D4V (Design for Ventures) is a Tokyo-based early-stage venture capital firm that invests in disruptive, consumer and enterprise technology startups.

Partnering with the global design company IDEO, D4V provides both hands-on assistance and coaching to help startups create value via human-centered customer experiences and interactions.

Application Open

Join D4V

We are actively looking for design professionals to join our team.

Portfolio Highlights

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Great design creates great businesses

Design is at the heart of success strategies for the most valuable technology companies in the world, including the design of offerings, business models, and overall customer experience. With a deep understanding of design thinking, D4V helps startups with the practical application of design in pursuit of their goals for product-market fit, revenue growth, and customer satisfaction.

Our name expresses our commitment to designing for ventures. We see design as a powerful enabler and differentiator at all stages of a venture’s life cycle.

— We collaborate with start-up teams on design sprints to accelerate their progress.
— We strengthen a start-up’s design research and leverage the value of user interviews.
— We help companies hire their first designer and expand their capabilities.
— We coach founding teams on creating a design-driven culture. 

We invest in

Early Stage Companies

From seed to Series A, we invest in early stage Japanese consumer and enterprise startups across multiple industries.

We are

Human-Centered

We focus on the user experience and work together with startups to identify the end users’ needs.

We deliver

Positive
Impact

We support startups that are passionate about bettering the lives of individuals 
and advancing the interests of society.

We have a

Global
Perspective

Our global network informs our point of view on market trends and technologies, even for startups launching initially in Japan.

2022 Survey Results

Design in Japanese Start-ups

Explore what 153 Japanese start-up managers told us about how they work on design

Explore the Results

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October 2016

March 2018

November 2022

D4V (Design for Ventures) is officially established. D4V.com launches.

D4V closes fundraising for Fund I at JP¥5.3B 

D4V closes fundraising for Fund II at JP¥5.4B 

October 2016

D4V (Design for Ventures) is officially established. D4V.com launches.

March 2018

D4V closes fundraising 
for Fund I at JP¥5.3B (~US$50M).

July 2020

To date, D4V has invested in over 40 companies.

D4V

Design for Ventures

All rights reserved, 2025

Chateau Aoyama Daiichi 501
5-4-51 Minami Aoyama,
Minato, Tokyo, 107-0062