About Us

Ko Kusumi is the president and CEO of KYOTO-iCAP since April 2020. He was an Executive Officer of KYOTO-iCAP from 2014 to 2020. Prior to this appointment, he was in charge of financing support services, including securitization and syndication, in Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, where he used his financing skills to match the needs of many corporations.
At SMBC venture capital, he managed the buyout fund as the chief of the PE section, and participated in management as an outside board member and advisor for many investments to support the companies. He is a graduate of Faculty of Law, Keio University.
Since December 2014, he has been Executive Officer and Head of Investment Department of Kyoto University Innovation Capital Co.
Graduated from Keio University Faculty of Law.

Currently an Investment Officer at KYOTO-iCAP, Dr Nobuhiro Yagi earned a PhD in pharmaceutical Sciences and accrued over 20 years of experience in industry before joining KYOTO-iCAP. He worked for Kyowa Hakko Kirin for 18 years and assumed many different positions, including R&D and Business Development of Biopharmaceutical products. He also served as a scientist for several academic research institutes such as Kyoto University, RIKEN, Tokyo University, and UC San Diego. He has obtained extensive experience in the planning and management of open innovation through industry-academia collaboration and in the development of intellectual property strategies in considering commercialization. In his present position, he focuses on technology driven startups based on Biology, Material science, and Mechanical engineering.

Dr. Hiroyuki Ueno earned his PhD from Osaka University and presently serves as an officer for Kyoto University Innovation Capital. He has invested in life science and healthcare companies and has held board director or observer roles in such firms, including Chordia TX, Thyas, Drawbridge Health, AlphaNavi Pharma, Kola-Gen Pharma, and CleanHearing in the KYOTO-iCAP portfolio. His previous positions include work as a Fellow for Sumitomo Dainippon Pharmaceutical Company and Principal Scientist for Takeda Pharmaceutical Company. He is a widely published author in the fields of genetics, molecular biology, physiology, and drug discovery.

Osami Kono joined KYOTO-iCAP in April 2016 and now leads the Business Development Group with the additional charge of officer in the Investment Group. While at KYOTO-iCAP, He has invested several startups that include cell therapy biotech and new material companies. Before entering KYOTO-iCAP, He spent three years as a researcher with a chemical manufacturer and twenty years as a staff writer at Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. While at Nikkei BP, he covered biotech, finance, heavy industry, IT, etc., and wrote more than three thousand articles. He holds a B.E. in Polymer Chemistry from Kyoto University and an M.A. in Management Science from Tsukuba University.

Masayoshi Ohbayashi worked on application development and quality management in Toyobo Co., Ltd. He contributed to the increased adoption and order volume for his company’s products by performing market research, prototype production in the laboratory, licensing, and providing know-how to users. He also established know-how for production and quality control for mass production of developed products. While in charge of the production line in the factory, Ohbayashi managed the production conditions and quality control. His major was systems engineering at the Department of Textile Science and Technology of Shinshu University (master’s degree). He has been in charge of investment in KYOTO-iCAP since January 2017.

Masahiro Shinohara joined KYOTO-iCAP in April 2021. He has various experiences in creating new businesses based on new technologies. Prior to joining KYOTO-iCAP, he engaged in providing consulting services such as business strategy, new business development, business due diligence, with his customers in chemical and healthcare industries at Arthur D. Little Japan. Before Arthur D. Little, he worked for Teijin Limited at chemical product business development, where he was responsible for acquiring new customers in Japan, and overseas and accelerating investment in new production lines. He holds a master degree from the Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University.

Dr. Satoru Morita earned a PhD in semiconductor engineering from the Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University. Since 2005, he has been engaged in research on semiconductor conversion films for medical X-ray imaging equipment at Shimadzu Corporation. He also has researched and developed new devices usingprinted electronics and MEMS technology. He has been seconded to the Cabinet Office since October 2018 for 2 years. After returning to his company, he started to promote the collaboration with Startups. He has been in charge of investment in KYOTO-iCAP since Octorber 2022.

Dr. Koji Yokoo joined Investment Group of KYOTO-iCAP in June 2023 being a secondee from Astellas Pharma Inc. He earned his PhD from the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kumamoto University. Prior to joining KYOTO-iCAP, he has been in charge of pharmacokinetics and drug delivery system research at Astellas Pharma Inc. He was mainly involved in early-stage projects with small molecules, peptide, antibody and bacteriophages in the field of immunology, cancer and infectious disease. He has experience in joint research with universities and leading the investment to start-up company.

Dr. Tsujimura has over 15 years of experience in drug discovery research at a leading pharmaceutical company. His expertise lies in the research and development of treatments for metabolic diseases, psychiatric disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, and rare genetic disorders. He has also led collaborative research with academia, venture capital, and startup companies both domestically and internationally.
In addition, Dr. Tsujimura demonstrated strong leadership by initiating mergers among subsidiaries and developing global human resource management and planning strategies within U.S. subsidiaries. Since September 2023, he has been responsible for investments at Kyoto University Innovation Capital, Inc., where he leverages his expertise and experience to support the implementation of cutting-edge academic science.

Ryuhi Kanno is a serial entrepreneur. After engaging in research in the field of life science at Tokyo Institute of Technology, he worked in both venture companies and major corporations, holding positions such as business development and director of business development. He also started a company that promotes career education for National College of Technology students, and has promoted career development for thousands of National College of Technology students and graduates. After selling the company, he was involved in the formation of a new fund at a venture capital firm affiliated with the Tokyo Institute of Technology, and led several investment executions in the life science field. As a result of experiencing Japan's startup scene from both the entrepreneur's and investor's perspectives, he noticed a significant absence of "practical methods for launching successful startups." To address this issue, he began mentorship activities for entrepreneurs in my role as an accelerator. Ryuhei Kanno currently serves as an Acceleration Lead at KYOTO-iCAP.

Joined Kyoto University Innovation Capital Co. in 2018. In charge of middle-back operations and industry-government-academia collaboration for the invested companies.

Joined Kyoto University Innovation Capital Co. in 2019. In charge of monitoring and middle-back operations of supported companies.

After the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, he decided to study nuclear energy research. During his studies, he was the first in Japan to develop accelerator mass spectrometry equipment to measure uranium isotope ratios, and was also engaged in various applied research. He has won many awards at domestic and international academic conferences, including the Atomic Energy Society of Japan, and participated in the Fukushima nuclear power plant decommissioning project with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. After joining Dream Incubator, he was consistently involved in cross-border projects related to new business and industry creation, and provided investment and management support to AI startup companies at the Indian branch. After that, he was appointed as Director of the Vietnam branch and led a number of inter-country projects that were largely related to technology and policy.
In July 2024, he joined Kyoto-iCAP to create a deeptech startup company that will change the world.
Born in Thailand, raised in Malaysia, and completed the Graduate School of Engineering at the University of Tokyo.
Hobbies: mathematics (especially geometry), reading and writing prose, and triathlons.

From November 2024, Mina is responsible for supporting the growth and maximizing the value of our portfolio companies as a Lead of Portfolio success at KYOTO-iCAP. Prior to joining KYOTO-iCAP, Mina engaged in advising capital strategy and financing solutions for Japanese companies at UBS Securities Japan. She focused on advising and executing IPOs, structuring capital raises through equity, equity-linked products, corporate bonds, and derivatives, as well as supporting investor relations activities.
Mina holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Kyoto University.

The foundation of his career is rooted in the dream, formed in childhood, of one day creating the secret gadgets from the manga Doraemon, which inspired him to set his sights on becoming a researcher. At the Graduate School of Engineering at Nagoya University, he conducted research in peptide chemistry and regenerative medicine. After graduating, he joined Ajinomoto Co., Inc., where he focused on research and development in the fields of taste and smell. After earning his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Science, his proposal was selected through the company's intrapreneurial program "A-STARTERS", leading to the groundbreaking development of the world’s first "electric seasoning," which adjusts the taste of food using electricity. He has dedicated himself to the growth of several innovative businesses related to food and well-being.
In January 2025, he joined Kyoto-iCAP to drive the creation of new industries through deep tech and contribute to making Japan as No. 1 again.