 7 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series C, Mar 21, 2024, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
5. TRIBEAU
Online platform providing plastic and cosmetic surgery information. It is an online platform for users to find and receive information on double burial, bear treatment, rhinoplasty, jaw bone cutting, liposuction, breast augmentation, and other surgical procedures.
Key facts about TRIBEAU
- Founded Year: 2017
- Location: Shibuya (Japan)
- Stage: Series C
- Total Funding till date: $20M
- Investors: Hakuhodo DY Ventures, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital and 5 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series C, Oct 22, 2024, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
W inc's Year-on-Year Investment Trends
W inc has invested in 72 companies over the last 7 years, with an average of 5 new investments annually in the last 5 years. In 2025, it made 8 investments, while as of Sep 2026, it has made 1 investment in this year. Its most recent first time investment was in Palmu and most recent follow-on round was in Palmu.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
2025 | 6 | 2 | 8 |
2024 | 7 | 1 | 8 |
2023 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
2022 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
2021 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
2020 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
2019 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
W inc's Investments by Stage
W inc has made 22 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $901K, 11 investments in Series A stage with an average round size of $3.39M, 6 investments in Series B stage with an average round size of $5.96M, 1 investment in Conventional Debt stage and 1 investment in Series C stage with an average round size of $9.58M.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Seed | 22 |
Series A | 11 |
Series B | 6 |
Conventional Debt | 1 |
Series C | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
W inc's Investments by Sector
W inc has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Consumer, Retail, Business Services, Enterprise Applications and HealthTech. Notably, it has invested in 44 Tech companies, 35 Consumer (B2C) companies, 19 Software companies and at least 17 companies focusing on Enterprise (B2B).Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Consumer | 13 |
Retail | 7 |
Business Services | 5 |
Enterprise Applications | 5 |
HealthTech | 4 |
Others | 30 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
W inc's Investments by Geography
W inc has made most investments in Japan (37), followed by Indonesia where it has made 3 investments.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Japan | 37 |
Indonesia | 3 |
United States | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
W inc's recent investments
W inc has made 1 investments in 2026 so far - ARK.Here are the most recent investments by W inc:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sep 17, 2026 | Japan | Series A | 9224 | [+9] | |
Dec 23, 2025 | Japan | Conventional Debt | 9465 | [+6] | |
Dec 23, 2025 | Japan | Series B | 5227 | [+6] | |
Oct 01, 2025 | Japan | Series A | 4006 | [+1] | |
Aug 25, 2025 | Japan | Series B | 6560 |
IPOs and Publicly Listed companies in W inc's Portfolio
1 of W inc's portfolio company became public - Creema. It got listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), in Nov 2020.Here are W inc's portfolio companies that went public:
Company | IPO Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Nov 27, 2020 | - | - | 4292 |
Acquired companies in W inc's Portfolio
3 companies from W inc's portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition was GarageBank in Jul 2026 by Komehyohds for $*****.Here are W inc's portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jul 17, 2026 | - | - | 9310 | |
Nov 26, 2024 | May 27, 2019 | Seed | 9167 | |
Oct 01, 2020 | Dec 04, 2023 | Series A | 2746 |
Team profile of W inc
W inc has a team of 7 members including 2 Partners and 1 Venture Partner located in Japan. W inc's team does not sit on the board of any company as of now.Here is a list of all team members in W inc:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Partner | Japan | - | ||
Partner | Japan | - | - | |
Venture Partner | Tokyo | - |
Co-investors of W inc
Over the past 7 years, 208 investors have co-invested in W inc's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before W inc: Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, 500 Global and 46 others have invested in rounds before W inc. There are 2 companies where Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance has invested before W inc and 2 companies where 500 Global has invested before W inc.
- Top Co-investors of W inc: 97 investors entered a company along with W inc. These include investors like SMBC Venture Capital (4 companies).
- Invested after W inc: A total of 63 investors have invested in W inc's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include Shoko Chukin Bank (3 companies), Nissay Capital (3 companies) and Mizuho Financial Group (2 companies).
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