Gobi Partners, one of Asia’s most active venture capital firms, has expanded into Japan through JR East’s TAKANAWA GATEWAY Link Scholars’ Hub (LiSH) as a Global Network Partner.
LiSH, located in TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY and linked directly to Tokyo International Airport, opened in May 2025 as part of JR East’s smart-city development.
The hub facilitates collaboration between startups, corporates, and researchers on technologies and business models relevant to urban life.
“Japan’s innovation ecosystem is hungry for new growth models, while Southeast Asia’s startups are now proving their scalability beyond home markets,”
said Thomas G. Tsao, Co-Founder and Chair of Gobi Partners.
“That convergence is where the next wave of cross-border venture activity will come from, and we want to be right in the middle of it.”
Gobi’s entry into Japan follows years of regional collaboration.
The firm previously co-hosted the Malaysia-Japan Innovation & Capital Forum with the Tokyo Stock Exchange and JETRO.
It also partnered with Cross Capital to channel Japanese investment into Southeast Asia’s digital economy.
Its portfolio includes Southeast Asian companies backed by Japanese corporates, such as JULO (Saison Group), CompAsia (OSK SBI), iStore iSend (Yamato Transport), Glints (Persol Group), Funding Societies (Cool Japan Fund), Animoca Brands (Sumitomo Corp, Kodansha), and Carsome (MUFG, Daiwa).
The move aligns with Japan’s Startup Development Five-Year Plan (2022–2027), which targets 100,000 startups and 100 unicorns through cross-border collaboration.
In 2024, venture funding in Japan rose 35%, while Southeast Asia attracted over US$5 billion in early-stage capital.
Featured image credit: Gobi Partners
