The UK tech ecosystem pulls in the highest proportion of Japanese investments in all of Europe, receiving almost half of the total capital, according to new research.
As much as €33bn (£29bn) of Japan-linked capital has been invested in European tech since 2019, with the UK receiving £12.7bn of it, by far the most in the continent, according to findings from Japan-backed European VC NordicNinja and Dealroom.
Japan represents a major force in global venture capital, with 6% of all European VC now including Japanese participation.
UK firms pull in the bulk of Japanese tech investments, with second-place Germany far below, having received £4.2bn since 2019.
Among the top UK rounds to receive Japanese backing since 2024 is Wayve’s $1bn round last year that included backing from SoftBank, Quantinuum’s $300m 2024 round featuring Mitsui and OrganOx’s £127m round led by Terumo, which later acquired the firm.
“Japanese investors are turning their eyes to Europe with growing intensity each year, especially across deep tech, AI, and climate tech,” said NordicNinja co-founder and managing partner Tomosaku Sohara.
“This is not capital tourism; Japan has a long tradition of building enduring partnerships rather than one-off transactions.
“We see a rare window to turn cross-border collaboration into lasting strategic advantage. When Europe’s entrepreneurial drive meets Japan’s engineering excellence and industrial networks, scalable and resilient solutions emerge.”
