What an incredible year it was.

In 2023, Darwin re-entered Japan and committed fully to the country as our second market outside of Taiwan. But we still needed 2024 to "feel our way" and see what sort of reception and results we'd get as a new investor on the block.

We couldn't have imagined the progress we'd make, and the speed at which we'd make them. In total, team Darwin did the following:

18 person-visits to Japan by the investment team
7 new investments (2 finalizing, not including follow-on deals)
8 major events (Darwin-hosted or where we spoke)
2 mainstream media interviews
1 portfolio IPO

As 2024 draws to a close and many head into the holidays, we're speeding up, not slowing down. Thanks to the strong local investor and founder network we've built, the new Taiwan-Japan Fund we have coming online, and new AI-powered tools our Voyager Lab team (Darwin's AI division) has built, we enter 2025 with greater deal-sourcing and deal-making momentum than ever.

2024 was good. 2025 will be better.

Below is the full timeline of Darwin's 2024 in Japan

一月

達盈加入日本石川縣地震災害捐款

Darwin joins the earthquake disaster relief donation for Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan.

達盈團隊赴日：創始合夥人 Simon 及總監 Andrew 赴日進行投資活動

Team Darwin in Japan: Founding Partner Simon and Director Andrew in Japan for investment activities.

二月

投資：達盈領投日本知名服務媒合平台 Zehitomo C輪融資

Investment: Darwin leads Series C funding round for Zehitomo, a well-known service matchmaking platform in Japan.

三月

達盈團隊赴日：達盈總經理 Kay 出席 XTC JAPAN 2024 大會，分享對深科技新創的看法

Team Darwin in Japan: Managing Partner Kay attended the XTC JAPAN 2024 conference, sharing insights on deep-tech startups.

媒體：達盈總經理林桂光接受日本科技媒體 ASCII 採訪

Media: Managing Partner Kay interviewed by Japan's tech media ASCII.

達盈團隊赴日：合夥人 Simon 及 YJ 赴日進行投資活動

Team Darwin in Japan: Partners Simon and YJ in Japan for investment activities.

四月

活動：達盈舉辦林宏文先生東京簽書會，吸引各界專家齊聚討論半導體、地緣政治、台日關係

Event: Darwin hosted Mr. Owen Lin's book signing event in Tokyo, gathering experts to discuss semiconductors, geopolitics, and Taiwan-Japan relations.

達盈團隊赴日：達盈合夥人 Yaoting 及 Emily 帶領生技醫療 portfolio 公司赴日本關西，與當地企業、創投、新創締結合作關係

Team Darwin in Japan: Partners Yaoting and Emily led biotech and healthcare portfolio companies to Kansai, Japan, to form collaborations with major enterprises, VCs, and startups.

五月

日本夥伴來訪：日本夥伴基金 Drone Fund 來訪台灣，整日討論台日無人機發展

Partner visit: Partner fund Drone Fund visited Taiwan to discuss Taiwan-Japan drone development.

達盈團隊赴日：總經理 Kay 赴日進行投資活動

Team Darwin in Japan: Managing Partner Kay in Japan for investment activities.

六月

達盈團隊赴日：副總經理 Steven 赴日參加日本無人機展並拜訪夥伴基金 Drone Fund 多家公司

Team Darwin in Japan: Vice President Steven attended the Japan Drone Expo and visited several companies from the partner fund Drone Fund.

投資：達盈投資日本先進製造平台 3DPC，日本製造巨頭、美軍都為客戶

Investment: Darwin invests in Japan's advanced manufacturing platform 3DPC, whose clients include Japanese manufacturing giants and the U.S. military.

投資：達盈投資日本藍領人才媒合平台 Roxx

Investment: Darwin invests in Japan's blue-collar talent matchmaking platform Roxx.

七月

媒體：達盈新官網上線，首次有日文版本

Media: Darwin launched its new official website, including a Japanese version for the first time.

達盈團隊赴日：合夥人 Simon 及投資合夥人 (Venture Partner) Konno 帶領達盈 portfolio 公司參加靜岡 Techbeat

Team Darwin in Japan: Partner Simon and Venture Partner Konno led portfolio companies to participate in Techbeat Shizuoka.

八月

投資：達盈天使投資電動三輪車租賃新創 eMobi，預見旅遊交通新趨勢

Investment: Darwin Angel invests in eMobi, a startup for electric tuktuk rentals, foreseeing new trends in travel and transportation.

九月

投資：達盈投資日本軟體人才招募及生產力平台 Findy

Investment: Darwin invests in Findy, a Japanese platform for software talent recruitment and productivity.

媒體：達盈創始合夥人方頌仁 Simon 受日本經濟新聞 Nikkei 專訪

Media: Founding Partner Simon Fang interviewed by Japan's Nikkei newspaper.

達盈團隊赴日：總經理 Kay 及總監 Jason 參加「2024年日台創新高峰會」投資論壇

Team Darwin in Japan: Managing Partner Kay and Director Jason attended the "2024 Japan-Taiwan Innovation Summit" investment forum.

達盈團隊赴日：達盈前進日本筑波舉辦新創活動，探索台灣跟日本新創生態圈的合作機會

Team Darwin in Japan: Darwin organized a startup event in Tsukuba, Japan, exploring collaboration opportunities between Taiwanese and Japanese startup ecosystems.

被投公司動態：藍領人才媒合平台 Roxx 東京證券交易所 Growth Market 成功掛牌（TSE:241A）

Portfolio update Blue-collar talent matchmaking platform Roxx successfully listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market (TSE:241A).

十月

達盈團隊赴日：創始合夥人 Simon 赴日進行投資活動

Team Darwin in Japan: Founding Partner Simon in Japan for investment activities.

活動：投資合夥人 (Venture Partner) Konno 出席福岡 "Ramentech"

Event: Venture Partner Konno attended "Ramentech" in Fukuoka.

被投公司動態：杰倫智能科技(Profet AI)在日本設立據點，推動AI智慧化轉型

Portfolio update Profet AI established a base in Japan, advancing AI-driven transformation.

十一月

新基金：達盈啟動首支台日基金募資活動; 預計2025年3月 First Closing

New fund: Darwin kicks off raise of its first Taiwan-Japan Cross Border Fund. First closing expected in March 2025

被投公司動態：泛亞應用科技 SiAT 拜訪日本最大合成橡膠製造廠 ZEON 討論策略投資

Portfolio update: SiAT visited ZEON (largest synthetic rubber manufacturer in Japan) to discuss with strategic investment

達盈團隊赴日：資深總監 Andrew 及分析師 Laura 赴日進行投資活動

Team Darwin in Japan: Senior Director Andrew, and Analyst Laura in Japan for investment activities.

達盈團隊赴日：合夥人 Emily 赴日進行投資活動

Team Darwin in Japan: Partner Emily in Japan for investment activities.

達盈團隊赴日：合夥人 Simon 及 Kay 赴日進行投資活動

Team Darwin in Japan: Partners Simon and Kay in Japan for investment activities.

活動：投資合夥人 (Venture Partner) Konno 出席廣島 "TSUNAGU 広島 2024" 開放創新大會

Event: Venture Partner Konno attends Hiroshima "TSUNAGU 広島 2024" Open Innovation Conference.

十二月

新基金：達盈台日基金準備送件國發基金，多家法人投資人進入董事會程序

New fund: Darwin Taiwan-Japan Cross Border Fund readies for NDF submission, multiple institutional investors enter board approval process.

被投公司動態：凱鈿獲得日本不動產APAMAN集團領頭 400 萬美元，APAMAN 集團及子公司也成為凱鈿日本主要代理經銷商，驅動日本不動產業數位轉型

Portfolio update: Japan's real estate group APAMAN leads US$4 million funding round for Kdan, and becomes its primary Japan distributor, to jointly drive digital transformation in the country's real estate sector.