In this episode of VCs in India, hosted by Dr. Rakesh Bhatia, we had a powerhouse duo: Nao Murakami, Founding Partner at Incubate Fund Asia & Partner at SMBC Asia Rising Fund, and Rajeev Ranka, India Partner across both funds. From building seed-stage conviction in Bharat to enabling strategic growth-stage bets with one of Japan’s largest banking groups — this episode dives deep into how Asia is backing India’s future.
Key highlights:
Incubate Fund’s evolution from a micro fund to a regional seed-stage force with a thesis grounded in Middle India, climate tech, and digitally native business models.
SMBC’s unique CVC approach: not just writing cheques, but driving real, strategic collaboration through joint initiatives and MOUs.
Why India is the world’s last large open market with a perfect storm of scale, digitization, and untapped opportunities ready for bold innovation.
Advice to founders: resilience and adaptability matter more than perfect plans.
For emerging managers and LPs: the time to engage with India isn’t someday — it’s now.
Tokyo-headquartered Incubate Fund is preparing to kick off fundraising for its fourth India-focused fund with a target corpus of $50-75 million by the end of this year, partner Nao Murakami told DealStreetAsia in an interview.
GreenFortune, a windows and doors manufacturer, has raised $4.5 million (about Rs 39 crore) in a funding round led by Germany-based fund Foundamental, with participation from Titan Capital Winners Fund and existing investor Incubate Fund Asia.
Glamzy, a beauty omnichannel platform, has launched operations in South India, focusing on tier 2 and 3 cities. The platform combines online shopping with offline stores to address the lack of access to quality beauty products in non-metro areas, the company said in a media release on Tuesday.
Nao Murakami, Founder & General Partner at Incubate Fund Asia – Interview Series
Nao Murakami is a Co-Founder and serves as General Partner at Incubate Fund Asia. He brings a wealth of experience in the IT/Internet startup sector. He honed his expertise at the Tokyo and New York offices of Nomura Securities Group’s Investment Banking Division, successfully guiding numerous tech startups to IPOs. In 2014, he ventured to India, where he gained hands-on experience by launching his own startup. Recognizing India’s potential, he founded Incubate Fund Asia (previously Incubate Fund India) in 2016 and assumed the role of General Partner, further contributing to the growth and success of startups in the region. He earned a B.A. in Political Science from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Incubate Fund Asia is one of Japan’s largest venture capital firms specializing in seed-stage investing, backed by a comparatively long track record in this segment of the market. Since its establishment in 2010, the firm has accumulated over 125 billion yen in assets under management and has invested in more than 700 startups. Its extensive history of early-stage investments is often cited as evidence of the trust-based relationships it has cultivated with entrepreneurs and the wider venture capital community.
What inspired you to found Incubate Fund Asia, and what was your vision when you started?
When I first arrived in India in 2014, I interacted with several Indian entrepreneurs and investors who fascinated me deeply. Read More…
Incubate Fund Asia, a sector-agnostic and Japan-origin venture capital firm, has announced the close of its third fund with a corpus of $30 million (about Rs 252 crore), a top executive told TOI.
Incubate Fund Asia, a Japanese venture capital firm focused on early-stage companies in India and Southeast Asia, has marked the final close of its third fund below its initial aim but is now planning to raise two new vehicles with higher targets, a top executive told VCCircle.
Incubate Fund, a Tokyo-based venture capital firm, has closed its third India-focused funt at $30 million, below its initial target of $50 million, a top executive at the firm said.
India’s investment landscape was transformed for good when the SEBI (Foreign Venture Capital Investor) Regulations 2000 opened the floodgates for global VC giants. The optimism was palpable from Day I, and a host of US-based funds, such as Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital, Y Combinator, IDG Ventures and Norwest Venture Partners, made forays. They empowered India’s burgeoning startup ecosystem and catalysed innovation and growth across sectors.
The fintech sector in India has been facing a decline in funding since last year, majorly owing to tighter regulations by the government. Scaling up is now coming at a cost for many firms in this segment. However, industry leaders and experts believe that it’s important for the regulator to do its job and the tightening of regulations is for the greater good. These regulations should be looked at as an enabling tool over obstacles.
