ANOBAKA

ANOBAKA (formerly KLab Venture Partners) is a Tokyo-based venture capital firm founded in 2015 by Hirokazu Nagano as the investment arm of Japanese online game developer KLab Inc. The firm subsequently rebranded and now operates independently, having separated from its corporate roots to focus exclusively on seed-stage internet and technology startups. A predecessor entity, KLab Ventures, was co-founded with SBI Holdings in 2011 and closed in January 2017. ANOBAKA is among Japan's most active seed investors, with 102 portfolio companies and 239 total investments including follow-on rounds. The firm leads rounds and invests at the pre-seed and seed stages, with average round sizes of $1.35 million at seed and $5.37 million at Series A. The portfolio spans software, SaaS, e-commerce, AI, gaming, and fintech, with investments extending beyond Japan into the United States and Southeast Asia. The firm has raised at least three funds, including ANOBAKA No. 3 Fund and the AI-focused ANOBAKA GAI No. 1. In 2025 alone the firm made 14 investments, with recent portfolio companies including Caper, CORE, prefabdeli.com, and Studio Yurigraph. Ten portfolio exits have been recorded, including fixU (September 2025) and MapleSystems, which was acquired by TWOSTONE&Sons in March 2024. ANOBAKA provides founders with hands-on operational support that extends well beyond capital. The team of six deploys in-house engineers for development consulting, assists with sales strategy, supports international marketing, and provides management guidance throughout the company-building process. This full-stack support model, combined with one of Japan's deepest seed-stage deal networks, positions the firm as a reliable first-check partner for technical founders across the Asia-Pacific region.