Payforward
Osaka · Seed–Series A
Investment thesis
Payforward is an Osaka-based organization whose scraped profile labels it a venture capital firm, though its own website presents a quick-delivery business. The homepage describes operating a delivery-as-a-service infrastructure, including the anycarry.jp food delivery platform, where in-house drivers bring restaurant orders to customers. Its dataset record also lists a small number of investments, mostly at the seed stage with one Series A.
What they invest in
from 27 of 32 portfolio companiesSaaS ×7B2B Marketplaces ×5Healthtech ×5Marketing Tech ×5AI & Machine Learning ×4Consumer ×4Impact & Social Good ×4Marketplaces ×4
HQs:Japan×26
Who they back
founder profiles across 13 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×102 founders×24+ founders×1
Investments · 32 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2026 · 12022 · 12 dated
Sprocket develops and operates a customer experience improvement platform that helps companies optimize digital interactions, complemented by consulting services.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareMarketing TechSaaSTokyo, JP
深田 浩嗣(CEO)中田 稔(CTO)Hiroshi Fukada
Co-investorsAccord VenturesCanal VenturesDBJ CapitalAozora Corporate Investment
.png){kind=logo}
AMETSUCHI Design creates tourism innovation focused on enhancing customer experience, with a mission to build sustainable and economically viable businesses for regional communities aligned with SDG principles.
Impact & Social GoodMedia & EntertainmentTravel & HospitalityTokyo, JP
霜竹 弘一(代表取締役兼CEO)Koichi Shimotake(Representative Director & CEO)in
Baby Job provides support services for childcare facilities and parents in Japan, including a diaper management system for nurseries, a childcare facility search platform for parents, and a cashless payment system for childcare-related transactions.
B2B MarketplacesFuture of WorkSaaS
Hiroki Nadain
Co-investorsDIMENSION
The page promotes a documentary film and references annual film licensing contracts, indicating an operation involved in distributing or licensing documentary films (in Japanese, apparently for the Japanese market).
Media & Entertainment
Congrant is a fundraising platform that enables nonprofits to accept credit card donations and conduct crowdfunding campaigns.
B2B MarketplacesFintechImpact & Social GoodSaaSTokyo, JP
佐藤 正隆(代表取締役・CEO)
Co-investorsSony Ventures CorporationGenesia Ventures
Elcyo develops variable focus liquid crystal lenses and electronic eyewear devices to address vision problems and create comfortable extended reality (XR/VR/AR/MR) experiences.
ConsumerDeep TechHardwareMedical DevicesSemiconductors京都市 (Kyoto), JP
李 蕣里(代表取締役CEO)澁谷 義一(取締役CTO)李蕣里(代表取締役 (CEO))
Emimen (笑美面) helps families navigate senior care facility selection and supports the senior living industry's quality improvement in Japan's aging society.
B2B MarketplacesHealthtechMarketplacesWellness & FitnessTokyo, JP
Flora is a femtech company addressing women's health challenges across different life stages, focusing on prevention and support for conditions including perinatal depression and other health issues affecting women.
FemTechHealthtechKyoto, JP
Anna Kreshchenko(CEO)inクレシェンコ アンナ(代表取締役)
Happy PR is a public relations agency specializing in startups, offering monthly retainer support and spot services (such as "Press Bridge") that cover PR strategy, press release creation, media kits, and direct media relations.
Marketing TechMedia & EntertainmentOsaka, JP
Ieuri (イエウリ) is an online real estate sale platform where property owners submit only property details to receive bidding-based appraisals from multiple local and major real estate agencies within about three days, keeping personal information private until the seller chooses which agents to contact.
MarketplacesPropTechSaaS
Co-investorsGenesia Ventures
Japan Together provides hands-on support for Japanese businesses looking to expand into the US market, offering services such as trade show/exhibition planning, market testing tours, cross-border e-commerce operations, FDA compliance, logistics/fulfillment, and B2B sales representation.
B2B MarketplacesConsumerE-commerce
Murai(代表 (Representative/CEO))
JobSurf operates a job matching service that connects people seeking self-fulfillment and social contribution through side jobs with social-sector organizations working on social issues.
HR TechImpact & Social GoodMarketplacesOsaka, JP
Naoya Kawaguchi(Representative Director & President)
あっと株式会社 develops and manufactures health screening devices and body constitution improvement equipment for healthcare organizations, pharmaceutical companies, and health product manufacturers.
AI & Machine LearningHealthtechMedical DevicesOsaka, JP
武野團(代表取締役 (Representative Director))武野 團
Ligua provides management solutions for the healthcare industry, with a focus on judo-therapy/osteopathic clinics (接骨院) in Japan, combining software, medical equipment, consumables, and consulting.
FintechHealthtechMedical DevicesSaaSWellness & Fitness
MiL Inc. operates a food brand and media platform that supports nutrition education for families with infants and young children, offering products, editorial content, and structured weaning support programs.
ConsumerDirect to ConsumerEdTechFoodTechWellness & FitnessTokyo, JP
Co-investorsCSC UpshotNelstone VenturesTransmedia Capital
Operates a cross-border business platform.
Tomonari Hamano(Founder)in
Co-investorsDentsu VenturesDnx VenturesGlobis Capital PartnersJapan Post Capital Co. Ltd.Prime Partners
Odorana operates flexible office services and coworking spaces that allow building owners and municipalities to convert their real estate assets into spaces for entrepreneurship and startups.
Future of WorkPropTechSaaS大阪市, JP
吉田雅紀(Founder)細野耕平(代表取締役社長)
Omowaku (株式会社オモワク) is a Japanese recruitment agency that helps mid-career job seekers find and clarify their career path when changing jobs, with a focus on business and sales roles at venture and startup companies.
Future of WorkHR TechOsaka, JP
高山 敦司(代表者 (Representative))
Orchestra Holdings is a Japanese holding company that develops group strategy and manages subsidiary operations across multiple business domains.
AI & Machine LearningGamingMarketing TechSector AgnosticTokyo, JP
中村 慶郎(代表取締役社長 (Representative Director & President))佐藤 亨樹(代表取締役 (Representative Director))
orosy is a wholesale (B2B) platform that connects suppliers with buyers, offering distinctive products across categories such as interior goods, kitchenware, food and beverages, fashion accessories, stationery, and pet supplies.
B2B MarketplacesE-commerceRetail Tech
Co-investorsGxPartners
Pehr invests in early-stage startups founded by young entrepreneurs, providing growth capital, and also offers human resource services that introduce young talent and consulting support for business development.
HR Tech
Synergy Innovations is a Japanese company providing services in the corporate marketing field, focused on supporting business outcomes for its clients.
AdTechMarketing TechOsaka, JP
松尾好晃 (Yoshiaki Matsuo)(代表取締役社長 (President & CEO))
Board岩本新一 (Shinichi Iwamoto)(取締役 (Director))
Synergy Marketing provides cloud-based CRM tools and digital marketing consulting services to help companies implement and execute customer relationship management strategies across diverse industries.
AdTechCloud ComputingMarketing TechSaaS大阪市, JP
奥平 博史(代表取締役社長 兼 執行役員CEO)
A Japanese education matching application that connects students, teachers, and parents through a platform designed to expand educational opportunities and possibilities.
EdTechMarketplaces
中庭 英雄(代表取締役 CEO)
The company produces ORGANIQ, a natural energy drink marketed toward health-conscious consumers and distributed through organic and specialty retail channels in Japan.
Circular EconomyConsumerFoodTechImpact & Social GoodWellness & FitnessKawasaki, JP
Yoshihiko Tsuji(代表取締役 (Representative Director / CEO))
Visual Bank builds training-data libraries for AI development, organizing and licensing valuable Japanese industry data so that dormant, rights-cleared datasets can be used by AI developers and creators.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureMedia & EntertainmentTokyo, JP
Saneyuki Nagai(Founder)inFumitaka Iizuka(Founder)in永井 真之(代表取締役CEO (Representative Director & CEO))飯塚 文貴(取締役 (Director))
Co-investorsW Inc.Z Venture CapitalAozora Corporate Investment
WHILL manufactures award-winning mobility scooters and power chairs designed to provide users with increased independence and mobility.
HardwareHealthtechMobility & TransportationRoboticsTokyo, JP
Junpei NaitoinKenji GohoMuneaki FukuokainSatoshi Sugie
Co-investors15th Rock500 GlobalMCP Asset ManagementNippon Venture CapitalShizuoka CapitalEight Roads Ventures+2 more
Ondeck provides M&A advisory services for Japanese small and medium-sized enterprises, handling business analysis, valuation, buyer matching, deal structuring, and closing management.
Enterprise SoftwareFintechTokyo, JP
Co-investorsAngel Bridge Co.,Ltd.
Other
Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.
AnycarryHanagataTeachWonque
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesElcyo · eurooptica.com · Jul 23, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Payforward made?
- Payforward has 31 tracked investments.
- What stage does Payforward invest at?
- Payforward invests at the Seed, Series A stages.
- Where is Payforward located?
- Payforward is headquartered in Osaka, JP.
- Who does Payforward co-invest with?
- Payforward most often shares deals with Dentsu Ventures, Dnx Ventures, Globis Capital Partners, among 19 tracked co-investors.
Images
Similar investors
4DI Ventures was co-founded by repeat tech operator and ESET Southern Africa founder Justin Stanford, giving it unusually deep cybersecurity and software operating experience rather than a purely financial background, and originated from Stanford's own angel-investing experiments that directly led to both the firm's creation and the launch of the Silicon Cape Initiative. The firm explicitly describes its style as "nurture capital" with intensive, hands-on engagement, and Stanford is vocal about avoiding the "unicorn at all costs" mentality in African tech, instead emphasizing sustainable market readiness and fundamentals in a more conservative, durability-focused investment approach.
83North is a global venture capital firm that invests in and helps entrepreneurs build large, category-defining companies, backing startups across multiple stages and sectors.
8VC is a venture capital firm investing across logistics, life sciences, healthcare, IT infrastructure, and government/defense, guided by its Smart Enterprise thesis focused on data integration and platform network effects.
ACT Venture Capital is an independent Irish venture capital firm that invests €1 million to €15 million in growth-stage private companies, with capacity for larger commitments through syndicated rounds.
Accel is a venture capital firm that partners with exceptional teams, positioning itself as a first partner to founders globally.