郷治 友孝

About

Joined the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (now the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) in 1996. He drafted the "Limited Partnership Act for Investment" (Investment Business Limited Partnership Act; enforced November 1998), which became the legal basis for venture capital funds in Japan, and after serving at the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the Financial Services Agency, left the government in April 2004 to found UTEC. Since then he has established and managed venture capital funds, Investment Limited Partnerships UTEC No. 1 through No. 6 (about JPY 130 billion in total), developed investment and nurturing strategies from the seed/early stage for university-related startups, including those originating from the University of Tokyo, and carried out UTEC's team building and relationship building with universities and research institutions in Japan and abroad. Of the portfolio companies, 22 have so far been acquired (M&A, etc.) and 21 have gone public. In recent research, he used data science to model the success factors of startups based on science and technology. He has been Vice Chairman of the Japan Venture Capital Association since July 2022 and Chairman of the association since July 2023. Graduated from the Faculty of Law, University of Tokyo, in 1996; MBA from Stanford University, USA, in 2003; Doctor of Engineering from the University of Tokyo in 2020.

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