Isao Yasuda

Isao Yasuda is a Senior Partner at Global Brain Corporation, a Tokyo-based independent venture capital firm founded in January 1998. Global Brain says it invests from seed to later stage, manages flagship funds and corporate venture capital programs, and has invested more than $1.4B across 1,300+ deals.

Yasuda’s official Global Brain profile lists his location as Tokyo, prior experience at the Japan Securities Dealers Association, and education at Keio University’s Faculty of Economics. A 2000 Impress Watch article reported that Yasuda had worked in the Japan Securities Dealers Association’s over-the-counter registration examination department, where he was involved in registration reviews for companies seeking public listings, and that he became COO of Global Brain Investment after leaving the association in February 2000.

His current role appears to be senior rather than the stub’s “General Partner” title: Global Brain’s own member page lists him as Senior Partner. Older third-party directories and LinkedIn search snippets have described him as a General Partner or director/board member, but the firm’s current page is the better source for present title.

• Global Brain’s firmwide mandate is broad: “We invest in startups, ranging from seed to later stage, in various fields.”
• The firm’s stated sector mix emphasizes deep tech, “AI, climate tech, and medical/healthcare,” while also investing across enterprise, commerce, fintech/blockchain, IoT, mobility, space, and other areas.
• Geographic focus is global but Japan-led: Global Brain reports investments across Japan, the U.S., Europe, Asia, and other regions, with Japan representing the largest share of its portfolio.
• Investment decisions are structured around initial interviews, hypothesis building, market/competitive/technology assessment, reference checks, due diligence, and Investment Committee approval.
• Global Brain says it can decide and execute an investment in as little as one month, depending on conditions, timing, and the fund involved.
• For GB Xlimit, Global Brain looks for pre-Series A founders with “Contrarian, Frontier, and Grit,” and offers capital, mentoring, specialist support, customer/partner introductions, and investor access.