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Semiconductor and Deep-Tech VC Taravine Completes First Close of Fund I
Connecting Japan, Taiwan and Silicon Valley to Build the Next-Generation AI Semiconductor Supply Chain
Taravine G.K. ("Taravine"), a Tokyo-based venture capital firm specializing in semiconductors and deep tech, today announced the first close of Taravine Partners No. 1 Investment Limited Partnership (the "Fund"). The Fund targets ¥6 billion (approximately US$38 million) in total commitments and invests in semiconductor, photonics and next-generation computing startups across Japan, Taiwan, the US and Europe.
First-close strategic investors include Japan Pure Chemical Co., Ltd., Naigai TEC Corporation and AIMECHATEC, Ltd., listed companies in Japan's semiconductor materials and equipment supply chain, and The Higo Bank, Ltd., a regional bank in Kyushu. The Fund plans to hold additional closings in the coming months.
Background and Mission
As AI drives record semiconductor demand, no single region holds the whole supply chain. Japan leads in materials, components and equipment, and new foundry capacity at JASM and Rapidus is rebuilding its manufacturing base. Taiwan leads in foundry, advanced packaging, chip design and AI server manufacturing, and Silicon Valley is home to the system companies and hyperscalers that set end demand. The Fund invests together with its strategic LPs where these strengths meet, with four goals:
Bringing Japanese technologies into the global semiconductor ecosystem: helping Japanese materials, optics, packaging and equipment technologies get designed in at Taiwanese manufacturers and Silicon Valley end users
Opening the Japanese market to Taiwanese and global chip designers: connecting fabless and IC design companies with Japanese customers, partners and foundry capacity, and Taiwanese startups with Japanese materials and equipment makers
Strengthening the AI supply chain: backing the photonics, thermal management and power technologies that AI data centers depend on
Investing in future computing platforms: supporting quantum computing and other next-generation computing technologies and the materials they require
Investment Focus
The Fund leads and follows on in seed through Series B rounds with ¥100–500 million (approximately US$0.6–3.2 million) per company, with an expected allocation of more than 50% Japan, 20–40% Taiwan and the remainder in the US and Europe. Focus areas:
Fabless design and advanced chips: AI/HPC chips, custom ASICs, high-voltage power devices, 6G RF chips
Photonics and optoelectronic integration: co-packaged optics (CPO), silicon photonic waveguides, optical coupling
Thermal and optical components: thermally conductive substrates, meta-surface optics, SWIR sensors and light sources
Next-generation materials: GaN, SiC, Ga2O3, AlN, diamond and advanced packaging materials
Future computing platforms: quantum computing and its enabling materials and components
Support for Portfolio Companies
Beyond capital, Taravine works alongside founders on what decides whether a company scales:
Customers in three markets: introductions to Japanese materials and equipment makers (including the Fund's strategic LPs), Taiwanese foundries, OSATs, AI server ODMs and optical component makers, and Silicon Valley system companies and hyperscalers
Lab-to-fab scale-up: hands-on help from partners who have ramped new technologies into products shipping in the millions
Platform and IP strategy: turning one core technology into a platform for several markets, protected by a deliberate patent portfolio
Team building: recruiting key technical and business leaders
Capital markets: equity story, follow-on fundraising, and preparation for IPO or M&A
Executive access: access to Japanese corporate leaders through the Fund's advisors
Team (Co-Founders and General Partners)
Ten Motomura: career venture capitalist who led semiconductor startup investments at JAFCO, INCJ and TGVest Capital, with networks across Japan, Taiwan and the US
Chris Liao, PhD: Silicon Valley technologist who led high-volume ramps at Tesla/SolarCity, Apple and Meta (Reality Labs), taking new technologies from zero to one to millions of units; UC Berkeley PhD in semiconductor materials; 50+ patents
Eisaku Ohmori: career equity analyst and investment banker at Nomura Research Institute, Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, J.P. Morgan and Mizuho Securities, covering semiconductor process, materials and equipment
Advisors: Toshiyuki Shiga (former COO, Nissan; former CEO, INCJ) and Takehiro Kamigama (former President and Chairman, TDK)
Partner Comment
Ten Motomura, Co-Founder and General Partner: "Japan's semiconductor industry is at a historic turning point. Taravine goes beyond capital, connecting Japanese, Taiwanese and Silicon Valley industrial networks so these technologies reach the world's leading markets."
Fund and Company Overview
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Fund Name - Taravine Partners No. 1 Investment Limited Partnership
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Term / Investment Period -10 years (extendable by up to 2) / 5 years from first close
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General Partner - Taravine Partners No. 1 Limited Liability Partnership
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Contact - info@taravine.com (website: https://www.taravine.com/)
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