Keisuke Honda’s X&KSK Fund: Driving Japan’s Next Tech Revolution

Keisuke Honda, the former Japanese national soccer star, has successfully raised approximately ¥15.3 billion ($98 million) for his venture capital fund, X&KSK Fund. The fund aims to support innovative tech startups, focusing on artificial intelligence and emerging business technologies.

The X&KSK Fund has garnered support from over twenty companies, including prominent names like SBI Holdings, Nomura Holdings, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. Among these, SBI Holdings and SBI Shinsei Bank stand out as the largest shareholders, contributing a combined ¥2 billion to the initiative.

Keisuke Honda, renowned for his achievements at AC Milan, CSKA Moscow, and three consecutive World Cups, is now focusing on expanding his business portfolio. He co-founded Dreamers VC with American actor Will Smith and is now looking to create a “decacorn” in Japan—a privately held company valued at over $10 billion. Honda targets firms specializing in artificial intelligence and those with advanced technologies or innovative business strategies, seeing them as the key drivers of Japan’s next big success.

In an email interview, Honda acknowledged the challenge of achieving such a goal in Japan but expressed confidence, stating, “Considering all that the Japanese have accomplished, I think it definitely can be achieved.” According to a recent government report, his ambition reflects a growing trend in Japan to support innovative startups, though unicorn companies valued over $1 billion remain scarce.

Honda spearheads the X&KSK Fund, which has secured backing from notable Japanese financial giants such as Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., Nomura Holdings, and SBI Holdings. Notably, SBI Holdings and SBI Shinsei Bank have become the fund’s largest investors, contributing a combined ¥2 billion.

While the venture capital landscape in Japan has been expanding, with a sharp rise in startup funding since 2014, there is still a gap in the number of unicorns compared to other countries. Shohei Yamada, a partner at SBI Investment, noted that this initiative will help the startup ecosystem and unlock more opportunities for Japanese firms to scale globally. The country is looking for new ways to finance startups in hopes of creating the next generation of tech giants.

As global tensions rise, particularly between China and the U.S., overseas investors have increasingly focused on Japan. Concerns over the ongoing trade dispute and instability in regions like Ukraine and the Middle East partly drive this shift. According to Shohei Yamada, a partner at SBI Investment, SBI, which has invested in approximately 1,200 startups over the last 25 years, sees Honda’s X&KSK Fund as a critical vehicle to expand its international investor network while promoting Japanese startups.

Despite Japan’s growing number of startups, the country still faces challenges in producing unicorn companies. A recent report from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry highlighted the need for greater access to substantial funding to drive growth in the startup sector. While Japanese startups raised a record ¥978.2 billion in 2022, this figure dropped to ¥803.9 billion in 2023. Nonetheless, this decline still represents a fivefold increase from 2014, signaling significant progress. The X&KSK Fund is poised to play a key role in advancing future technologies and fostering innovation in Japan’s startup ecosystem.