About Us
100 Years of Empowering Creators
For over a century, Yamaha has been at the heart of musical innovation, giving artists the tools to create, perform, and redefine culture.
From the concert grand pianos to the legendary NS10 monitors that shaped the sound of countless records, our technology has set the stage for the music that moves the world.
The Yamaha Music Innovation Fund will support the next wave of music and media innovation—backing the founders building the tools, platforms, and experiences that will empower a new generation of creators to Make Waves with their art.
Investing in the Future of Creativity
The Yamaha Music Innovation Fund is focused on Early Stage investments in frontier technology, creative industry tools, and infrastructure that redefine how culture is made, shared, and experienced. We seek out companies that are unlocking new creative paths, disrupting ownership and distribution models, and expanding access to artistry for millions worldwide.
Our core investment areas include:
- Creative Tools & Infrastructure
- – Next-Gen hardware, software, and AI-powered tools that elevate artistic expression.
- Innovative and Interactive Media
- – Technologies and platforms reshaping how content is created, consumed, and monetized.
- Community & Collaboration
- – New ways for artists, fans, and creators to connect, co-create, and build sustainable careers.
- Empowerment & Accessibility
- – Technological Innovations in education and well-being through immersive experiences.
Why Yamaha?
There’s never been a more exciting—or urgent—time to invest in creativity. The way art is made and shared is evolving at an unprecedented pace, with breakthroughs in AI, new distribution models, and global connectivity lowering barriers like never before. Founders today aren’t just building companies—they’re shaping the future of music, media, and culture itself.
That’s where Yamaha comes in. As one of the most trusted and influential brands in music and sound, we offer more than capital—we bring a global platform for accelerating start-up growth.
- 20,000 employees worldwide working at the intersection of art and technology.
- Millions of customers across music, audio, and creative industries.
- A global distribution network that spans professional studios, concert halls, and digital platforms.
- A century-long track record of innovation, with deep expertise in building, scaling, and evolving creative tools.
Team
- SCOTT SUGINO
- President and CEO
- ANDREW KAHN
- Managing Partner
- JUN USUI
- CTO
- CONOR HEALY
- Sr. Principal, Investment
- SHERRY SHIBASE
- Principal, Business Alliance
- TAKA KUROKI
- Principal, Business Alliance
- YUTA KIKUCHI
- Head of Growth, Creator P/F
- JAMES TERASHIMA
- Principal, Business Alliance
- NATTIE KOBAYASHI
- Principal, Design and UX
Investment PortfolioCompanies we’ve invested in
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Speakeasy is the operations and intelligence infrastructure powering the experience economy.

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Songboy is a playable music studio built like a video game.

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Freebeat turns audio input into incredible video output using AI.

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CommonTime Pathways helps colleges and universities recruit creative students.

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Offside helps sports creators build communities.

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Mogul gives residual income earners a source of truth to fix and track royalties.

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Meld uses AI to make it easy for creators to produce high-quality live streams and recordings.

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Nero helps creators make money reacting to fan content on livestreams.

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TONE3000 is the largest marketplace for AI-modeled sounds and tones.

Business PartnershipsCompanies we’ve collaborated with
AI-Driven Sound Creation for Hardware

Yamaha collaborates with Boomy to explore AI-driven sound generation integrated with its hardware products, enabling users to create and customize audio samples.
Creating New Music Experiences Across Southeast Asia

Yamaha partners with POPS to merge digital innovation and cultural expression, co-creating immersive music experiences for audiences in Vietnam and Indonesia.
Connecting Independent Artists and Opportunities

Yamaha collaborates with Groover, a global platform connecting independent artists and music professionals, to empower emerging creators and amplify their presence in the music industry.
Digital Drop Test Simulations for the Products

Yamaha is working with SimScale’s cloud-based simulation technology to improve the accuracy of product durability assessments and explore more flexible packaging solutions.
Regional Music Intelligence

Yamaha drew insights from regional music trends using Chartmetric to create culturally resonant sound content, reflecting local musical preferences.
Music Licensing and AI Music Datasets

Yamaha leverages Rightsify’s legally licensed, high-integrity music datasets to drive innovation in next-generation music technology and product development.
News & Articles

IRL economy infra company Speakeasy raises $8.8M. Speakeasy

TONE3000 releases groundbreaking new amp modeling architecture. TONE3000

Yamaha Music Innovations to Unveil “Yamaha Creator Pass” at SXSW, a New Platform Uniting Industry-Leading MUSIC and Podcast Tools Under One Service Yamaha Corporation

Mogul has tracked $1.5B in royalties for customers, raises $5M seed round. Mogul
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