Germination Fund I, Managed by Leave a Nest Capital, Invested in Wizray Co., Ltd., FiberCraze Co., Ltd., and ShrimpTech JIRCAS, Inc. Marking its Third Cohort of Investments

The Germination Fund I Investment Limited Partnership (hereinafter “Germination Fund I”), managed by Leave a Nest Capital Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Mr. Masahiro Ikegami; hereinafter “Leave a Nest Capital”) marked its third cohort of investments by investing in three companies: Wizray Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture; CEO: Dr. Kei Moriyama; hereinafter “Wizray”), FiberCraze Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Gifu City, Gifu Prefecture; CEO: Mr. Shunya Chosokabe; hereinafter “FiberCraze”), and ShrimpTech JIRCAS, Inc. (Head Office: Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture; CEO: Dr. Marcy N. Wilder; hereinafter “ShrimpTech”).

Wizray is a venture company that provides systems for identifying prescription drugs using spectroscopic analysis technology, with the vision to “Build a society with zero medical accidents caused by drug administration”. By introducing these technologies, pharmacists can shift to working more closely with patients, contributing to their health promotion and reducing health damage caused by counterfeit drugs around the world. 

FiberCraze is a venture company from Gifu University founded with the vision of: “Weaving together the future of humankind and the Earth through microscopic technology”. It developed its proprietary high-performance materials porous technology for textile and film materials by bringing together technologies from Gifu, developing fibers with insect repellent properties that help prevent infectious diseases such as dengue fever and malaria, and represent a cutting-edge alternative to microcapsules and fluorinated materials.

ShrimpTech is a venture company that conducts research and technology development related to land-based shrimp farming and seed production to solve multiple problems arising from the shrimp aquaculture industry, which has expanded rapidly over the past several decades on a world-wide scale. Shrimp aquaculture is actively practiced to solve food problems, but the conventional outdoor farming methods used around the world have been featured in the news due to environmental pollution issues such as the destruction of mangrove forests and water contamination caused by leftover feed containing antibiotics; there are, in fact, many problems related to food safety, and efforts to solve them are urgently needed.

The three companies have deep ties with Leave a Nest (Head Office: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Group CEO: Dr. Yukihiro Maru; hereinafter “Leave a Nest”), being all alumni of TECH PLANTER, a program implemented by it. We believe they are ideal candidates for investment from the Germination Fund I, which specializes in making small investments in seed-stage Japanese venture companies founded by entrepreneurs who are passionate about solving deep issues.

Going forward, Leave a Nest Group will continue working towards its goal of contributing to global happiness by producing deep tech that solves deep issues related to medical accidents, infectious disease prevention, and food safety.

About Wizray 

• Company Name: Wizray Co., Ltd.
• Website: https://wizray.jp/
• Head Office: 4F Daiichi Central Building, 6-36 Honmachi, Kita-ku, Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture, Japan
• CEO: Dr. Kei Moriyama
• Incorporation: 11 July 2019

About FiberCraze

• Company Name: FiberCraze Co., Ltd.
• Website: https://www.fibercraze.com/en
• Head Office: Gifu University’s Academic Research and Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration, Tokai National Higher Education and Research System, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu City, Gifu Prefecture, Japan
• CEO: Mr. Shunya Chosokabe
• Incorporation: 22 September 2021

About ShrimpTech

• Company Name: ShrimpTech JIRCAS, Inc.
• Website: https://shrimptech.co.jp/en/home
• Head Office: 1-1 Ohwashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture 305-8686, Japan
• CEO: Dr. Marcy N. Wilder
• Incorporation: 8 February 2022