Yoko Fukata, head of Sony Ventures India, is one of our top 50 Emerging Leaders in corporate venturing for 2026.
Yoko Fukata joined Sony Innovation Fund, the investment arm of the Sony Group, as an investment director in 2020, bringing more than a decade of experience as an engineer and business builder across Sony.
“After years of business experience inside Sony, I wanted to engage more broadly with innovation, working alongside ambitious entrepreneurs and cutting-edge technologies that can create meaningful global impact,” she says.
Today, she leads CVC operations in India, applying her experience in one of the world’s most dynamic emerging markets. “Combining global perspective with local execution is what makes the role especially rewarding,” she says.
“After years of business experience inside Sony, I wanted to engage more broadly with innovation, working alongside ambitious entrepreneurs and cutting-edge technologies that can create meaningful global impact”
While the CVC presence in India remains relatively limited, Fukata views this as an opportunity to drive collaboration between large corporations and high-growth startups across the India portfolio, which currently comprises 14 companies.
The team targets entertainment, climate tech and enterprise technology, centred on a core focus in deep tech, specifically AI, security, semiconductors and quantum technologies.
Fukata sees strong momentum in India’s deep tech ecosystem, driven by national initiatives, deep engineering talent, and growing enterprise adoption strengthening the country’s critical technology capabilities.
“Within this evolving landscape, I am particularly focused on cybersecurity. As AI advances and quantum computing becomes a reality, the threats to data and infrastructure evolve rapidly, making resilient, next-generation security technologies more critical than ever.”
Her advice to anyone getting into corporate venturing is to act as “strategic catalysts.” She emphasises that building deep internal and external credibility is essential to unlock corporate expertise for portfolio companies. “In general, founders do not just want capital; they want partners who bring meaningful value beyond funding.”
The Emerging Leaders are mid-career corporate venture professionals who are making an outstanding contribution to their teams and the industry.
See the full list of Emerging Leaders here.
