Gen Tsuchikawa, chairman of Sony Ventures, is one of the 100 leading corporate venturing professionals in our 2024 Powerlist.
Gen Tsuchikawa established Sony Ventures Corporation on behalf of Sony Group Corporation in 2016. Under his leadership, Sony Ventures has become a top player in Japan’s CVC landscape and globally, with a fund size in excess of $500m; a 35-investor team across US, Europe, Israel, India and Japan; and more than 170 investments worldwide in areas including entertainment, healthtech, fintech and deep tech.
Tsuchikawa recently stepped into the role of chairman, handing over the role of chief executive to Kazuhito Hadano.
Since the establishment of the first fund in 2016, Sony Innovation Fund, Tsuchikawa and his team have collaborated closely with Sony Group Corporation on many strategic areas. Their successful approach has led to the launch of its four additional funds, including Sony Innovation Fund by IGV (2019), a joint venture with Daiwa Capital Holdings; Sony Innovation Fund: Environment (2020), which supports companies that tackle global environment issues; Sony Innovation Fund 3 (2022); and Sony Innovation Fund: Africa (2023), which targets investments in the gaming, music, movie and content material distribution sectors on the continent.
Some of the most recent deals by Sony Ventures include a £32m round raised by UK smart material maker Cambridge Mechatronics, as well as a ¥13.5bn ($93m) series B round by Japanese automation SaaS developer Josys.
Sony Ventures has become a top player in Japan’s CVC landscape and globally, with a fund size in excess of $500m.
Tsuchikawa is a long-term veteran of Sony Group Corporation. Over the years he has taken leadership roles in Investor relations, corporate development and M&A, business development, and various strategic roles before building Sony Ventures from scratch.
Prior to joining Sony, Tsuchikawa worked as an M&A specialist at Merrill Lynch between 1999 and 2004, following 15 years at the Industrial Bank of Japan.
The Global Corporate Venturing Powerlist represents the 100
individuals spearheading the future of the corporate venturing industry.
These individuals excel in terms of their venturing approach and structure, number and quality of portfolio companies and in their contributions to the corporate venturing profession.
