Tomotaka Goji

Chairman, Japan Venture Capital Association (JVCA), Managing Partner, CEO and President at The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners Co., Ltd. (UTEC)

Speaker

Dr. Goji is Co-founder, Managing Partner, CEO & President of UTEC (The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners Co., Ltd.).

Since 2004, he has raised and managed six UTEC funds surpassing 1 billion USD, strategized investment and value-adding in university-related startups, built the investment team, and guided UTEC's investments and exits. 22 investees were acquired and 21 have achieved IPO until July 2026.

In his previous career at the Japanese government, he authored "The Limited Partnership Act for Venture Capital Investment" (enacted in 1998) in 1997-1998, which became the foundation of Japanese VC funds thereafter, and its related accounting/tax rules as well as VC fund performance measurement reports at the then Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI, now known as METI: the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry). He also authored "The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program" (enacted in 1999, as part of "Industrial Revival Act") at METI, "Copyright Management Business Act" (enacted in 2001) at Cultural Agency, and intellectual property-related articles of "Trust Business Law" (enacted in 2003) at Financial Services Agency. He left the government to initiate UTEC in 2004 to execute the ethos of the Limited Partnership Act.

Dr. Goji received his Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo's School of Engineering, earned his MBA at Stanford University, and graduated from the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Law. During his doctoral research at the University of Tokyo's School of Engineering, he modeled the success factors of startups founded on science and technology, based on data science and network analysis, and demonstrated the importance of academic papers and other factors.

At JVCA, he has been involved in policies such as the revision of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law, the revision of the Foreign Exchange Law, and the planning of public procurement for startups, as well as JVCA's Sample of Limited Partnership Agreement, as Executive Director & Section Chairman of the Policy Subcommittee since July 2015 and Vice Chairman & Section Chairman of the Policy Subcommittee since July 2022. Became Chairman in July 2023.