Loading organizations...
Loading organizations...
Invests in innovative tech startups addressing societal challenges across various sectors, including IT, automation, energy, healthcare, mobility, and more.
Hitachi Ventures invests in innovative companies that address society’s key technological challenges in areas like IT, industrial automation (robotics, sensor technology and IoT), cloud services (data management, cybersecurity), mobility (autonomous driving, mobility services, smart infrastructure and security services), energy, smart medicine (AIfor digital imaging, smart diagnostics, remote care), smart city, smart infrastructure and more. With our first fund of USD 150M, we invest in Series A/B/C rounds in globally leading startups. From our offices in Munich, Germany, and Boston, USA, we work tirelessly to develop close ties and effective collaboration with leading innovative technology hubs and like-minded co-investors. Hitachi intends to leverage its strong position in multiple global technology markets, its expertise and network to support and promote Hitachi Ventures portfolio companies.
Key people at Hitachi Ventures.
Hitachi Ventures was founded in 2019 by Namihei Odaira (Founder).
Hitachi Ventures is the global corporate venture capital arm of Hitachi Ltd., a Japanese industrial and technology conglomerate. Its mission is to invest in innovative startups that are driving the Industry 4.0 transformation and addressing major societal challenges through cutting-edge digital and industrial technologies. The firm focuses on early- to growth-stage companies whose technologies align strategically with Hitachi’s core businesses in IT, industrial automation, energy, mobility, healthcare, and smart infrastructure.
Hitachi Ventures follows a strategic, partnership-driven investment philosophy, prioritizing startups that can create technical and commercial synergies with Hitachi’s global operations. It invests across sectors including AI, data centers, distributed energy, industrial AI, life sciences, quantum, nuclear fusion, and space-related technologies. With $1 billion in assets under management and a fourth fund of $400 million launched in 2025, Hitachi Ventures has built a portfolio of 38 companies, including several unicorns such as Ascend Elements, Weka, Arsenal Biosciences, and Rescale. Around half of its portfolio companies actively collaborate with Hitachi’s business units, accelerating real-world deployment of new technologies and strengthening Hitachi’s innovation ecosystem.
---
Hitachi Ventures was established in June 2019 as the dedicated corporate venture capital arm of Hitachi Ltd., reflecting the conglomerate’s strategic shift toward open innovation and external technology sourcing. Based in Munich, Germany, with a strong presence in Boston, USA, the firm was created to bridge Hitachi’s deep industrial expertise with the agility and breakthrough potential of global startups.
From the outset, Hitachi Ventures operated with a relatively independent structure for a corporate VC: Hitachi serves as the sole limited partner, and investment decisions are made by an internal investment committee without requiring direct corporate approval for each deal. This model allows Hitachi Ventures to move quickly while still aligning with Hitachi’s long-term industrial and digital transformation goals. Over the past five years, the firm has raised four funds, culminating in its largest to date—a $400 million fourth fund in 2025 that brought its total AUM to $1 billion. Under the leadership of Stefan Gabriel (CEO & Managing Director) and a team of partners including Pete Bastien, Gayathri Radhakrishnan, and Wolfgang Seibold, Hitachi Ventures has evolved from a regional scout into a global deep tech investor with a clear focus on frontier technologies and future unicorns.
---
---
Hitachi Ventures is positioned at the intersection of two powerful trends: the industrial transformation driven by AI and digitalization, and the global push for sustainable, resilient infrastructure. As industries from manufacturing to energy undergo an Industry 4.0 shift, there is growing demand for startups that can deliver AI-powered automation, intelligent data platforms, and next-generation energy systems. Hitachi Ventures is uniquely placed to identify and scale these technologies by connecting them to one of the world’s most diversified industrial players.
The firm is also riding the wave of deep tech resurgence—where investors are increasingly backing capital-intensive, science-driven innovations in areas like fusion, quantum, and advanced biotech. By focusing on these frontier domains, Hitachi Ventures helps de-risk and accelerate technologies that are critical for decarbonization, supply chain resilience, and next-generation healthcare. At the same time, its corporate mandate ensures that these innovations are not just technically impressive but commercially viable and aligned with real-world industrial needs.
In the broader startup ecosystem, Hitachi Ventures acts as both a signal investor and a bridge. Its involvement often validates a startup’s strategic relevance and opens doors to large enterprise customers, co-investors, and potential acquirers. For founders, it offers more than capital: access to Hitachi’s global footprint, technical expertise, and long-term commitment to industrial transformation.
---
Looking ahead, Hitachi Ventures is poised to deepen its role as a leading industrial deep tech investor, particularly as AI becomes embedded across every layer of enterprise and infrastructure. The firm’s $1 billion AUM and fourth fund give it the scale to back not just promising startups but entire technology stacks that can reshape industries—from AI-driven supply chains and smart factories to fusion-powered data centers and next-gen biomanufacturing.
Two key trends will shape its journey: the acceleration of generative AI and foundation models in industrial settings, and the urgent need for scalable, clean energy solutions. Hitachi Ventures is already investing in AI for real-world sensor data (e.g., Archetype AI), industrial AI, and distributed energy systems, positioning it to capture value as these technologies mature. Its expansion into India and other emerging innovation hubs will further diversify its deal flow and geographic reach.
In the longer term, Hitachi Ventures could evolve into a more active ecosystem builder—spinning out or co-creating ventures with Hitachi, launching sector-specific funds, or even acting as a consolidator in fragmented deep tech verticals. For founders building transformative technologies in AI, energy, and life sciences, Hitachi Ventures represents a rare combination: a corporate partner with VC speed, global reach, and a genuine appetite for the hard tech that will define the next decade.
Hitachi Ventures was founded in 2019 by Namihei Odaira (Founder).
Key people at Hitachi Ventures.
