James Riney
James Riney, the Founding Partner and CEO of Coral Capital, has carved out a distinctive role as one of the most influential voices in Japan’s startup and venture capital ecosystem. He is driven by a mission to support founders building Japan’s most impactful companies—those with the potential to transform industries and push the boundaries of innovation. At Coral, he leads a team that has backed a growing roster of Japan’s most promising startups, including Kyoto Fusioneering, Kaminashi, and SmartHR. Riney also served on the board of SmartHR, where he played a key role in their ~$14 million Series B, a pivotal moment in the company’s rapid scale-up.
Under his leadership, Coral Capital has earned the trust and backing of domestic and global institutions, including Mizuho Bank, Dai-ichi Life, Nikon, Mitsubishi Estate, and the renowned Founders Fund. What sets Riney apart is his ambition to bridge Japan with the world, facilitating knowledge transfer, capital flows, and cultural understanding to help startups navigate the unique and often complex landscape of the Japanese market. He firmly believes in Japan’s untapped potential and intends to help entrepreneurs unlock it with grit, insight, and support.
Riney's journey into venture capital is grounded in firsthand entrepreneurial experience. Before becoming an investor, he founded ResuPress, a company that would evolve into Coincheck, one of Japan’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, now listed on NASDAQ. He also created STORYS. JP, a platform often likened to Medium.com, which gave Japanese users a place to share authentic, long-form personal narratives. These ventures were early expressions of his passion for building platforms that empower individuals to tell stories, connect, and innovate. His entrepreneurial track record provided a solid foundation for the investor he would become— someone who understands the numbers and the emotional and strategic challenges of building a company from scratch.
After his startup ventures, Riney joined DeNA’s venture arm, focusing on early-stage investments in Silicon Valley and across Asia. That experience prepared him to launch 500 Startups Japan, a pioneering move that brought Silicon Valley’s approach to early-stage investing into the Japanese context. As head of 500 Startups Japan, he helped manage nearly $100 million in assets and invested in over 40 companies, giving him a broad and dynamic perspective on what makes startups thrive in different markets.
Throughout his career, Riney has advocated for a shift in how Japan supports and celebrates entrepreneurship. He’s not afraid to challenge traditional norms, whether that means questioning the obsession with unicorns or pushing for cultural change in how failure is perceived. His commentary and insights have been featured in Bloomberg, Forbes, Nikkei, and other significant publications, and he was named to Forbes Asia’s 30 Under 30 list for Finance and Venture Capital in 2016. Fluent in Japanese and raised in Japan, he combines deep cultural fluency with global perspective—an increasingly rare and valuable combination in international venture capital.
Outside of work, Riney remains as dynamic and curious as the founders he backs. He is an avid snowboarder, scuba diver, and hiker. Having studied at Penn State University and the American School in Japan, his life and work reflect a global lens rooted in local experience. Whether scaling startups or mountaintops, Riney constantly navigates the path between bold vision and grounded execution, always in pursuit of what’s next.
