Takehiro Shirai

Takehiro Shirai is a General Partner and Director at IT-Farm Corporation, a Tokyo- and Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm founded in 1999. IT-Farm describes itself as investing in early-stage disruptive technology startups across North America, Europe, Asia, and Japan, and its firm materials emphasize cross-border business development support for portfolio companies.

Shirai is listed by IT-Farm as a core member and by LinkedIn as having been GP at IT-Farm since January 2000. IT-Farm’s Japanese profile and XTC Japan speaker profile describe him as a founding member of IT-Farm who leads technology assessment of investment candidates and provides hands-on support around partner selection, customer projects, and portfolio success.

Before IT-Farm, Shirai worked at Isis Corporation as a technology evangelist helping startups enter the Japanese market. Earlier, he worked on microprocessor design at Intel’s U.S. headquarters and Japan office. The same firm and XTC profiles state that he was also a founding member of MetaSoftware’s Japan office and contributed to MetaSoftware’s NASDAQ listing. Darmiyan lists him as “Mr. Takehiro Shirai, MSEE” and as a board member.

• Invests through IT-Farm in early-stage technology startups, with emphasis on digital health, AI, mobile, big data, mobility, and IoT.
• Focuses on global technology startups where IT-Farm can add value through Japan market entry, partnerships with Japanese incumbents, cross-border business development, and technical diligence.
• IT-Farm’s LinkedIn profile says the firm invests in “early stage disruptive tech startups among North America, Europe, Asia, and Japan.”
• Shirai’s specific role is highly technical: IT-Farm and XTC Japan describe him as leading technology assessment of investment candidates and helping with market validation and customer or partner project execution.
• IT-Farm’s 2025 UTokyo IPC announcement says the firm has invested in roughly 150 deep-tech companies, including more than 100 overseas companies, mainly at the early stage, across technology fields including medical, materials, and hardware, excluding drug discovery.