Shizen Capital

Shizen Capital Research

Firm Overview

Shizen Capital (自然キャピタル) is an independent early-stage venture capital firm headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, founded in 2016 (formerly known as Tachi.ai Ventures). The name "Shizen" means "nature" in Japanese. The firm backs ambitious startups aiming to scale in Japan, focusing on digital transformation and social impact. Shizen is structured as a METI-authorized Angel Zeisei Fund (AZF) manager, providing significant tax benefits to individual limited partners. Over 95% of its approximately 200 LPs are individuals leveraging the Angel Zeisei tax incentive, creating a distinctive and deeply engaged LP base.

The firm has a principal office in Tokyo and a satellite office in Paris for European deal sourcing. As of June 2025, Shizen manages its seventh fund (Fund VII), known internally as the "Izanami" fund, marking a milestone of over 55 portfolio companies across seven fund vintages and approximately 72 total investments.

Investment Thesis

Shizen's core thesis centers on the digital transformation of the enterprise in Japan. The firm was founded by "recovering entrepreneurs" — former startup founders who believe the best investors have operated in the trenches themselves. Investments target companies with a meaningful technology component capable of scaling both domestically within Japan and internationally.

For Fund VII (launched June 1, 2025), the firm has articulated four thematic investment pillars:

1. AI and Deep Tech: Legacy infrastructure modernization, data utilization, next-generation manufacturing enabled by AI
2. Energy Transition and Sustainability: Hydrogen technology, renewable energy solutions, circular economy models
3. Inbound Tourism and Experience Technology: Tourism digitalization, multilingual support infrastructure, promoting Japanese culture globally
4. Defense and Security Technology: Emerging defense applications and national security technologies

Shizen's philosophy emphasizes backing entrepreneurs who "embrace change and evolve flexibly while tackling fundamental social challenges" — addressing AI paradigm shifts, geopolitical uncertainty, climate change, and Japan's structural demographic and economic challenges.

Stage Focus

Shizen invests primarily at Pre-Seed, Seed, and Series A stages, with occasional Series B participation as follow-on for portfolio companies. The firm positions itself as comfortable being the first institutional investor in a company, often serving as the lead VC that validates a startup for the broader market.

Check Size

Typical investment range: $500,000 – $5,000,000 per investment.

• Pre-Seed: Initial checks typically in the $500K–$1M range
• Seed: $500K–$2M primary investment with follow-on reserves
• Series A: Up to $5M, often participating as lead or co-lead

Lead Tendency

Shizen is an active lead investor. In the initial deployment of Fund VII (Izanami), the firm served as lead VC on 6 out of 10 investments. Mark Bivens and the team prefer to be active, engaged partners rather than passive participants. Mark Bivens has written extensively about the importance of VCs taking governance roles and adding operational value beyond capital.

Fund History and Returns

Shizen has managed seven consecutive fund vintages since 2016:

• Fund I achieved a reported 3.5x DPI (Distributed to Paid-In) and 17x TVPI (Total Value to Paid-In) — exceptional performance by Japan VC standards
• The firm's earlier fund returns include landmark exit GoCater, acquired by EZCater at over 300x the original investment cost
• Previous funds invested in over 40 Japanese startups, with more than half providing services to international customers
• Fund VII ("Izanami") launched June 1, 2025, focused on the four thematic pillars described above

Geographic Focus

Shizen is Japan-centric: portfolio companies must be registered as a Kabushiki Kaisha (Japanese corporation) or be foreign startups establishing a Japanese KK subsidiary. The firm also selectively invests in companies outside Japan where there is a strong Japan connection:

• Singapore (Pi-xcels)
• United States (xMap's US-registered entity)
• United Kingdom/Japan crossover (Syd Life AI)

The Paris satellite office supports European deal sourcing through Partner Adrien Jelic.

Portfolio Highlights

Active / Notable Holdings:

• HODL KK: Crypto/commercial products company, investment valued at over 10x in liquid value
• AironWorks: AI-powered cybersecurity and phishing simulation platform. Raised $3M Series A (August 2024) with co-investors Salesforce Ventures, SBI Investment, and ALL STAR SAAS FUND
• Woodstock: Japan's first social US stock trading app (SNS-style investing for Gen Z). Raised 750 million yen Series A (May 2024) led by Delight Ventures, with Sony Innovation Fund, Coral Capital, and Shizen participating
• Pi-xcels: One-tap NFC digital receipt solution. Raised Series A (November 2024, Singapore)
• Syd Life AI: UK-Japan health-tech firm that signed a commercial deal in the US valued at $1 billion
• Wagmi Station: Web3/gaming company, secured new outside investors in 2025
• xMap: Generative AI geospatial platform for real estate. Shizen led the pre-seed round (September 2024)
• Colega AI: AI agent that automates social media marketing for restaurants. Seed round (February 2025) alongside MIRAISE
• LUCA: Alternative investment access platform for private equity, real estate, and hedge funds. Seed (October 2023)
• Reboot: Device subscription service providing iPhone and high-end electronics rentals. Seed (July 2024) with Maiora Capital
• Queri: Japan-based company, Seed (February 2024)
• OKKE: Japan-based company, Pre-Series A (February 2024)
• Shisa.AI: AI-focused portfolio company in Japan
• Authentic Indication: Japan-based portfolio company, secured outside investors 2025
• Ocean: Japan-based company, Seed (November 2025)

Notable Exits:

• GoCater: Acquired by EZCater at a multiple of over 300x the original investment — Shizen's landmark exit and proof of the M&A-over-IPO thesis
• All fund exits to date have occurred through M&A

Team

Managing Partners:

• Mark Bivens: Silicon Valley native and former serial entrepreneur (founded three startups in the 1990s) with approximately 25 years in venture capital across Europe and Japan. Author of the "Rude VC" blog (markbivens.com), where he publishes extensively on Japan's startup ecosystem, M&A strategy, and AI disruption. Deep expertise in startup ecosystem building, Japanese corporate M&A, and enterprise software.
• Matthew Romaine: Co-founder of Shizen Capital. Previously founded Gengo, Inc. (crowdsourced translation/AI training data platform, acquired in 2019 by Lion Bridge for $26M). Serves as external director at Cookpad (global recipe-sharing platform) and as a mentor for Techstars Tokyo's inaugural cohort. Stanford MBA, Brown BA.

Partners:

• Adrien Jelic: Partner managing European deal sourcing from the Paris office
• Manuel Hadj-Rahmoun: Partner, based in Japan
• Sophie Meralli: Partner (joined June 2025 at Fund VII launch). Previously at Innospark Ventures and Eight Roads Ventures. Brings investment experience across France, the US, and Japan.

Venture Partners:

• Mark Tan: Venture Partner, Tokyo
• Nobu Iguchi: Venture Partner, New York City

Principal:

• Mayumi Maruyoshi: Principal, Tokyo

Decision Process

Shizen operates as a partnership with multiple general partners involved in investment decisions. The firm is founder-friendly and operationally oriented. Both founding managing partners bring deep startup operating experience, which shapes their diligence and engagement approach.

Founder and Company Preferences

Based on Shizen's public communications and portfolio patterns:

• Japan focus required: Companies must be structured as (or willing to establish) a Japanese KK
• Technology component: Must have software/data/AI elements, not pure hardware or services
• Global ambition: Preference for founders who envision scaling beyond Japan, though domestic-focused companies are also funded
• Operator-first: Values founders with domain expertise and execution track records
• Early stage: Comfortable being the first institutional check
• M&A exit-ready: Bivens advocates for startups to be built with M&A as the preferred exit path over premature TSE Growth Market IPOs

Notable Characteristics

• M&A-over-IPO philosophy: Mark Bivens is a vocal advocate for Japan's startups to embrace acquisition exits. He argues that Japan's ecosystem health depends on M&A-driven serial entrepreneur recycling, not early public listings on TSE Growth Market
• Japan VC Radar: The firm publishes an annual infographic ranking Japan's most active lead VCs by new investments, contributing to ecosystem transparency
• Ecosystem velocity: Bivens advocates for faster capital and talent recycling through the startup ecosystem
• Anti-SaaS structural disruption awareness: Published analysis warning that traditional SaaS models face AI-driven margin erosion, influencing their AI infrastructure investment thesis
• Angel Zeisei structure: The METI-authorized AZF structure gives Shizen a distinctive LP alignment with high-net-worth Japanese individuals who receive meaningful tax benefits — creating a tightly aligned investor base

Anti-Thesis

Based on public communications:

• Companies without Japan connection (must be Japanese KK or entering Japan)
• Pure hardware without software/data components
• Gambling/casino products
• Companies seeking only paper valuations without exit orientation