Yamaha Motor Ventures & Laboratory Silicon Valley

Yamaha Motor Ventures & Laboratory Silicon Valley (YMVSV) is the global corporate venture capital and innovation lab of Japan's Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd., established in July 2015 in Palo Alto, California. Founded by Hiroshi 'Hiro' Saijou, who served as the inaugural CEO before transitioning to Chairman and ultimately departing for a Toyota role in 2020, the unit was subsequently led by George Kellerman and is now led by CEO and Managing Director Kei Onishi. YMVSV deploys capital from three named vehicles, each capitalized at $100 million: Yamaha Motor Exploratory Fund I, Yamaha Motor Exploratory Fund II, and the newer Yamaha Motor Sustainability Fund, focused on carbon management and removal, energy transition and advanced materials, for total committed capital of approximately $300 million. Its investment focus spans early-stage startups across mobility, AgTech, including a strategy originally architected by Nolan Paul, robotics and industrial automation, HealthTech and digital health, and sustainability, and it is willing to lead. The portfolio includes 28 to 35 active companies primarily in North America, and exits have included PrecisionHawk in drone analytics, Veo Robotics and Pathway, the most recent exit in July 2025. YMVSV's most recent led investment was a $5.9M Seed round into Gestalttech co-led with Alpha Edison. The firm typically participates in Series A rounds and emphasizes cross-business-unit technology applicability for Yamaha Motor. By pairing capital from its three $100M funds with an innovation lab and Yamaha's operating reach, YMVSV backs early-stage mobility, agtech, robotics and sustainability founders.