What stage does Minerva Growth Partners invest at?

Minerva Growth Partners invests at the Growth, Late Stage stages.

What is Minerva Growth Partners's typical check size?

Minerva Growth Partners typically writes checks of $6.7M – $20M.

Where is Minerva Growth Partners located?

Minerva Growth Partners is headquartered in Tokyo, JP.

Does Minerva Growth Partners lead rounds?

Yes, Minerva Growth Partners leads investment rounds.

Minerva Growth Partners

Growth equity

Tokyo · Growth–Late Stage · 14 people tracked

Also known as ミネルバ・グロース・パートナーズ株式会社

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Investment thesis

MGP provides growth-stage Japanese startups with sizable private capital as an alternative or complement to early IPOs, enabling them to invest aggressively for long-term strategic growth rather than short-term profitability. It typically invests 1-3 billion yen per company in growth-stage private firms with proven product-market fit, revenue models and attractive unit economics targeting roughly 10 billion yen in sales, focusing on consumer internet and B2B software and services including healthcare tech and fintech. MGP also pursues buyouts, PIPEs and carve-outs, and can hold across a company's entire lifecycle from pre- to post-IPO, with partner Pleiad building large public-market positions. It backs the creation of globally competitive next-generation category leaders from Japan.

Invests inCloud Computing Consumer Digital Health Enterprise Software Fintech Healthtech SaaSAsia-PacificJapanTokyo

Source: firm website, verified Aug 7, 2026.

Stage

Growth–Late Stage

Check

$6.7M – $20M

Tokyo, JP

Leads rounds

Leads

Instruments

Equity

Founded

2020

AUM

$44M

Tracked investments

Team · 14 people

from the firm's website

Kei Nagasawa· Founding Partner

Former CFO of Mercari, which he took public in June 2018; previously worked in M&A/investment advisory at Mitsubishi Corporation and in technology investment banking at Goldman Sachs in Tokyo and San Francisco. Keio University graduate with an MBA from University of Chicago.

Kenneth Lee· Founding Partner, Minerva Growth Partners; Founding Partner and Chief Investment Officer, Pleiad

Co-founder and CIO of Pleiad (2014), previously at TPG Capital, Tiger Asia Management, Sequoia Capital and Soros Fund Management. Amherst College graduate with an MBA from Harvard University.

Kensuke Murashima· Founding Partner

Former Head of Japan for Morgan Stanley's Global Internet Banking and Global Software Banking Group, leading landmark IPOs including LINE, Mercari, Raksul and freee. Previously worked in new business development and CVC at Mitsubishi Corporation. Keio University graduate with an MBA from Duke University.

Masaki Taniguchi· Founding Partner and Chief Operating Officer, Pleiad

Co-founder and COO of Pleiad (2014) with over 20 years in asset management; previously at GSAM, SPARX Group and Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong. Kyoto University graduate with a Master of Law from University of Tokyo.

Michael Yoshino· Founding Partner, Minerva Growth Partners; Founding Partner and Chief Investment Officer, Pleiad

Co-founder and CIO of Pleiad (2014), with prior experience at TPG Capital, Tiger Asia Management and Soros Fund Management. Yale University graduate with an MBA from Kellogg; also played professional ice hockey for Oji Paper.

Ryuto Terasaka· Principal

Joined Minerva in March 2022 after serving as a Vice President in J.P. Morgan's Investment Banking Department covering internet, media and technology companies in Tokyo and New York. Waseda University graduate.

Daisuke Sasaki· Advisory Board Member

CEO of freee K.K.; serves on MGP's advisory board.

Edward Tajima· Senior Research Analyst, Pleiad

Joined Pleiad in 2024 after working at TPG Capital, Shumway Capital and Fidelity International. Graduate of USC's Marshall School of Business and a US Certified Public Accountant.

Fumiaki Koizumi· Advisory Board Member

President of Mercari, Inc. and CEO of Kashima Antlers FC; serves on MGP's advisory board.

Kanji Yamamoto· Research Analyst, Pleiad

Joined Minerva in February 2022, previously an analyst on the private equity team at J-GIA working on buyouts and growth investments, and earlier an equity research analyst at Credit Suisse. Keio University graduate.

Miki Ito· Vice President, Strategic Operations and Investor Relations

Leads strategic operations and investor relations at MGP; previously Senior Portfolio & Partnership Manager at Genesia Ventures. Founder of the VC Fund Controller Network and a member of the JVCA LP Relations Committee. University of Tokyo law graduate.

Ray Hatoyama· Advisory Board Member

CEO of Hatoyama Soken Corporation; serves on MGP's advisory board.

Taisei Hirakawa· Senior Associate

Joined Minerva in October 2024, previously an associate at McKinsey & Company working on startup turnaround and growth strategy and PE due diligence across TMT and manufacturing. University of Tokyo graduate.

Yo Nagami· Advisory Board Member

Representative Director, President & Group CEO of Raksul Inc.; serves on MGP's advisory board.

What they invest in

from 6 of 14 portfolio companies

SaaS ×3Consumer ×2Fintech ×2AI & Machine Learning ×1B2B Marketplaces ×1Cloud Computing ×1Construction Tech ×1Crypto & Web3 ×1

HQs:Japan×6

Investments · 14 tracked

founders shown can be your intro path

2022年4月出資prtimes.jp

ANDPADandpad.co.jp𝕏

ANDPAD is a cloud-based construction project management service that centralizes site operations and business management for builders and contractors.

Cloud ComputingConstruction TechSaaS

CADDicaddi.jp

Manufacturing technology company; MGP invested in its Series C extension round (2025).

Camp Firecamp-fire.jp𝕏

CAMPFIRE Academy is an educational resource section of the CAMPFIRE crowdfunding platform, explaining how crowdfunding works, its types, and points to consider, along with comparisons, seminars, and events.

ConsumerCrypto & Web3FintechMarketplaces

enechain

Energy trading platform; MGP invested in its Series A (2022) and Series B (2024) rounds.

Infcurion

NOT A HOTELnotahotel.comin 𝕏

NOT A HOTEL operates a fractional ownership model for vacation residences across Japan, allowing individuals to purchase annual usage rights (minimum 10 nights per year) with full ownership privileges including resale and inheritance.

B2B MarketplacesPropTechTravel & Hospitality

Pleiadadvisorspleiadadvisors.com

Tribeau

UniFa

X Mile

トリビューtribeau.jp𝕏

A Japanese cosmetic surgery platform that connects patients with aesthetic clinics and provides educational content about procedures like liposuction, breast augmentation, and facial surgeries.

Healthtech

ユニファ株式会社unifa-e.com𝕏

Unifa develops "Lumie" (Look at me), a suite of products for childcare facilities and parents that includes IoT devices such as a medically registered body-motion sensor and childcare AI to record children's photos, health status, and developmental notes.

AI & Machine LearningConsumerEdTechIoTSaaS

株式会社インフキュリオンinfcurion.com𝕏

Infcurion provides payment and financial platforms and consulting services centered on the finance and payments domain.

Enterprise SoftwareFintechSaaSTokyo, JP

Hiroki Maruyama(Representative Director & CEO)

Portfolio news

latest coverage across their companies

NOT A HOTEL Raises ¥10.1 Billion in Series C and Debt Financing, Bringing Total Funding to ¥33.2 Billion

NOT A HOTEL · thebridge.jp · Feb 19, 2026

Frequently asked questions

What stage does Minerva Growth Partners invest at?: Minerva Growth Partners invests at the Growth, Late Stage stages.
What is Minerva Growth Partners's typical check size?: Minerva Growth Partners typically writes checks of $6.7M – $20M.
What sectors does Minerva Growth Partners focus on?: Minerva Growth Partners focuses on Cloud Computing, Consumer, Digital Health, Enterprise Software, Fintech, Healthtech, SaaS.
Where is Minerva Growth Partners located?: Minerva Growth Partners is headquartered in Tokyo, JP.
Does Minerva Growth Partners lead rounds?: Yes, Minerva Growth Partners leads investment rounds.

Images

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