Gen Isayama grew up in Tokyo and then spent a decade working in the venture-capital business in Northern California. Now he's starting a $300 million fund aimed at blending the best of Silicon Valley and Japan.
The 40-year-old Isayama is chief executive officer of WiL LLC, which has tapped corporate investors including Sony Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and ANA Holdings Inc. to help finance its investments.
The firm plans to fund startups in Japan and technologies within the country's established companies that have the potential to be standalone businesses, he said.