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AN Venture Partners, led by managing partner Ken Horne, raised a $200 million fund this month to invest in Japanese biotech companies.

Why it matters: Horne, who speaks fluent Japanese, believes the market offers an "untapped source" of scientific innovation where few other investors are focused.

Context: AN Venture Partners has invested in seven startups so far, with plans for about eight more, with check sizes ranging from $250,000 to $10 million.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Axios: What opportunities do you see in Japan?

"Big Pharma in Japan has done really well globally in terms of producing blockbuster drugs, but there really isn't a biotech ecosystem there.

This is kind of what led to my forming AN Ventures. There's cool science in Japan, but the playground isn't big enough. The ecosystem isn't developed enough to really build global successes yet. And so, how do you break that chicken-and-the-egg cycle? Let's do cross-border work with the U.S. ecosystem."

"The end goal for companies that we start and initiate is to have them look like any other U.S. biotech company in their own individual and unique, innovative way.

But for the majority of our fund, those companies have scientific origins in Japan."

How did you discover this cross-border strategy?

"Because of the pandemic and not being able to go back and forth to Japan because of travel restrictions, I was sort of forced into this cross-border approach of working with Japanese science and founders. 

But really leveraging the U.S. biotech ecosystem, expert consultants, VCs, etc., here to build these cross-border opportunities.

That was sort of an enlightening moment for me."

The Japanese government is investing in startup infrastructure to kickstart its economy. How did that activity help convince LPs to invest with AN Venture Partners?

"There's a lot of kindling and a lot of wood that has been placed by the government.

When we talk to LPs, we say, 'Look at all these initiatives that are going on.' And at the same time, especially more recently, the U.S. is [going in] the opposite direction. Research institutions, academia are getting less and less funding. The regulatory environment is changing.

Japan became the focus of curiosity for many LPs."

AN Venture Partners was founded in 2022 in alliance with Arch Venture Partners. How has the firm influenced your approach?

"Having come out of Chicago, which isn't known as a biotech hotbed, Arch has historically had this 'go look under the stones other people aren't looking at' approach."

AN Venture Partners and Arch both participated in City Therapeutics' $135 million Series A last year. Will you invest together again?

"There's a close relationship there. I could only imagine that there'll be more co-investments in the future."

Will biotech startups continue to struggle to raise VC in the back half of 2025?

"It'll still be hard in 2025. The IPO market is still challenging."

"My hope is that towards the end of the year, some of the hangover effects from the last boom cycle start to clear out."

🍣 Favorite Japanese food: Chutoro, which is sushi made from the medium-fatty part of the Pacific bluefin tuna belly.

"My mother's family is all from the Tokyo area. I spent all my summers growing up in Japan."

Why Ken Horne of AN Venture Partners is investing in Japan's "cool science"

The firm intends to tap an "untapped source" of scientific innovation.

Photo illustration of Ken Horne collaged with abstract shapes and a map of Asia.

Photo illustration: Axios Visuals. Photo: Courtesy of Ken Horne

AN Venture Partners, led by managing partner Ken Horne, raised a $200 million fund this month to invest in Japanese biotech companies.Why it matters: Horne, who speaks fluent Japanese, believes the market offers an &quot;untapped source&quot; of scientific innovation where few other investors are focused.

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Why Ken Horne of AN Venture Partners is investing in Japan's "cool science"

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