Tomotaka Goji

Tomotaka Goji co-founded UTEC (The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners) in April 2004 and has led it ever since as Managing Partner, CEO, President and Representative Director. Under his leadership UTEC has raised and managed six funds totaling roughly ¥130 billion (over USD $1 billion in AUM), backing 150+ startups sourced largely from universities and research institutions. Of the portfolio, about 20 companies have gone public and roughly 22 have achieved other substantial exits, mainly through M&A. He describes UTEC's approach as a "co-creation process" with scientific founders — hands-on engagement that often begins before a company is formally incorporated, including recruitment, global-expansion strategy, and governance.

Before founding UTEC, Goji spent his early career in the Japanese government. He joined the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (now METI) in 1996 and authored or drafted landmark legislation and policy, including the Limited Partnership Act for Venture Capital Investment (enacted 1998) — the foundational law for Japan's VC funds — along with its related accounting and tax rules and fund performance-measurement reports. He also drafted Japan's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program (1999, as part of the Industrial Revival Act), the Copyright Management Business Act (2001, at the Cultural Affairs Agency), and intellectual-property articles of the Trust Business Law (2003, at the Financial Services Agency), before leaving government to start UTEC in 2004.

Goji graduated from the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Law in 1996, earned an MBA from Stanford University in 2003, and completed a Ph.D. at the University of Tokyo's School of Engineering in 2020, with research applying data science to model the success factors of science-based startups. He also serves as Chairman of the Japan Venture Capital Association (JVCA), having risen through Managing Director and Vice Chairman roles, and has represented Japanese venture capital internationally, including speaking at UNCTAD's World Investment Forum in Geneva (2018).

• Deep tech and science-driven startups: UTEC invests in ventures built on university and research-institution technology and talent — biopharma, life sciences, physical sciences, robotics/hardware, IT, AI, and data science.
• Very early, often pre-incorporation: The firm engages founders at pre-seed/seed stage in a "co-creation process," sometimes helping form the company, recruit management, and set up governance before it exists as a formal entity.
• Check sizes: Approximately USD $10–20 million per investment from its latest (sixth) fund, spanning seed and early-stage rounds, with the ability to follow on through IPO and M&A.
• What makes them say yes: Breakthrough science with a defensible technical edge and a research founder (often a professor) whose curiosity opens a new market — Goji frames it as backing "researchers' curiosity" and turning it into global companies.
• Stated posture: "We are very open to every kind of opportunity… our aim is to seek high-growth opportunities that could deliver good returns" (2025).