# Teppei Tsutsui

> Teppei Tsutsui is General Partner and co-founder of GFR Fund, a San Francisco-based early-stage venture capital firm focused on gaming, generative AI, creator economy, and consumer tech. Tokyo-raised and University of Chicago-educated, he co-founded GFR Fund in 2016 after a decade spanning Mitsubishi Corporation, Morgan Stanley M&A, and GREE - where he moved to San Francisco in 2014 to launch their seed investment program. GFR Fund III closed at $53.5M in 2023, and the firm's portfolio of over 100 companies includes three unicorns - VRChat, Animoca Brands, and Sky Mavis - with GFR's earliest and most famous bet being VRChat, invested when the platform had just 1,000 active users.

- **Role:** General Partner at GFR Fund
- **Organizations:** GFR Fund, GREE, Morgan Stanley, Mitsubishi Corporation
- **From:** Tokyo, Japan
- **Nationality:** Japanese
- **Education:** Bachelor of Law, Hitotsubashi University, MBA, University of Chicago
- **Known for:** Co-founded GFR Fund in 2016, growing it to a $53.5M Fund III by 2023, Early backer of VRChat when it had only 1,000 active users - now one of the largest social VR platforms, Portfolio of 101 companies with 3 unicorns: VRChat, Animoca Brands, and Sky Mavis

## Career timeline

- **pre-2011** — Business development role at Mitsubishi Corporation, Japan
- **pre-2011** — M&A Strategy advisor at Morgan Stanley, focusing on Asian markets
- **2011** — Japan earthquake triggers career pivot; joins GREE as Director of Corporate Planning/Strategic Finance
- **2011-2014** — Director of Corporate Planning/Strategic Finance at GREE, involved in key acquisitions including OpenFeint and Funzio
- **2014** — Relocates to San Francisco to launch GREE's seed investment program as Director of Investment
- **2014-2016** — Director of Investment at GREE, building seed-stage investment capabilities in Silicon Valley
- **2016** — Co-founds GFR Fund with Yasushi Komori; makes first investment in VRChat with only 1,000 active users
- **2019** — GFR Fund II closes; portfolio grows to include Wave XR, ProGuides, FanAI
- **2020** — Launches GFR Artists with Nikhil Gopalani - sub-fund investing up to $100K in 25-30 companies
- **2023** — GFR Fund III closes at $53.5M; portfolio reaches 101 companies with 3 unicorns (VRChat, Animoca Brands, Sky Mavis)
- **2025** — Continues investing in gaming, generative AI, and creator economy from Burlingame, CA

## Achievements

- Co-founded GFR Fund in 2016, growing it to a $53.5M Fund III by 2023
- Early backer of VRChat when it had only 1,000 active users - now one of the largest social VR platforms
- Portfolio of 101 companies with 3 unicorns: VRChat, Animoca Brands, and Sky Mavis
- Backed by strategic LPs including Square Enix, Bandai Namco, and DeNA
- Led $5M seed round for Magma art collaboration platform with Bandai Namco participation
- Pioneered GFR Artists initiative investing in creator economy startups during COVID
- Speaker at Augmented World Expo (Tel Aviv 2018), xRS Week 2019, Virtual Reality Strategy Conference
- Described as a '2x founder' having also served in CFO roles

## Latest updates

- **2025-05** — Participated in Japan Night at GDC 2026 fireside chat with Dean Takahashi on gaming trends
- **2025-01** — GFR Fund published 2025 Founder Lessons, continuing active portfolio engagement
- **2024-12** — Continuing to deploy Fund III capital across gaming, generative AI, and creator economy
- **2023-11** — GFR Fund III closes at $53.5M with backing from Square Enix, Bandai Namco, DeNA and others

## Links

- Website: https://gfrfund.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teppeitsutsui
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/TeppeiTsutsui
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teppei.tsutsui/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teppei.tsutsui/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/teppei-tsutsui
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-17