Overview

特化型マイクロVCが台頭する中、クリプト・AI・ヘルスケア等の専門領域で存在感を示すGPが、アーリーステージ投資の最新動向と日本企業との協業機会を議論します。

「Deal Accessで存在感を増す領域特化型マイクロVCの現状」

シリコンバレーの投資の実行側は、昨年Q3時点で100件超のメガ・ディールが年全体の取引額の70%を占めるなど、案件の大型化、および上位集中の強い傾向が見られます。このように、少数の大型案件が価値の大半を占めるという傾向のなか、結果的に領域特化・小型のロングテールが増える構造となっており、$10M～$50M前後のマイクロVCが急増し、従来の大手VCが手を出しづらいプレシード・シードの資金ギャップを埋める形で増えています。なかでも、一部のマイクロVCは専門領域で存在感を発揮しており、クリプト、AI、ヘルスケア、Climateテック等、明確なドメインフォーカスを持ち、該当のVerticalに深い知見とネットワークを売りにしています。

本イベントでは、複数の特化型マイクロVCのGPを迎え、「アーリーステージ投資の現状」について具体的に掘り下げ、このような特化型マイクロVCと日本企業（スタートアップ、CVC含む）がどのように協業し得るのかについて、実践的な議論を行います。

日時：2026年3月5日(木) 4-6PM

場所：Japan Innovation Campus

住所: 214 Homer Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301

参加費：JCCNC会員 無料 非会員 $15

式次第：

午後3時半～4時（30分）：受付開始

午後4時～午後4時5分（5分）：

セミナー紹介: Roy Kimura JCCNC セミナー委員長、 ITOCHU International Inc.

開会挨拶: 石原首席領事 (日本語)

午後4時5分～4時20分（15分）：

ファイヤーサイドチャット、Emi Yoshikawa, Across Venture x Tomoko Saeki, Kicker Ventures (日本語)

午後4時20分～午後5時10分（50分）：パネルディスカッション (英語)

モデレーター：Seokjun Ko SBI Holdings USA

パネリスト① Emi Yoshikawa, Across Ventures

パネリスト➁ Simon Lancaster, Omni Ventures

パネリスト③ Yigit Ihlamur, Vela Partners

午後5時10分～午後5時30分：質疑応答 (英語)

午後5時30分～午後6時：ネットワーキング

“Domain-Focused Micro VCs: Building Market Presence Through Deal Access”

In Silicon Valley, investment activity has increasingly concentrated around large transactions. As of Q3 last year, more than 100 mega‑deals accounted for approximately 70% of total annual deal value, demonstrating a strong trend toward larger, top‑heavy transactions. In this environment—where a small number of large deals capture the majority of deployed capital—the market is simultaneously seeing a structural expansion in the long tail of smaller, domain‑specific funds.

As a result, $10M–$50M micro VCs have rapidly increased in number. These funds are emerging to fill the financing gap in the pre‑seed and seed stages, an area where traditional large VCs tend to be less active. Among them, certain micro VCs have built a strong presence through deep specialization. These domain‑focused funds concentrate on clearly defined verticals—crypto, AI, healthcare, climate tech, and others—leveraging sector‑specific expertise and networks as their core value proposition.

In this event, we will welcome several GPs from leading specialized micro VCs to discuss the current landscape of early‑stage investing in practical detail. Together, we will explore how domain‑focused micro VCs can collaborate with Japanese companies—including startups and CVCs—through co‑investment, strategic support, and sector‑driven partnership models.

Event DetailsDate & Time: Thursday, March 5, 2026, from 4:00 PM to 6:00PMVenue: Japan Innovation Campus214 Homer Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301Participation Fee:Members: FREENon-Members: $15

Program

3:30 PM – 4:00 PM (30 min)Registration

4:00 PM – 4:05 PM (5 min)Introduction and Opening Remarks by the MC, Roy KimuraRemarks by the Deputy Consul General Takeshi Ishihara (in Japanese)

4:05 PM – 4:20 PM (15 min)Fireside Chat (in Japanese)

• Emi Yoshikawa (Across Venture) × Tomoko Saeki (Kicker Ventures)

4:20 PM – 5:10 PM (50 min)Panel Discussion (in English)

• Moderator: Seokjun Ko, SBI Holdings USA

• Panelists:

• Emi Yoshikawa, Across Ventures

  • Simon Lancaster, Omni Ventures

  • Yigit Ihlamur, Vela Partners

5:10 PM – 5:30 PM (20 min)Q&A Session (in English)

5:30 PM – 6:00 PM (30 min)Networking

Our Awesome Speakers

Seokjun Ko, Head of the Silicon Valley office, SBI Holdings USA

Seokjun Ko (Ko) is the Head of the Silicon Valley office at SBI Holdings USA, Inc., and serves as Managing Director of the SCV x SBI Fund and Partner of the SBI US Gateway Fund. He oversees early-stage venture investments in the U.S. and also manages direct investments and strategic partnership initiatives for the SBI Group.

Previously, he was engaged in fintech, B2B SaaS, and AI investments across global markets within the SBI Group. He also served as a board director at portfolio companies including Amartha, a leading microfinance platform empowering women entrepreneurs in rural Indonesia, and Ralali.com, a B2B e-commerce marketplace headquartered in Singapore that serves SMEs across Southeast Asia.

Prior to joining SBI, Ko worked at J.P. Morgan’s Tokyo office in the Global Corporate Banking division as a coverage banker, managing relationships with large international corporates and fintech firms. He supported clients’ cross-border operations with a focus on financial and capital strategy.

Born in Seoul, South Korea, Ko holds a Bachelor’s degree from Waseda University’s School of International Liberal Studies. He also completed military service at the U.S. Army’s 2nd Infantry Division HQ in South Korea, where he served as a delegated senior leader and received top honors from the Department of the Army.

SBI Holdings USA, Inc.にてHead of Silicon Valley officeを務め、SCV x SBI FundのManaging DirectorおよびSBI US Gateway FundのPartnerとして、米国を中心としたアーリーステージスタートアップへの投資を推進。また、自己投資案件の開拓や戦略的パートナーとの提携構築にも取り組んでいる。

これまでSBIグループにおいて、海外市場を中心にFinTech、B2B SaaS、AI関連領域のスタートアップへの投資を担当。インドネシアのAmarthaやシンガポールのRalali.comでは社外取締役を務め、経営戦略、資本政策の支援を行った。

SBI参画前は、J.P.モルガン東京支店の国際法人営業部門にて、グローバル大手およびFinTech企業を担当するカバレッジ業務に従事。顧客のクロスボーダーオペレーションに関する財務・資金調達を支援した。

韓国ソウル出身。早稲田大学国際教養学部卒。韓国において在韓米軍第2歩兵師団司令部で兵役を務め、シニアリーダーとして部隊を率い、米陸軍省より最優秀表彰を受けた。

Emi Yoshikawa | Founder & Managing Partner, Across Ventures

Emi Yoshikawa is the Founder and Managing Partner of Across Ventures, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm. Across Ventures specializes in investing in domain-specialized micro VCs and facilitating strategic cross-border collaboration between these VCs, their portfolio companies and leading Japanese corporations.

Before establishing Across Ventures, Emi held key leadership roles at Ripple, a prominent blockchain technology company. Her roles included overseeing corporate strategy, business operations, and joint venture partnerships. She was also instrumental in launching an ecosystem fund dedicated to supporting startups utilizing blockchain technology.

Emi's professional expertise extends across corporate governance, academia, and non-profit organizations. She was an outside board member to SBI group companies and an adjunct professor at Kyoto University, where she championed industry-academia collaboration in blockchain research. She is also a board member for the Japan Society of Northern California.

Recognized for her contributions, Emi was named one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business by the San Francisco Business Times in 2021. 

Emi is a CFA charterholder and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

吉川　絵美　|  Across Ventures  創業者・マネージングパートナー

米シリコンバレーを拠点に先端テクノロジーのグローバルビジネス戦略等の分野で幅広く活動。2025年にサンフランシスコ拠点のベンチャーキャピタルAcross Venturesを創業。2024年まで米リップル社のサンフランシスコ本社にて、戦略イニシアチブ担当バイスプレジデントとして、コーポレート戦略、ビジネスオペレーション、合弁事業パートナーシップなどをグローバルに統括。また、ブロックチェーンを活用するスタートアップ向けのエコシステムファンドの立ち上げを主導し、ハンズオン支援を実行。京都大学大学院ブロックチェーン研究センター特任准教授、SBIホールディングスのグループ会社での社外取締役などを歴任。2021年にはSan Francisco Business Timesによりサンフランシスコ・ベイエリアのビジネス界で最も影響力のある女性100人の中にも選出された。Japan Society of Northern California理事。ハーバード・ビジネススクールMBA、CFA協会認定証券アナリスト資格（CFA）を保有。

Tomoko Saeki, Managing Partner, Kicker Ventures

Tomoko has extensive experience across many different sectors of healthcare, in many different countries and business cultures. From startups, to consulting, to major global corporations, Tomoko has a deep understanding of the different stakeholders across the healthcare industry and brings them together to create greater impact.

Tomoko is a trained pharmacist and molecular biologist, and she holds an MBA from INSEAD. Before founding Kicker Ventures, she served as Business Development Advisor to Nipro, worked for Axios International in France, UNICEF in Rwanda, consulted for PwC's PRTM, and worked as project manager for Aqumen Biopharmaceutical—a biotech startup in Japan.

With her experience, Tomoko specializes in building community and fostering cross-cultural partnerships, helping to create a supportive ecosystem for Kicker’s portfolio companies and the industry as a whole.

In addition to her role at Kicker Ventures, Tomoko teaches meditation classes in San Francisco and brings thoughtful and practical approaches back to her work in fostering a valuable, authentic community in the healthcare industry. She is deeply involved in the US female VC community, and is regularly invited to speak at conferences around the world. Tomoko is also a mentor in several important accelerator programs, supporting the next generation of healthcare entrepreneurs and investors.

Simon Lancaster | Co-Founder and General Partner, Omni Ventures

Simon Lancaster is a Co-Founder and General Partner at Omni Ventures, a first-check venture capital firm investing in manufacturing technology at the pre-seed stage. Omni Ventures focuses on software and AI that digitize and strengthen critical manufacturing value chains, including digital engineering tools, robotics software, factory automation, and industrial IoT.

Prior to founding Omni Ventures, Simon spent over a decade at Apple, where he worked on complex, large-scale hardware and manufacturing programs. His experience operating at the intersection of engineering, software, and global supply chains deeply informs Omni’s investment philosophy: building durable technology companies that respect real-world manufacturing constraints and deliver measurable productivity gains.

Simon is also the author of Unlocking Alpha, a book on systematic, long-term value creation through disciplined decision-making and constraint-driven execution. The Japanese edition has been particularly well received, with strong engagement from leaders across manufacturing, technology, and corporate innovation communities.

At Omni Ventures, Simon partners closely with founders from the earliest stages, helping translate deep technical innovation into scalable, globally relevant businesses. Omni portfolio companies are backed by leading global investors including Khosla Ventures, Eclipse Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Google Gradient Ventures.

Simon is particularly interested in long-term collaboration with corporate partners who share a commitment to manufacturing excellence, operational rigor, and continuous improvement.

Yigit Ihlamur, Co-Founder and GP, Vela Partners

Yigit Ihlamur is the co-founder and GP of Vela Partners, the firm that created quantitative venture capital as an asset class. His research with the University of Oxford has produced over 20 academic papers at the intersection of AI and venture capital, including work recognized with the Best Poster Award in Generative AI for Finance at NeurIPS 2025. Yigit and his team developed vcbench, an open AGI benchmark for venture capital that was covered by the Financial Times. Vela's approach to LLM-driven investing has been featured by both OpenAI and Google (blogpost). Before founding Vela, Yigit worked at Google, and studied at the University of Oxford and Koç University.

In Cooperation with