Gen Isayama

Founder CEO of WiL LLC

📍 Palo Alto, California, United States🔄 Updated September 2026💼 29 investments📅 22 years investing🗓 Last invested Sep 2023
Operator-angel🌍 United States20+ investments
29
Total investments
8
Early stage
3
Mid stage
2
Late stage
22y
Years active

Portfolio

18 investments · sorted by recency
All investments
Early stage
Mid stage
Late stage
Board Member
Sep 2023
"For those who propel the world towards UPSIDE, creating new excitement with products. UPSIDER is a company that provides unprecedented new financial services to support services and technologies emerging in the world from a financial perspective. Have you ever wondered why there are not many startups experiencing rapid growth domestically compared to overseas? We aim to be a global financial platform that supports challengers wholeheartedly, breaking free from being a hindrance to new businesses and instead fostering support for their growth." You can access to full information about our job postings here: https://herp.careers/v1/upsider " 世界をUPSIDEに 突き動かす方々のために、新たな熱狂を生み出すプロダクトを。" UPSIDERは、世の中に新しく生まれるサービスや技術を、お金の面から応援する今までになかった『新しい金融サービス』を提供する会社です。

海外と比べた際に、急激に成長を遂げているスタートアップが国内からなかなか出てこないことに疑問を感じたことはありませんか?

私たちは新しいビジネスの足枷となる存在ではなく、全力で支援し、成長を支えられる存在でいたいという想いから『挑戦者を支える世界的な金融プラットフォーム』を目指しています。 株式会社 UPSIDER の全ての求人はこちらからご覧いただけます: https://herp.careers/v1/upsider
Board Member
Jun 2021
Soracom is a global provider of smart IoT connectivity, offering cloud-native wireless service designed specifically for the needs of connected devices. Founded in 2015 to create a more connected world by removing the barriers to IoT development, Soracom now serves over 20,000 customers across all industries, from agriculture, energy, construction and transportation to consumer electronics, manufacturing, real estate and healthcare. From global enterprises to fast-growing start-ups, customers trust Soracom for affordable, reliable connectivity that accelerates speed to market and makes it easy to connect to the cloud. Soracom is an AWS IoT Competency Partner.
Board Observer
Jul 2015
21.co allows you to replace your public email with an inbox that pays you. You can set up a 21 profile to receive paid messages from people outside your network. You can keep the money you earn, or donate it to charities like Black Girls Code. And you get paid in bitcoin, so it works in any country.
Board Observer
Jul 2015
Adara, a RateGain company, is one of the world’s largest data exchange platforms, providing access to ethically-sourced travel intent data. With 270+ global partners who supply aggregated real-time traveler data, we deliver actionable insights and predictive intelligence to drive better marketing ROI. Built on the world’s richest travel data co-op, Adara helps brands win in the fast-paced digital economy with 4 Billion searches and over 23 billion data elements across 100+ countries.
Board Member
Dec 2014
ものづくりとインターネットの力で 家の中をもっと便利に、楽しくしたい これがQrio株式会社の掲げるビジョンです。 Qrioは、インターネットビジネスに精通したベンチャーキャピタルのWiLと、世界的な電機メーカーのソニーとのジョイントベンチャーとして設立されました。
Board Observer
Nov 2014
ClearMotion is a global automotive technology Tier-1 founded out of MIT. The company is commercializing the world’s first proactive ride system to improve the quality of time in motion.
Board Observer
Sep 2014
Mercari launched in 2013 in Japan, and has since become the largest mobile marketplace in the Japanese market. Now we’re on a global mission to change the way people buy and sell. And with a fast-growing user base in the U.S. of over 50 million downloads and 350,000 new listings every day, we are on our way to doing just that. The work we do puts money in the pockets of sellers. It puts the things one person no longer needs into the hands of someone else who can use it, resulting in positive outcomes for our customers and the environment. As we grow, your career opportunities with Mercari grow. As our teams expand, your responsibilities expand. Our teams are supported with access to new tools, technologies, and learning opportunities. We will never stop growing.
Board Member
Jan 2014
“Better Systems, Better World” Since RAKSUL's inception, it has been our firm belief that technology can bring about significant transformation to conventional industries. A vast majority of these industries haven't been empowered by modern technologies and the Internet. At RAKSUL we pride ourselves for our spirit of innovation which is evident in our creation of digital B2B platforms for multiple industries: Web-to-Print (Raksul), Logistics (Hacobell), TV Commercials related services (Novasell) and Corporate IT Services (Josys). Our vision of "Better Systems, Better World"​ transcends geographical boundaries. We are actively investing in our global development centers in India and Vietnam and in multiple overseas start-ups that share our vision. We believe in change; we want to continue initiating and inspiring change on a global scale for the betterment of the world. 「仕組みを変えれば、世界はもっと良くなる」というビジョンのもとまだIT化されていない“リアル”な市場に“インターネット”を融合させ、その業界が抱える課題や矛盾を解決していきたいと考えから「印刷業界」「広告業界」「物流業界」をテーマに3事業を手がけています。 これまで未上場時に累計約80億円の資金調達を行っており、2018年5月には東証マザーズへ、そして2019年8月には東証一部へ上場し、 今後も更に既存事業の強化や新規事業の立ち上げ、海外投資を含めた世界展開など、積極的にビジネスを創り上げてまいります。
Board Member
Jun 2011
AHA is the Curated Marketplace for Creative and Inspiring Objects. AHA represents an enlightened way of living life to the fullest. Our mission is to connect the best the world has to offer with discerning individuals from around the world through our authentic, curated marketplace focused on quality and innovation. We empower our global community to discover “AHAs” and embrace conscious consumption by illuminating the people and stories behind our brands. We believe stories are the essence of an exceptional object, and we aspire to celebrate and protect creativity by educating our community on the value of the artisan. That is the very epitome of true luxury: selecting the best objects and experiences at this moment that personally enrich you or the world.
early stageInternet
Board member
Jun 2010
Avex Music Group (AMG) is the global music company of Avex (TYO: 7860), a leading international entertainment conglomerate with offices in Tokyo and Los Angeles. Led by CEO Brandon Silverstein—who also serves as a partner and board member—AMG spans publishing, records, management (via S10 Entertainment), and a world-class studio complex. Its roster includes top hitmakers behind global hits like Tate McRae’s “greedy,” “sports car,” and “revolving door,” Doja Cat’s “Agora Hills,” Tommy Richman’s “Million Dollar Baby,” Drake’s “Nokia,” Justin Bieber’s “Peaches,” and works by Rihanna, among others.
early stageMusicians
Board Observer
May 2008
RockYou is an interactive media and entertainment company amplifying the authentic voice of multicultural millennials. Wrapped around RockYou’s video network which reaches 75 million monthly viewers, developed and optimized by publishers of leading social media apps, RockYou Media provides brands and publishers with hyper-engaging content for a multicultural audience. Headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Chicago and New York.
Board member
Apr 2008
Fillmore Advisory, Inc. provides a web service that enables data analysis and visualization online as well as company and industry analysis using wide variety of data.
Board member
Jul 2007
TIBCO, a business unit of Cloud Software Group, has helped global enterprises solve their most complex business challenges for more than 25 years. The TIBCO Platform delivers industrial-strength solutions that meet the highest performance, throughput, reliability, and scalability needs while offering the widest range of technology and deployment options to deliver real-time data where its needed most. Learn how TIBCO solves its customers mission-critical software needs at www.tibco.com.
Board Observer
Jun 2005
BitTorrent, Inc. is one of the world's leading peer-based technology companies. We maintain a globally recognized ecosystem of technology protocols, consumer software, and consumer electronics devices that help people find, share and move digital media. We are the creators of the BitTorrent protocol and proponents of an open Internet. Our technologies are used by hundreds of millions of people around the world and currently drive between 20% and 40% of global Internet traffic. Want to work with us? Visit our careers page for current openings and help us shape the future of the web. http://www.bittorrent.com/company/about/jobs
Show all 18 investments ↓
Experience · 32 entries
All (32)
Investments (29)
Founder (2)
Board (29)
2023
Board Member
Sep 2023
"For those who propel the world towards UPSIDE, creating new excitement with products. UPSIDER is a company that provides unprecedented new financial services to support services and technologies emerging in the world from a financial perspective. Have you ever wondered why there are not many startups experiencing rapid growth domestically compared to overseas? We aim to be a global financial platform that supports challengers wholeheartedly, breaking free from being a hindrance to new businesses and instead fostering support for their growth." You can access to full information about our job postings here: https://herp.careers/v1/upsider " 世界をUPSIDEに 突き動かす方々のために、新たな熱狂を生み出すプロダクトを。" UPSIDERは、世の中に新しく生まれるサービスや技術を、お金の面から応援する今までになかった『新しい金融サービス』を提供する会社です。

海外と比べた際に、急激に成長を遂げているスタートアップが国内からなかなか出てこないことに疑問を感じたことはありませんか?

私たちは新しいビジネスの足枷となる存在ではなく、全力で支援し、成長を支えられる存在でいたいという想いから『挑戦者を支える世界的な金融プラットフォーム』を目指しています。 株式会社 UPSIDER の全ての求人はこちらからご覧いただけます: https://herp.careers/v1/upsider
2021
Board Member
Jun 2021
Soracom is a global provider of smart IoT connectivity, offering cloud-native wireless service designed specifically for the needs of connected devices. Founded in 2015 to create a more connected world by removing the barriers to IoT development, Soracom now serves over 20,000 customers across all industries, from agriculture, energy, construction and transportation to consumer electronics, manufacturing, real estate and healthcare. From global enterprises to fast-growing start-ups, customers trust Soracom for affordable, reliable connectivity that accelerates speed to market and makes it easy to connect to the cloud. Soracom is an AWS IoT Competency Partner.
2019
Stepdays
Board Member
Apr 2019
2017
Ghelia
Board Member
Oct 2017
Blue Lab
Board Member
Sep 2017
Show all 32 entries ↓
Investment activity
2004–2023 · 29 investments
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