# Draper Nexus Venture

> Draper Nexus Venture is the historical identity of the B2B venture capital firm renamed DNX Ventures in 2019. Founded in 2011 with Silicon Valley and Tokyo operations, it pairs startup investment with corporate customer development. Since September 2026 its US and Japan investment activities use separate brands: DNX Technology Ventures and DNX Capital.

- **Founded:** 2011
- **Headquarters:** San Mateo, United States
- **Founders:** Mitch Kitamura (Co-founder; Managing Partner / COO), Q Motiwala (Co-founder; Managing Partner), Tetsujiro Nakagaki (Co-founder)
- **Products:** B2B venture capital investment, Corporate customer development, Portfolio support, SPROUND, DNX Studio
- **Notable:** Reported more than 100 signed startup-corporate partnerships by February 2019., Closed US$315 million Fund III in September 2020., Announced US$243 million combined final close for Japan Fund IV and Japan Annex Fund III in March 2024.

## Products & services

- **B2B venture capital investment** — Early-stage equity investment and follow-on support; current US strategy also includes growth-stage investing.
- **Corporate customer development** — Introductions to enterprise buyers, channel partners and suppliers through corporate limited partners and industry networks.
- **Portfolio support** — Board participation, hiring, PR, M&A support, business development and founder learning programs, described by the Japan business.
- **SPROUND** — B2B startup incubation office and community in Shinagawa, jointly operated with Nippon Steel Kowa Real Estate.
- **DNX Studio** — Venture creation program developed with Alloy Partners; first startup launch announced in August 2025.

## Achievements

- Reported more than 100 signed startup-corporate partnerships by February 2019.
- Closed US$315 million Fund III in September 2020.
- Announced US$243 million combined final close for Japan Fund IV and Japan Annex Fund III in March 2024.
- Reported more than 190 portfolio investments and 23 exits in March 2024.
- Current DNX Technology Ventures network page reports 210+ corporate-startup partnerships since 2011.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Japan and US investment teams adopted DNX Capital and DNX Technology Ventures brands on September 1; existing funds continue to be operated by both teams.
- **2026-09** — DNX Capital announced that it had already invested in two South Korean and two Australian startups in 2025, and described a planned overseas allocation of up to approximately 10% of existing main funds.
- **2025-08** — The Japan team announced DNX Studio’s first startup launch.
- **2025-04** — NetRise announced a US$10 million Series A led by DNX Ventures.

## Links

- Website: https://www.dnx.vc/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dnxventures/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/dnxventures
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dnx_capital
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dnxventures

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/draper-nexus-venture
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-27