Description: Against a wall of painted coniferous forest, a young white man is talking.
Caption: Magnus Grimeland, Antler, Founder & CEO
Magnus: Take action. The opportunity is right in front of us.
Caption: white background, black letter, INVESTING IN JAPAN, big red letter, EXPERT PERSPECTIVES
Description: The caption disappears. Tokyo skyscrapers on a fine day. Clouds are floating from front to back.
Narrator:Foreign investment in Japan has continued to increase, and as of the end of 2022, totaled 46.2 trillion yen. In this interview series, we unravel the reasons behind Japan's current allure as an investment destination, exploring the insights of experts from around the world.
Caption: White letter, 46.2 trillion yen.
Description: Several young multiethnic people are giving the high fives, smiling. A man with a tablet is shaking hands with his meeting counterpart. Two men at a business meeting table stands up and shake hands.
Magnus is smiling, wearing a dark navy suit and a white business shirt with the first button undone, and a different watch on each wrist.
Caption: Magnus Grimeland, Antler, Founder & CEO.
Narrator: Magnus Grimeland is the founder and CEO of Antler, a venture capital firm specializing in supporting startups from Day Zero. He is also the founder of Antler Japan and has launched an acceleration program in Japan. We asked him about the appeal of Japan’s investment environment.
Description: About 30 men and women are smiling at the camera, dressed in various clothing. Some are in suits, and others in t-shirts or dresses. They are of different ages and nationalities.
A panel looking like night landscape is put up against these people, and a curtain is drawn behind it. In the front is an object art with the word "ANTLER" on it.
A woman with black hair in a navy dress is shaking hands with Magnus in a white business shirt.
Several men and women are around, and several male and female figures can be seen in the back of the room.
A hall with chairs placed around a stage. Birds-eye view of three people seated on chairs around a small table, in a red stage with an Antler logo. They are surrounded by seated audience of men and women, young and old, looking at them.
In a room with large windows, two men are standing across Magus, talking with him. He is in a navy t-shirt with a white business shirt underneath, sleeves rolled up. He puts his hands in his pockets, looking at the man with beard in a white t-shirt standing on his left side. A man in a black t-shirt with sunglasses on his chest is looking at a man in a white t-shirt. Several more figures can be seen behind them.
In front of a red background, Magnus is standing with his hands on his hip, smiling. He is in a white t-shirt with an Antler chest logo.
Large red horizontal chevron arrows move from left to right for a scene change.
Against a wall of painted coniferous forest, Magnus is talking.
Caption on the top left: What Makes Investing in Japan Attractive?
Magnus: Yes, one of the great things with investing in Japanese founders and investing in Japanese startups is you have a vast diversity of found talent. You have tremendous people with long, long and deep sector expertise across multiple different industries, whether it's shipping, healthcare, consumer electronics, software, automotive, transport, batteries, renewable energy, you can literally pick any industry. So, you know, from the founding team perspective, when we look at Japanese startups and the funds we're working with, you have this depth of talent.
Caption: Diversity of Talent
Description: Room with several tables. Several people working around each table, opening a tablet or writing something. Everyone is casually dressed. Two people at a table in the front are talking.
Two men are talking. A man in a border t-shirt is explaining something using body language to an elderly man in a suit.
A man in a long black polo shirt with glasses is talking, pointing to the image on the screen.
Two women are chatting.
A woman with black round frame glasses and a woman with long hair are seated on chairs and chatting. Behind them is seated a man in a business shirt, talking with an open laptop.
A short haired man wearing a red t-shirt with an Antler logo on its back is standing in front of a screen, talking and using body language to a seated audience.
Large red horizontal chevron arrows move from left to right for a scene change.
Caption on the top left: How Is the Governmental Support for Startups?
Description: Against a wall of painted coniferous forest, Magnus is talking.
Magnus: Now, if you combine that with the time we‘re in right now where also the government has decided to make innovation and entrepreneurship a priority.And there's a cultural drive towards making this a core part of the future in Japan. And it's not only a great time from a long-term perspective to come to Japan, but also from a short-term perspective, and that, you know, more VCs are being launched. So, access to capital is getting better. Mentorship platforms are becoming better, and more and more advisors are available. You also see families and corporates deploying more capital into innovation, and all of this combined will lead to tremendous growth.
Caption: Innovation Entrepreneurship
Description: In a room with interior like a café, a man in a gray t-shirt is talking. There are many black round tables lined up. Several people at each table are listening to him. The audience is in casual clothes, and of different ages and genders.
In the same room, some standing people are chatting.
A man in the front is carrying a backpack. A man in a light blue business shirt is pointing at something.
Several men and women are talking. A man wearing a gray shirt is talking. A woman in a border outfit standing next to him is looking in his direction.
A woman in a red outfit and a man in a gray outfit with glasses are talking, looking at laptops.
A man in a navy t-shirt and a man in a business shirt are talking.
A man in an Antler t-shirt with a chest logo standing in front of a screen is talking to people. There are some men and women wearing the same t-shirt behind him.
A blond woman in an Antler t-shirt is nodding and smiling.
A woman in an Antler t-shirt is talking. Men and women wearing the same t-shirt are standing behind her.
A short haired man is talking.
A man in a light blue business shirt and several people around him.
Several people are talking around a black round table. A black man with glasses is talking, others are listening to him.
Large red horizontal chevron arrows move from left to right for a scene change.
A short haired man wearing a black Antler t-shirt with a chest red logo and illustration in the center and jeans is standing with his arms crossed.
In a room with large windows with many indoor plants, a sofa shaped like stacked boxes is placed in the middle of the space.
Caption: Ryo Umezawa, Antler Japan, CEO
Narrator: We asked Antler Japan CEO Ryo Umezawa about Antler‘s activities in Japan and the government’s support for venture capitals.
Description: Large red horizontal chevron arrows move from left to right for a scene change.
Caption on the top left: More Detail of the Governmental Initiatives?
Description: Umezawa is seated on a chair, talking using body language.
Umezawa: I think after the Prime Minister Kishida, when he has done his speech at the Parliament House of Representatives, he has mentioned startup many times as a keyword in his speech and also the government has increased the budget of the overall startup expenditure to three times what it was before. I think this is a very good initiative because it will give pressure to, for example, a government agency like METI to really come up with ideas on how to help startups. And recently the Tokyo Metropolitan Ward has launched the Projects team, which helps accelerators or incubators or venture capitals to come up with a new project which the government will sponsor. So, any businesses or any projects that the VC has not done before, they will sponsor. And there were many venture capitals selected, including Antler. So as a whole, there is a lot of traction and spotlight onto the startups.
Caption: White letter, TOKYO SUTEAM, only SU in red letter
Description: Large red horizontal chevron arrows move from left to right for a scene change.
Caption on the top left: Any New Discoveries after Launching the Program in Japan?
Umezawa: So, I realize that there are more entrepreneurs who want to challenge in the Japanese market. We predicted that there are hundreds of people, but we realize that they are very motivated to really pursue their passion, especially of people who are professionals, who have the experience of 10 to 15 years.
Description: Large red horizontal chevron arrows move from left to right for a scene change.
A man in a navy suit is talking in front of many people,with a large Antler logo in the background.
Close up of the talking man.
Narrator: More and more projects are attracting venture capital to Japan, with a lot of opportunities to scale up. For venture capital firms around the world, now is a chance to expand into Japan.
Description: Several people are talking around a black round table. A black man with glasses is talking, while others are listening to him.
At the same table, a woman in a pink parka is looking at and talking with the man.
A woman in a green jacket and pink pants is standing in front of people, talking to the groups of people around several black round tables.
A woman with black rimmed glasses and black bob hair is talking.
Around a square table, several people are having an online meeting with their laptops open.
About 50 men and women of different ages and ethnicities in casual clothes or Antler T-shirts gather outdoors. They are smiling at the camera, thrusting their hands into the air in unison.
Caption: White background, INVEST JAPAN with cherry blossom motif and JETRO logos are placed side by side.
