About World Innovation Lab
World Innovation Lab is a venture capital firm founded in 2013. It is primarily based out of Palo Alto, United States. As of Feb 2026, World Innovation Lab is an active investor, having invested in 141 companies, with 6 new investments in the last 12 months. It primarily invests in Series C round in United States based startups. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from Enterprise Applications to High Tech and Retail. Most recently it participated in the $***** Seed round of Aqua Theon Overall, World Innovation Lab portfolio has seen 20 unicorns, 17 IPOs and 28 acquisitions including key companies like HubSpot, DocuSign and Mercari. A lot of funds co-invest with World Innovation Lab, with names like Global Brain sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. World Innovation Lab has team of 44 people including 30 partners.Key Metrics
Team Members
Portfolio Sectors
Portfolio Locations
Rounds of Entry
Series A, Series B & 7 more
Portfolio IPOs
Portfolio Acquisitions
Portfolio Unicorns
Portfolio Soonicorns
Deals in last 12 months
World Innovation Lab's List of Top Investments
World Innovation Lab has a portfolio of 141 companies, including 20 unicorns. Their most notable investments are in Cresta and PeerStreet.Their portfolio spans across United States, Japan, United Kingdom and 7 more locations. They have invested in Enterprise Applications, High Tech, Retail and 32 other sectors, across stages such as Series A, Series B and 7 more. Here is the list of top investments by World Innovation Lab:
1. HubSpot
Provider of a platform offering marketing, sales, and customer service software. The platform provides tools for marketing automation, sales management, and customer support. It offers an CRM as its core, integrating various hubs such as Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, Service Hub, CMS Hub, Operations Hub, and Commerce Hub, each providing specialized tools to enhance different aspects of customer management and business operations. Key features include a robust CRM supporting contact and deal management, email tracking, marketing email creation, and meeting scheduling.
Key facts about HubSpot
- Founded Year: 2005
- Location: Cambridge (United States)
- Annual Revenue: $3.13B as on Dec 31, 2025
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $101M
- Employee Count: 11,991 as on Mar 31, 2026
- Investors: Cross Creek, Fidelity Investments and 22 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Post IPO, Jun 02, 2020, $*****
- Highlight: Public
2. DocuSign
Provider of electronic signature and intelligent agreement management platform solutions. The platform offers tools for contract lifecycle management, agreement preparation, and agreement workflow automation. It provides features such as electronic notarization, web forms, and multi-channel delivery options. The platform extends its capabilities through integrations, APIs, and a mobile application.
Key facts about DocuSign
- Founded Year: 2003
- Location: San Francisco (United States)
- Annual Revenue: $3.22B as on Jan 31, 2026
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $520M
- Employee Count: 8,376 as on Mar 31, 2026
- Investors: HTIF, Glynn Capital and 87 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Post IPO, Jul 20, 2020, $*****
- Highlight: Public
3. Mercari
Online marketplace platform for used multi-category products. The platform allows users to buy and sell products from different categories like fashion, beauty, sports, electronics, books, pet supplies, art supplies, home decor, office supplies, and more. The mobile application is available for Android and iOS users.
Key facts about Mercari
- Founded Year: 2013
- Location: Minato City (Japan)
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $114M
- Employee Count: 1,777 as on Mar 31, 2026
- Investors: Mitsui, GMO Venture Partners and 9 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Post IPO, Oct 12, 2020, $*****
- Highlight: Public
4. Fortinet
Provider of cybersecurity solutions, services, and threat intelligence for enterprises. It offers a platform delivering network and cloud security, unified SASE, and security operations. The company provides services such as incident response, managed detection, and security awareness training. It also delivers operational technology security, including secure networking and ruggedized products.
Key facts about Fortinet
- Founded Year: 2000
- Location: Sunnyvale (United States)
- Annual Revenue: $6.8B as on Dec 31, 2025
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $39M
- Employee Count: 16,092 as on Mar 31, 2026
- Investors: Meritech, Japan Asia Investment and 16 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Venture Debt, Mar 02, 2004, $*****
- Highlight: Public
5. Wise
Provider of multi-currency accounts, international money transfers, and card services. The platform facilitates sending and receiving funds across different currencies. It offers options for personal and business use, including tools for managing finances. The company provides solutions for individuals and enterprises to engage in international transactions.
Key facts about Wise
- Founded Year: 2011
- Location: Shoreditch (United Kingdom)
- Annual Revenue: £9.1K as on Mar 31, 2025
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $1.03B
- Employee Count: 10,033 as on Mar 31, 2026
- Investors: Glynn Capital, Fidelity Investments and 116 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Venture Debt, May 19, 2021, $*****
- Highlight: Public
World Innovation Lab's Year-on-Year Investment Trends
World Innovation Lab has invested in 141 companies over the last 12 years, with an average of 8 new investments annually in the last 10 years. In 2025, it made 13 investments, while as of Feb 2026, it has made 2 investments in this year. Its most recent first time investment was in Aqua Theon and most recent follow-on round was in Tive.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 2 | 0 | 2 |
2025 | 9 | 4 | 13 |
2024 | 11 | 6 | 17 |
2023 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
2022 | 8 | 6 | 14 |
2021 | 7 | 5 | 12 |
2020 | 9 | 2 | 11 |
2019 | 7 | 4 | 11 |
2018 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
2017 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
World Innovation Lab's Investments by Stage
World Innovation Lab has made 27 investments in Series A stage with an average round size of $18.8M, 22 investments in Series B stage with an average round size of $41.9M and 18 investments in Series C stage with an average round size of $67.9M.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Series A | 27 |
Series B | 22 |
Series C | 18 |
Seed | 9 |
Series D | 5 |
Others | 8 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
World Innovation Lab's Investments by Sector
World Innovation Lab has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Enterprise Applications, High Tech, Consumer, FinTech and Vertical SaaS. Notably, it has invested in 112 Tech companies, 96 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 90 Software companies and at least 59 companies focusing on Saas.Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Enterprise Applications | 54 |
High Tech | 15 |
Consumer | 14 |
FinTech | 13 |
Vertical SaaS | 13 |
Others | 82 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
World Innovation Lab's Investments by Geography
World Innovation Lab has made most investments in United States (43), followed by Japan where it has made 38 investments.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
United States | 43 |
Japan | 38 |
United Kingdom | 4 |
Argentina | 1 |
Finland | 1 |
Others | 4 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
World Innovation Lab's recent investments
World Innovation Lab has made 2 investments in 2026 so far - Aqua Theon and Taxnap.Here are the most recent investments by World Innovation Lab:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Feb 27, 2026 | United States | Seed | 4596 | ||
Jan 14, 2026 | Japan | Series A | 1398 | ||
Dec 18, 2025 | Norway | Series C | 3200 | [+3] | |
Sep 16, 2025 | United States | Series B | 4088 | ||
Sep 03, 2025 | United States | Series B | 1074 | [+7] |
Unicorns in World Innovation Lab's Portfolio
World Innovation Lab has 20 unicorns in its portfolio - Framer, ElevenLabs, Synthesia and others. The most recent unicorn in their portfolio is Framer. It became a unicorn in 2025.Here is a list of unicorns in World Innovation Lab's portfolio:
Tracxn Score | Company | Short Description | Founded year | Sector | Location | Company Stage | First Investment/ Acquisition Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
76 | Provider of a no-code website builder with integrated content management | 2014 | Amsterdam | Series D | u{afsec | ||
77 | AI-based text to speech software | 2022 | London | Series D | pdjusdp | ||
74 | AI-based dubbing and subtitling solutions provider | 2017 | London | Series E | fqaptco | ||
75 | AI, SaaS, and neural network-based machine translation tools | 2017 | Cologne | Series C | dyootog | ||
52 | Financial services platform for cryptocurrencies | 2013 | New York City | Series A | deuxgdw |
IPOs and Publicly Listed companies in World Innovation Lab's Portfolio
17 of World Innovation Lab's portfolio companies have become public. Digital Grid got listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TYO), in Apr 2025 at marketcap of $188M and Laxus got listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE).Here are World Innovation Lab's portfolio companies that went public:
Company | IPO Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Apr 22, 2025 | - | - | 5827 | |
Dec 13, 2024 | Oct 06, 2015 | Series A | 2778 | |
Mar 26, 2024 | Jun 12, 2015 | Series A | 7543 | |
Oct 04, 2023 | - | - | 1850 | |
Dec 22, 2022 | - | - | 1615 |
Acquired companies in World Innovation Lab's Portfolio
28 companies from World Innovation Lab's portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition was Jaspersoft in Dec 2025 by HCL Technologies for $*****.Here are World Innovation Lab's portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Dec 19, 2025 | - | - | 8999 | |
Dec 17, 2025 | - | - | 8280 | |
Nov 19, 2025 | May 17, 2022 | Series A | 3070 | |
Nov 04, 2025 | Apr 21, 2021 | Series C | 8850 | |
Jul 29, 2025 | May 12, 2022 | Series C | 7855 |
Team profile of World Innovation Lab
World Innovation Lab has a team of 44 members including 30 Partners, 1 Venture Partner and 5 Principals located in United States and Japan. World Innovation Lab's team sits on the board of 1 company.Here is a list of top team members in World Innovation Lab:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Partner | Palo Alto | - | - | |
Partner | Palo Alto | - | - | |
Partner | San Francisco | - | ||
Partner | Tokyo | - | ||
Partner | Japan | - | ||
Partner | United States | - | ||
Partner | Palo Alto | - | ||
Partner | Tokyo | - | ||
Partner | Menlo Park | - | ||
Partner | United States | - | - | |
Partner | Palo Alto | - |
Co-investors of World Innovation Lab
Over the past 12 years, 884 investors have co-invested in World Innovation Lab's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before World Innovation Lab: Andreessen Horowitz, Y Combinator and 437 others have invested in rounds before World Innovation Lab. There are 10 companies where Andreessen Horowitz has invested before World Innovation Lab and 6 companies where Y Combinator has invested before World Innovation Lab.
- Top Co-investors of World Innovation Lab: 228 investors entered a company along with World Innovation Lab. These include investors like Global Brain (5 companies).
- Invested after World Innovation Lab: A total of 217 investors have invested in World Innovation Lab's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include Salesforce Ventures (5 companies), Mitsubishi UFJ Capital (5 companies) and Goldman Sachs (4 companies).
Recent News related to World Innovation Lab
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Aqua Theon Secures $13M Seed Round to Expand OoMee Marine Plant-Based BeverageFoodBev Media•Feb 27, 2026•Aqua Theon, Sparks Asset Management, Beyond Next Ventures, World Innovation Lab and 2 others
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Taxnap, provider of tax return app, raises 1.3 billion yen in Series A round.startuplog.com•Jan 14, 2026•Archetype Ventures, WiL, , Mizuho Financial Group and 2 others
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Lightsmith Group backs Tive to climate-proof global supply chainsImpactAlpha•Jan 13, 2026•AVP, Tive, The Lightsmith Group, Sageview Capital and 2 others
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Tabs Raises $55M Series B in FundingFinSMEs•Sep 16, 2025•Tabs, Lightspeed Venture Partners, World Innovation Lab, General Catalyst and 2 others
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HappyRobot raises USD $44 million to boost AI for supply chainsIT Brief UK•Sep 03, 2025•HappyRobot, Base10 Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Array Ventures and 14 others
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Sherpa & Company raises 1 billion yen in Series B round 1st closestartuplog.com•Aug 28, 2025•Global Brain, Canon, , SmartESG and 2 others
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Amsterdam’s Framer raises $100M at $2B valuationSilicon Canals•Aug 28, 2025•Framer, Atomico, HV Capital, Meritech and 3 others
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Goldman Sachs leads $50m series F of Japan-US legal AI startupTech in Asia•Jul 26, 2025•LegalOn Technologies, World Innovation Lab, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto, Mizuho Financial Group and 3 others
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LegalOn secures $50m to expand AIVerdict•Jul 25, 2025•LegalOn Technologies, Goldman Sachs, World Innovation Lab, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto and 2 others
