Yamaha Motor Ventures

Yamaha Motor Ventures (YMVSV) is the corporate venture capital arm of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd., founded in 2015 and headquartered in Palo Alto, California. The firm manages $300M in AUM across three funds — Yamaha Motor Exploratory Fund I, Yamaha Motor Exploratory Fund II, and the Yamaha Motor Sustainability Fund — each capitalized at $100M. It invests at Seed through Series B in early-stage, B2B-oriented startups across nine focus areas: transportation, robotics, supply chain, fintech/insurtech, AI & ML, energy, industrial decarbonization & advanced materials, agriculture, and digital health & wellness. Average check size is $1–3M, with first checks reported up to $10M for later-stage entries. The firm operates as a separate entity from Yamaha Motor Co. to enable faster deal execution, and supports portfolio companies through Yamaha's global engineering, manufacturing, distribution, and customer relationships across 32+ countries. Geographic focus is primarily North America, with selective interest in Europe. Founders can reach the team via the contact page at yamahamotor.vc.