Hiroshi Takaoka

Hiroshi Takaoka is a Japanese venture investor associated with Keio Innovation Initiative, Inc. (KII), the venture capital firm established in 2015 to commercialize academic research and inventions, especially those connected to Keio University and broader Japanese research ecosystems.

Takaoka graduated from Keio University’s Faculty of Economics. Before joining KII, he built a career of more than 24 years at Nomura Securities. Public Japanese startup databases and investor profiles describe him as having served as branch manager in locations including Kashiwa, Mito, Nagoya Station, and Tokushima, where he was involved in supporting local venture companies. He also held head-office roles including General Manager of Human Resources Planning and General Manager of Examination / Dispute Assessment functions.

In April 2018, Takaoka was reported as joining KII as a Corporate Officer. KII’s current public team page no longer lists him among active team members, so his current day-to-day role should be verified directly before outreach. His KII-era profile emphasizes using the knowledge and network developed during his Nomura Securities career to support startups.

• KII’s stated purpose is to “Turn academic research and invention into a world-changing business,” with an emphasis on helping technologies born in university research labs gain the business growth support needed for social implementation.
• KII focuses on deep-tech companies, especially digital technology and life sciences / healthcare.
• KII is positioned as a university VC that can lead difficult-to-evaluate seed and early-stage technology investments.
• Reported investment stages span Angel, Seed, Pre-Series A, Series A, Series B and later, and Pre-IPO.
• Reported maximum investment amount is up to ¥500 million, with KII described as actively making lead investments.
• KII’s review process reportedly considers the team, opportunity, market/regulatory/technology context, and deal terms; the process can take as little as about two months from first discussion to investment execution.
• KII’s founder-facing posture is relatively open: StartupList reports that KII welcomes consultations from researchers, first-time founders, student founders, young founders, and working professionals.