Build a Great Startup in 2025 with the FI Japan Startup Accelerator

The Founder Institute, the world’s most proven network to turn ideas into fundable startups, is excited to announce that we are now accepting applications for the Japan Fall 2025 program!

If you could use a structured process and a lifetime of support from Japan's top investors and entrepreneurs to build a startup, then apply to the Japan Fall 2025 Founder Institute today.

Since 2009, our highly-structured accelerator programs have helped entrepreneurs at the earliest stages grow quickly, know what to do next, and make connections with the largest community of startup advisors.

It all starts with our renowned ‘FI Core’ accelerator, which pushes founders at the idea and pre-seed stages to reach the milestones needed for investment and sustained growth. Alumni of FI Core then receive free access to our advanced ‘Founder Lab’ accelerators for years to come, and can get matched with prospective investors in the FI Venture Network, a collection of global funds actively investing in the earliest rounds of funding.

To celebrate the launch, the Founder Institute will host several free online startup events in Japan, where you can learn from top entrepreneurs:

How to Come Up with Great Startup Ideas: 2:00am, Aug 12, 2025 (Asia/Tokyo): https://FI.co/e/374696
Founder Institute Online Information Session: https://FI.co/infosession
Venture Trailblazers, featuring Elizabeth Yin (GP, Hustle Fund): 12:00am, Aug 15, 2025 (Asia/Tokyo): https://FI.co/e/376887
Co-Founder Networking: Find a Business Partner: 2:00am, Aug 19, 2025 (Asia/Tokyo): https://FI.co/e/374890
Startup Pitch Practice: Share Your Idea and Get Expert Feedback: 2:00am, Aug 26, 2025 (Asia/Tokyo): https://FI.co/e/375558
Ask an Investor Anything: Q&A with Rich Maloy: 9:00am, Sep 09, 2025 (Asia/Tokyo): https://FI.co/e/376586
Responsible AI for Startups: Frameworks You Can Apply from Day One: 2:00am, Sep 16, 2025 (Asia/Tokyo): https://FI.co/e/376194
How to Get Investors to Notice Your Startup: AMA with Marta Marrucco: 2:00am, Sep 18, 2025 (Asia/Tokyo): https://FI.co/e/375180
How to Come Up with Great Startup Ideas: 2:00am, Sep 23, 2025 (Asia/Tokyo): https://FI.co/e/377546
Co-Founder Networking: Find a Business Partner: 2:00am, Oct 07, 2025 (Asia/Tokyo): https://FI.co/e/377880
Startup Pitch Practice: Share Your Idea and Get Expert Feedback: 2:00am, Oct 28, 2025 (Asia/Tokyo): https://FI.co/e/377716

See all upcoming events

The Japan program is led by some of the region's top startup leaders, including Erdinc Ekinci (Co-founder, CEO , Co-capital.co), Japan Admin, YuLi Shein (Co-founder, COO, Openfor.co, inc).

In addition, some of Japan's top investors, entrepreneurs, and CEOs will be participating in the program, providing them with expert feedback and evaluation. The list of startup mentors for the Japan Founder Institute includes:

Abdellah Aouf: Chief Executive Officer, GO PLATFORM
Ahram Chui: Director , Gyeongnam Venture Investment
Aki Ohashi: Vice President, Evolution Ventures
Alexander De Vore: CEO, 3D Printing
Alexander Uttendorfer: CEO, Liquid Frame
Alyssa Chen: Principal of Accelerator and Community, AppWorks
Andreea Marinescu: CEO, Tech Add-Venture
Andrew Shuttleworth: Mentor, Founder Institute
Anna Leshchuk: Founder & CEO, Breamsresearch
Arcui Usoara: Founder/CEO, Iaculus
Asuka Kondo: Design Director , D4V (Design for Ventures)
Atsushi Hamada: Co-founder and CEO, Aeru.me, Inc
Benjamin Joffe: Founder & CEO, Plus Eight Star
Cedric Wagrez: VP, ML Tech & Japan AI, TaskUs
Cenk Baladura: Venture Partner&Mentor, Namcebawon Group | Founder Institute Korea
Chiamin Lai: Managing Partner, UB Ventures
Chintan Oza: Founder, Anantam Ecosystems
Chris Foltz: Global Entrepreneur-In-Residence, Founder Institute
Christoph Sollich: Christoph Sollich - The Pitch Doctor, The Pitch Doctor
Conrad Kimball: CEO, ADU.Works
Daisuke Ito, ad-dice Co., Ltd.
Daniel Maggs: CEO & Co-Founder, Bisu
Darren Menabney: Professor and Partner Faculty , GLOBIS University - Graduate School of Management
David Yeng: Managing Partner, Founders Venture Capital
Donald Soo ドナルド•ソー: Former CEO
Donghwa Chung: Attorney, Star Law Firm
Dr. Ish Anand: Board member, iCapital Ventures
Dr. Joe Hüg: Managing Director / Professor of Practice, IOAK, Corp. / iU University
Dr. Mayank Singh: Co-founder, CEO , Impute Inc.
Ed Thompson: Marketing Consultant / Founder, Concept Design I/O
Edgar Chiu: Co-founder & Managing Partner, SparkLabs Taiwan
Erdinç Ekinci: Co-Founder & CEO of Openfor.co & Co-capital.co, Managing Director of Founder Institute Japan/Korea/Taiwan
Evan Burkosky: Co-founder & CRO , kimaru.ai
Fion Lee-Madan: Technical Co-Founder, COO and Customer Success, Fairly AI Inc.
Franklin Kamnang Ngansop: Co-founder , Vitamin C&S Coaching
Fredrik Debong: Serial Entrepreneur in Medtech, Fintech, and Innovation Management, Angel Investor
Fujiyo Ishiguro: ＣＥＯ, Netyear Group Corp.
Fumiaki Koizumi: CEO, Fumiaki Koizumi & Associates
Fuminori Gunji: Global Head of GTM, ZooKeep
Gaurav Malhotra: CEO and Founder, Hire Pundit
Giang Trịnh: Managing Partner, VMCG Capital
Hany Sayed: Chief Digital Officer, Gyozer Proptech
Haruka Takamori: Investment Manager, STRIVE
Hideki Takita: CEO, Bliss Cline Co.,Ltd.
Hideki Suzuki: CEO , TSUCREA Co., Ltd.
Hirokazu Nagano: CEO, KLab Venture Partners株式会社
Hiroko 裕子 Nishiyama 西山: ディレクター, NPO Seitaikai
Hiroshi Nishikawa: Representative Director, Solve AI
Hiroyuki Anno: Founder and CEO, DELIGHT Global Inc.
Hooi Yen Chin: Director, Polaris Law Corporation
Ibrahim Orhan: CEO - CoFounder, Kanaria Tech Inc.
Ikuo Hiraishi: CEO, SunBridge Global Ventures Inc.
Ippei Takushima: Partner, Kimura Takushima & Yamaguchi
Iva Buschmann: Co-founder, StartingHub
Ivan E. Germanov: Certified Coach, Founder Institute
Jack Huang: Managing Partner, Dreamhub Ventures
Jacky Lou: Advisor/Coach for , Startups and Founders
Jad Tarifi: CEO & Co-founder, Integral AI
Jan Kaiser: Vice President, Head of Corporate Finance | Turnaround & Transformation | IPO | Private Equity | Value Creation, Marelli
Jared Campion: Founder & CEO, Dream Drive
Jason Everaert: Product Manager, Fintech
Jatin Kataria: Founder/MD, InMeSta & Managing Partner, JK Venture Studio
Jay Onda: Director (Investments) | CVC Advisory Board Member, Marubeni Ventures | National Venture Capital Association
Jeffrey Paine: Founding Partner, Golden Gate Ventures, Singapore
Jeni Chang: Founder | Investor | Advisor
Jennifer Lin: Investor , Headline
Jerry Chi: Head of Japan, Stability AI
Jet Son Tan: Head of Product - Asia Pacific, Tom Tom
Jihun Yeon: Investment manager, Nautilus Investment
Jin Tanaka: Director of Investment | Resident Mentor, DEEPCORE | 500 Global
Jinho Jang: Founder , Agoras Inc. - CodeFriends.net
John Kirch: Director, Ichigo Asia K.K.
John Millar: Dr, Techbridge Capital
John Kojiro Moriwaka: CEO, Silicon Valley Ventures
John Y. Sasaki: Principal / Attorney-at-Law, JSV Foreign Law Office
Jonathan Nguyen: Founder & CEO, Unsensible
Jordan Fisher: Co-founder & Executive Chairman, Zehitomo
José Francisco Fernandez Serna: Angel Investor, AgriFood Founder and Executive, CEO of E-motion Foods, Partner in DesertTech Ventures, and Board member in different organizations
Joshua Flannery: Founder & CEO , Innovation Dojo Japan
Julie Oh, Coach Julie Oh
Jun Kojima: Venture Capitalist, Golden Egg Ventures / Egg FORWARD Inc.
Karin Wellbrock: Executive Leadership Coach and Co-Founder, Kay Group K.K.
Karthik Rampalli: Venture Capitalist, Beyond Next Ventures Inc
Kazuo Nagasaki
Kei Shimada: Executive | Entrepreneur | Award-winning Innovator | Global Keynote Speaker| Startup Mentor | Angel Investor | EMBA, Liquid One Studio
Kei Watanabe: Co-founder, Glasp Inc.
Keigo Shimada, D.Sc.: Investment Associate, Coral Capital
Ken Covey: Investment Manager, QXLV
Kenji Sadamoto: Founder, CEO, Heart Forever Co. Ltd.
Kenta Izumi | 泉　健太: COO, CMO and Executive Vice-President
Kevin Leung: CEO, Muku Labs
Kevin Brockland: Founder & Managing Partner, Indelible Ventures:
Khalil Maaouni: Head of Data and Digital, Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Inc.
Kim Yongho: Co-Founder and CEO, STRA Co., Ltd.
Kiyotake Sugita: Founder, KLAR株式会社
Kiyoyuki Suzuki: CEO, Advanced Media, Inc.
Kohei Noda: Director/Global Tech BD/Start-up investor, Mentor/Stanford LEAD alumni, Distinguished Scholar, Hakuhodo DY Holdings
Kojiro Seto: Startup Advisor, bTANK LLC
Kotaro Mori: Deputy Secretary General, Yokohama Future Organization
Krishan Caldwell: APAC Commercial Solutions Leader (Flexibility) , Kraken
Kyo Ueda: CEO / Founder, Lingo Mii
Lauren Nham: Investor, MetaCap Ventures
Leo Ma: Founder, EO Studio Japan, EO Studio
Lu Dong: Founder and CEO, TakeMe Co.,Ltd.
Luca Meguro: Manager, Strategic Partnerships & Investment Senior Associate, MS&AD VENTURES
Maaike Doyer: Founder, Epic Angels
Mahesh Kasar: SVP, Head of Sales - APAC / Global Partner Alliance and Indirect Channel Sales, Rakuten Symphony
Makihara Arisa: Junior Associate , Anobaka
Marco De Biasi: Startups Investor & Advisor /Program Director, FI/LGA /LAAS
Mari Nishiyama: Startup Partner Lead, Stripe
Marko Simic: Chief Technology Officer, Ascent Robotics, Inc.
Masahiro Samejima: Founding Partner, UCHIDA & SAMEJIMA LAW FIRM
Masumi Shimafuji: Co-Founder and CEO, xRsion Inc.
Max Zheng: Director of Investments, Blockchain Founders Group
Maximillian Naza: Chief Executive Officer , PasciVite
Michael Sheetal: Founder / CEO, PlayBrain Inc.
Michael Sudano: Senior Robotics Operations Engineer, Woven Planet Holdings
Michael Lee: CEO and Founder , CreBiz Factory
Michael Ho: Founder , Ventures Cubed
Mikio Kawahara: Chief Investment Officer / Head of Investment and Business Development, UTokyo Innovation Platform Co., Ltd.
Min Myat Swan Pyae: Co-Founder, Juncture
Mohammed Kashif: Senior Quality Assurance Automation Engineer, Department of Motor Vehicles
Motohide Takeda: Exective Director, TKD.Institute
Motoi Nakazato: 取締役, 株式会社リブセンス
Naoko Kurosawa: Senior Manager, TSUCREA Co., Ltd.
Naoko Fujihira: Founder/CEO, Kachibin
Narimasa Makino: Manager, SunBridge Global Ventures Inc.
Nitin Mistry: Founder, MC Squared Solutions
Noriya Tarutani: Director of Innovation Division, JETRO / J-Startup Affairs
Paloma Lecheta: Regional Director - LatAm, Founder Institute
PASCHAL OFFORDUM: Associate , Shujaa Capital
Pina (Yoichiro) Hirano: CEO, Asteria Corporation
Rancho Lee: Co-founder & APAC Partner, Simsan Ventures
Raphael Hodé: CEO, Design Director, nowthen
Rebecca Chai: Ventures Associate, Plug and Play Japan
Reisa Matsuda: Community Manager, Google Japan
Rene Budeck: Venture Capitalist, Stealth
Roger Do: CEO, Co-Founder, Watchdog Cyber Defense
Rosario B Casas: Co Founder, XR Americas, LLC / Business Creative Partners SAS
Rosario B Casas: Co-Founder, BCPartners Tech
Ryan Micheletti: Head of Global Operations, Founder Institute
Ryan Ahamer: Founder, LokaLingo
Ryo Ishibashi: Prog Director, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ryoichi Kaneko: Partner, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune
Ryousuke Okinume: CEO, POTESTA
Ryusuke Murao: Branding Specialist / Best-selling writer, STARBRAND Co.,Ltd.
Sameer Sortur: Founding Partner, SquareCircle Ventures
Sameer Karulkar: Founder and Partner, Coverpage Ventures Advisory LLP
Sanjaykumar Patel: Founder -Patent & Trademark Attorney, EXCELON IP - Patent & Trademark Attorneys
Sasha Kaverina: Partnerships & Growth, Le Wagon Tokyo
Satoshi Okuda: CEO, Primestyle
Satoshi Okuda: CEO, Primestyle Co.,Ltd.
Satoshi Nunokawa: Associate , Incubate Fund
Schyler Alexandra Cole: Entrepreneur in Residence, Value Create Ventures
Sergio Escobar: CEO & Partner, BCF Ventures, Managing Director, Lalotte Ventures
Sergio Elias Wilson: Foreign Associate, So & Sato Law Firm
Serkan Toso: Co-Founder, byFood
Sertac Yeltekin: Founder & Executive Director, InVirtuoLabs
Shinya Yamamoto: Founder & CEO, Link & Innovation, Inc.
Sho Sato: CEO, LUDiMUS Inc.
Shuji Honjo, Tama Graduate School of Business
Sinjin Wolf: Co-founder & CEO , kimaru.ai
So Saito: Founder, So & Sato Law Offices
So Yeon Kim: Founder & COO, Lapis APAC Pte Ltd.
Stella (Jeehyon) Yoh: Principal, SOSV and Orbit Startups
Steve Monaghan: General Partner, Finmirai
Sush Bapna: General Partner, AIDGE Ventures
Tadashi Takaoka: Gerente General
Takahiro Hayashi: CEO, HEROZ
Takanari Hayama: CEO, http://www.igel.co.jp/index.html.ja
Takeru Ohe: Founder, T. Ohe & Associates
Takeshi Ebihara: General Partner, Rebright Partners / Batavia Incubator
Taku Furukawa: Founder & Organizer, Tokyo Fabhub
Takujiro Oto: Co-Founder and CEO, Drive Japan Inc.
Tao Romera Martinez: Chief Operating Officer, Soundraw
Taruho Kuroda: Senior Director, R&D Asia-Pacific Hub, LEO Pharma
Tatsuya Kato: Chairman of the Boards & Co-Founder, Mido Holdings Ltd.
Tatsuya Zenbutsu
Tetsuo Iwasaki: Chairman,Founder, 株式会社IIOSS
Tetsuya Noguchi: CEO, i-mobile
Tilo Bonow Piabo: Investor, Cavalry Ventures
Timothy Connor: CEO & Founder, Synnovate
Todor Panev: Co-Founder, CBDO, Talnets AG, Sindex, Sigoor
Tomohiro Miyake: CEO, ClubT
Tomohiro Murata: CFO, Voyagin
Tomohiro Uchida: Partner, Translink Capital
Toshio Furuta: CEO, Clair law firm
Toshiro Uno: CEO, xone-consulting
Tunc Berkman: Advisory Board Member, Sanamekan
Tyson Batino: Co-Founder, SmartStart Japan
Vinod Vasudevan: Vice President, Deloitte Tohmatsu Venture Support
Vladimir Pletyukhin: Founder and Creative Director, Launch Deck
XIAOXI GUO: COO and Co-Founder, I.W.G.
Xinmei Cai: Engineering Director, Google Japan
Yamato Sasagawa: Investor, World Innovation Lab (WiL)
Yasemin Karatas: Open Innovation Department-GRIC Director, for Startups, Inc.
Yasuchika Wakayama: CEO, Breakpoint
Yasumasa SAITO: Manager, CVC Department, SBI Investment Co., Ltd.
Yoichi Morimoto: Head of Business Development, HiJoJo Partners Inc.
Yoichi Ito: Dean of entrepreneurship dept., LINE Yahoo academia
Yoshihiro Kidachi: President, BOIDSCraft Corporation
Yu Hosaka: Lawyer, NEXAGE Law Office
Yuichi Terada: Founder & President , Hiyoura Lab
Yuji Tanabe: Co-Founder and CTO, Aeterlink
Yuki Shirato: Managing Director, Yakumi
Yuki Sato: Co-founder, CEO , Obniz Inc
Yu Li Shein: Co-Director , Founder Institute Japan/ Korea/ Taiwan
Yu Li Shein
Yusuke Kohno: CEO, JITSUBO Co., Ltd.
Yuto Saiki: Founder & CEO , Outlier, Inc.
Yvie Tai: Director, Business Development, Qualcomm
Zolboo Bayarsaikhan: Co-founder and CEO, START
諭（Satoshi) 石川（Ishikawa): CEO, Transaction Inc.