Taro Fukuyama
About Taro Fukuyama
Taro Fukuyama is from Tokyo. In 2012 he founded the employee benefits SaaS company Fond, originally called AnyPerk. Japanese press describes him as the first Japanese founder accepted into Y Combinator. Fond raised money from Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz and DCM, and Edenred acquired it in 2023.
After the sale he invested as an angel. In 2024 he started Rice Capital, a solo-GP fund of about $15M that invests in U.S. and Japanese startups. He is also an outside director at SmartHR and Knowledge Work. His LinkedIn lists Los Angeles as his location.
His LinkedIn says he has been an angel investor since January 2017 and has backed 200+ startups in the U.S. and Japan. Crunchbase counts 42 investments, with 0 lead investments, 0 exits and 0 companies founded. The gap between the two counts probably reflects incomplete Crunchbase coverage. LinkedIn names Ramp, Boom, Browser Use, Mastra, Harper, Magic Patterns and Magic Mind among his investments.
Crunchbase shows 31 AI investments since 2023. They include Weave Robotics, Medmain, General Aviation, Wayco, Mastra, Bolna, Mesmer, Jizai, SellRaze, PeopleX, Cortex AI and Move AI.
On the Lounge deals desk he appears in Bolna's $6.3M Seed (January 2026) and AgentMail's $6M Seed (March 2026). In February 2025 he posted publicly that he had invested in Mastra, an open-source TypeScript agent framework. He cited the founders' earlier work on Gatsby and their developer-first approach. He has also invested in Physical AI, joining Zen Intelligence's Series A.
Reports on Rice Capital say it invests mainly in Y Combinator alumni in the U.S. In Japan it targets companies from Seed to Series B. A Japanese podcast bio says his current focus is mainly AI. Earlier profiles describe his angel focus as SaaS. I found no check size or ownership target stated by him, so none is given here.
- Mastra: open-source TypeScript framework for building AI agents. He announced his investment in February 2025 (YC W25).
- Bolna: AI company that raised a $6.3M Seed in January 2026, per the Lounge deals desk.
- AgentMail: raised a $6M Seed in March 2026, per the Lounge deals desk.
- Browser Use: listed on his LinkedIn as an investment.
- Zen Intelligence (formerly SoftRoid): Physical AI for construction sites. He joined its Series A through Rice Capital.
- Fluently: English-learning app that raised a $2M seed round in 2024, with his participation.
- linkedin.com/in/tarof
- crunchbase.com/person/07e0c6d0-c2fb-ab49-669c-731dd0e31593
- note.com/tarofukuyama
- thebridge.jp/2024/08/taro-fukuyama-launches-rice-capital
- mugenlabo-magazine.kddi.com/list/tarofukuyama
- x.com/taro_f/status/1895570976878051436
- x.com/taro_f/status/1895607915396170031
- note.com/zen_intelligence/n/ndbd8f9e69106
AI portfolio
Investing activity
Taro Fukuyama has made 42 investments according to Crunchbase. 31 of those investments since 2023 were in AI companies, including Weave Robotics, Medmain, General Aviation, Wayco and Mastra.
Taro Fukuyama appears in 3 AI deals tracked by the Lounge deals desk. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $6M and the largest at $8M. The most recent are Didit (Seed, $7.5M, May 2026), AgentMail (Seed, $6M, Mar 2026) and Bolna (Seed, $6.3M, Jan 2026).
Taro Fukuyama most often invests alongside Y Combinator, Orange Collective, Phosphor Capital and Pioneer Fund, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Taro Fukuyama
Does Taro Fukuyama invest in AI startups?
Yes. Crunchbase lists 31 AI investments since 2023, including Mastra, Bolna, Weave Robotics and Move AI. He has also described his current focus as mainly AI.
What stage does Taro Fukuyama invest in?
His early-stage deals include Seed rounds such as Bolna and AgentMail. Through Rice Capital he targets Y Combinator alumni in the U.S. and Seed to Series B companies in Japan.
What is Taro Fukuyama's check size?
He has not published a check size that I could find. Crunchbase shows 0 lead investments, but it does not give amounts for his checks.
Who is Taro Fukuyama?
He founded Fond (formerly AnyPerk), a Y Combinator company sold to Edenred in 2023. He now runs Rice Capital, and he sits on the boards of SmartHR and Knowledge Work.
How can founders contact Taro Fukuyama?
He is on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/tarof and on X as @taro_f. He also writes at note.com/tarofukuyama. No public pitch process is listed.
What does Taro Fukuyama look for in a founding team?
In his public note on Mastra he pointed to strong founder fit, a developer-first approach and past relevant work. He also wrote about the need for AI agent infrastructure.
Is Taro Fukuyama an angel investor?
Yes. Taro Fukuyama invests personally as an angel. Crunchbase counts 42 investments.
What AI companies has Taro Fukuyama invested in?
Taro Fukuyama's AI investments include Weave Robotics, Medmain, General Aviation, Wayco, Mastra, Bolna, Mesmer and Jizai. The 3 rounds on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
Where is Taro Fukuyama based?
Taro Fukuyama is based in Tokyo, Japan.
What stage does Taro Fukuyama invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Taro Fukuyama has invested at Seed, with a median round of $6M.