Lyra Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
Lyra Ventures is a Singapore-based early-stage venture firm that invests in companies using technology to reinvent the business of fashion and retail. Its stated pitch is more than capital: founders get sector-specific insight drawn from leading global fashion players, and access to a network across Asia, particularly Japan and Southeast Asia. The firm is backed by ZOZO Co., Ltd., Japan's largest fashion e-commerce platform, and TSI Holdings, one of Japan's largest fashion conglomerates. That corporate backing is the main differentiator: it gives portfolio companies a route into Japanese retail and brand partners that other investors would reach slowly.
Stage Focus
The firm describes itself as early stage. Current rounds across the portfolio run from Seed+ to Series B (Bites and Tolstoy at Seed+; Chainlane, LePrix, Lizee, SuperCircle and Threedium at Series A; Material Exchange at Series A+; Balance and Entrupy at Series B). These are the companies' present stages as listed on the site, not the stage at which Lyra invested, so entry stage is not recorded per company.
Check Size
No check size is published on the website. It is left blank rather than inferred.
Lead Tendency
The site does not say whether Lyra leads rounds. Founder testimonials describe active help after investing (introducing a specialist agency to Chainlane during a rebrand, opening Southeast Asian partner and customer relationships for Material Exchange), which points to a hands-on follower or co-investor role, but there is no direct evidence on leading. Marked unknown.
Recent Activity
Third-party aggregators list Fund II investments in SuperCircle, Tolstoy and Lizee. Tracxn showed no new investments in 2026 as of July 2026. No new fund announcement or dated deal announcement was verified, so no activity events are submitted. Fund status is unknown.
Portfolio Highlights
Ten companies are listed on the site:
- Balance: B2B financing platform with net terms and BNPL (US, Israel; Series B)
- Bites: frontline workforce training and knowledge sharing (US, Israel; Seed+)
- Chainlane: RFID operations software for the supply chain (UK, Israel; Series A)
- Entrupy: AI authentication for secondhand resellers and marketplaces (US, India, Japan; Series B)
- LePrix: B2B wholesale marketplace for secondhand luxury (US, Japan; Series A)
- Lizee: reverse logistics for recommerce and circular models (France; Series A)
- Material Exchange: B2B materials sourcing marketplace and data platform (Sweden; Series A+)
- SuperCircle: reverse logistics and textile recycling (US; Series A)
- Threedium: 3D and AR e-commerce experiences (UK; Series A)
- Tolstoy: shoppable video platform (US, Israel; Seed+)
The mix is B2B infrastructure for fashion and retail (resale, circularity, supply chain, authentication, commerce tooling) rather than consumer brands. Several companies sit outside fashion in the strict sense (Balance, Bites), which suggests a broader retail-technology reading of the thesis. The portfolio page is a text list; the image captions were team photos and the firm logo, with no company logos. No exits are disclosed.
Team
- Reina Nakamura, General Partner: leads the firm; early-stage tech investing with an Asia emphasis. Previously Cento Ventures and Lazard Frere KK (deal execution, cross-border M&A); began at Dream Incubator; BA Keio University.
- Chieh Suang Khor, Director: board member; business development leader at NetSuite working with VC and PE firms. Nearly a decade at Cento Ventures leading Southeast Asia investments; began at Singapore EDB.
- Alicia Teo, Principal: leads deal origination, diligence and execution, plus portfolio support and fundraising. Previously Mediahuis Ventures and PropTech1 Ventures.
- Suraya Harharah, Head of Operations: firm operations and fund administration; previously Woodside Energy and Commonwealth Bank.
- Advisors: Jonathan Price (retail and consumer across APAC, senior advisor to TPG), Christine Goulay (fashion sustainability, ex-Kering and PANGAIA), Koji Yanagisawa (EVP and CFO of ZOZO), Minoru Fukuda (retail consulting, author of The Future of Apparel in 2030), Ori Lavie (GTM and sales leader, ex-Dynamic Yield and Tastewise).
Decision Process
Not disclosed. A small partner team with Reina Nakamura leading suggests a GP-led process, but this is not stated, so it is left unset.
Founder Preferences
Founders building technology for fashion and retail value chains, especially those who could use Japanese and Southeast Asian market access and ZOZO and TSI relationships. The portfolio skews to B2B software and marketplaces with global footprints, often with Israeli engineering teams.
Geographic Focus
The firm invests globally and is based in Singapore at 15 Beach Road. Portfolio companies are in the US, UK, France, Sweden and Israel, while the firm's value-add is Asia, especially Japan and Southeast Asia.