WiL held our third MOMENT conference on October 10th, 2023 in Tokyo, marking the first time in seven years we’ve come together in Japan for the US & Japan VC conference. Organized in partnership with the Japanese government’s Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry (METI), MOMENT this year felt particularly special thanks to our 11 incredible speakers, nine of whom crossed the Pacific to join us for the day.
MOMENT first came to life in 2015, with our first iteration in Palo Alto, CA and the second in Tokyo in 2016. Its origin ties back to the "Innovation Kakehashi Project" (announced by then Prime Minister Abe in 2015) and the event has only continued to evolve and scale, now with the backdrop of the Japanese government's 5-year Startup Development plan. This year's MOMENT served as a forum for leading venture capitalists and entrepreneurs from the two countries "to meet, talk, and co-create the future."
The day began with opening speeches from Minister Nishimura and our co-founder, General Partner & CEO Gen Isayama. 500+ Japanese venture capitalists, startups, corporate executives and students filled the room.
Shortly after, Andreessen Horowitz’s co-founder and general partner Ben Horowitz joined Gen on stage for an intimate fireside chat, touching on several topics including opportunities for entrepreneurs and startups in Japan.
MOMENT’s first panel (Beyond the Cycle: Strategies for building & leading a fund for the long-term) was moderated by WiL Chief Investment Officer & General Partner Rob Theis. Speakers included Paul Madera, Co-Founder & General Partner at Meritech Capital, and Brad Powell, Managing Director at Emerson Collective. Rob led their discussion on how the VC industry continues to evolve, and the two leaders shared perspectives on how they've been able to develop durable and impactful venture capital strategies over the years. In Rob's words, this is the only job in the world where you can see the future.
“Focus your investment on something you think will bring value. You will bring the most value in something you personally align with and care deeply about.” - Brad Powell
Our second MOMENT panel centered more topically on enterprise technology (Silicon Valley Perspectives on the Future of Enterprise Technology). Incubate Fund General Partner Paul McInerney served as moderator, and his questions integrated his knowledge of challenges that Japanese startups have faced in expanding globally. Speakers included Quinn Li, SVP & Global Head of Qualcomm Ventures, and Karen Page, General Partner at B Capital Group.
While MOMENT offered attendees time to connect with each other throughout the day, we hosted a dedicated Networking session during lunch for attendees to connect with speakers and moderators. Here, speakers were able to gain even greater exposure to the Japanese startup ecosystem.
We kicked off the afternoon portion of MOMENT with a keynote from Jeff Wang (Managing Partner at Sequoia Capital Global Equities), which provided valuable insights on tech investing market outlook as well as public market implications for the AI sector.
MOMENT's first afternoon panel (Venture Fundamentals & Paths to Venture) welcomed Allison Baum Gates (General Partner at SemperVirens Venture Capital) and Shinichi Takamiya (General Partner, Globis Capital Partners) to the stage. The two shared thoughtful perspectives on how VCs in both countries can best lean into investment opportunities on a global stage. Jon Metzler, who is a Lecturer of Business and Public Policy at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business helped guide the conversation.
We rounded out the day with a highly anticipated panel on generative AI (Cutting Through the Noise: Identifying the next big thing in AI). Speakers Jai Das (President, Partner & Co-Founder at Sapphire Ventures) and Matt Murphy (Managing Director at Menlo Ventures) sat down with moderator Yoichi Ochiai who is a renowned media artist and associate professor at University of Tsukuba.
Tohru Akaura, General Partner at Incubate Fund and special advisor to Japan Venture Capital Association, helped us wrap up MOMENT with closing remarks, thanking our speakers, METI, WiL, and other partners for bringing everyone together. He outlined opportunities for Japan’s domestic startup ecosystem, as well as policy changes that could prompt greater innovation and growth within.
Lastly, we'd like to thank our partners:
We're exceptionally thankful to our speakers, moderators, METI, and all of our partners who helped us make MOMENT 2023 a reality. Our vision for the event has certainly held true: "a single MOMENT can fundamentally change your life."