All posts in japan
Beyond Robots, France and Japan Launch Year of Innovation
It was an honor to participate in France’s governmental delegation to Japan to launch the Year of Innovation between the two countries. Seriously, I’m not being sarcastic. It’s true that I like to mock government initiatives in innovation, and my first reaction to the ministerial invitation to serve in the official kick-off of FrenchTechTokyo was […]
Another chance to Go East, Young Startup
For the third consecutive year, I’ve been granted some coveted spots to bring a delegation of five privileged French startups to the prestigious Dash Camp retreat in Japan. Dash Camp represents one of Asia’s exclusive tech conferences (they have a lot of exclusives there) whose objective is to foster cross-pollination between innovative entrepreneurs and leaders […]
Nikkei acquires FT, and debunks several myths
As rather recursively reported in the FT last Thursday, Japan’s largest media company, Nikkei, will acquire the Financial Times Group from Pearson for a handsome £844 million. The eleventh hour offer for the London-based global news organization stunned rival bidders, and debunked several myths along the way in my opinion: Myth #1: Japanese acquirers are […]
Italy on the Pacific: How Airbnb can alter Japan's trajectory
When Japanese Prime Minister Abe visited the San Francisco Bay Area last week, he spoke about the need for Japan to foster its own version of Silicon Valley. His rationale makes sense. Many governments here in Europe have launched initiatives to encourage startup ecosystems and boost innovation (LaFrenchTech, London TechCity, Finland’s Startup Sauna, Enterprise Ireland, […]
Time to invest in Japan?
I would posit that Japan is “the ultimate contrarian bet.” For entrepreneurs and investors in the West alike, the world’s third largest economy strikes me as being unfairly dismissed. Don’t get me wrong. At the macro level, the Japanese economy faces its share of challenges. The demographic trend is not moving in the country’s favor, […]
What I think about when I think about mobile gaming
When people inquire about my investment strategy, I explain that I try to structure my investment thinking around themes or theses. Readers of this blog will recognize that one of my favorite investment themes over the past few years has centered on the value chain of mobile gaming. Often, I visualize aspects of a theme […]
Why French startups should consider Far East Asia
When I first arrived in France from Silicon Valley over ten years ago, I regularly received business plans from French startups that were limiting their sights to the French market. The few that spoke about international expansion would have a line in their financial projections for revenue in year 5 from Belgium or francophone Switzerland. […]
RudeVC: Don’t shoot the messenger (App)
In continuity of last week’s piece on the arrival the Japanese mobile game models to Europe, I thought it appropriate to discuss another tech trend in Asia which makes me enthusiastic for potential investment opportunities, even here on the old continent: the next-generation of mobile messaging apps. Most Europeans are familiar with WhatsApp, Viber, Kik, […]
Japan to Europe: Game on ! (act 2)
Fasten your seatbelts, because the European mobile games market is about to become a lot more interesting. Not that the market has been dormant. I can’t think of a recent ride on the Paris metro or London tube without witnessing someone playing Candy Crush or Clash of Clans. And now Candy Crush maker King.com is […]
Approaching €100 Million, Dailymotion to open office in the Land of the Rising Sun
It’s been some time now that the French press is watching closely every move Dailymotion is making, mainly because of the French government intervention last spring putting an end to the Dailymotion Yahoo deal. Dailymotion and a few UK media announced several days ago a new partnership between the two parties consisting in Dailymotion appointing […]