A Private AI Operator × Investor Summit –
Hosted in Japan
The A1 Asia Summit is a gathering of AI operators and global investors in Tokyo. A1’s mission is to channel growth capital into Asia, with Japan as the trusted gateway.
Asia's AI ecosystem is advancing quickly yet remains fragmented and undercapitalized. A1 bridges this gap—channeling growth capital to the next generation of AI leaders across the region.
June 17-18, 2026
Tokyo, Japan
2026 Theme
Japan’s Edge: Capital, AI, and Consolidation
A1 explores Japan’s role at the nexus of global capital and Asia’s fast-emerging AI frontier.
Key Topics
AI Investing in Asia
Growth opportunities enabled by the AI era; how cross-border flows are shaping the region and how global allocators are leaning in.
Japan’s Edge
AI enabled business succession, robotics, content, semiconductors: domains where Japanese innovation creates global platform opportunities.
Private Equity & Consolidation
Direct investing, buy-and-build strategies, and the asymmetric opportunities AI is unlocking in private markets.
Speaker Highlights
James Riney
Mariana Zobel de Ayala
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James is the CEO Founding Partner of Coral Capital, where he seeks to invest in founders building the most important companies in Japan across all sectors and stages from SaaS all the way to fusion. The firm has invested in some of Japan’s most promising startups, including Kakehashi, Kyoto Fusioneering, Hacomono, Kaminashi, and SmartHR, where James served on the Board.
Prior to Coral, James launched the first fund for 500 Startups in Japan, and before that he covered early stage investments for DeNA’s venture arm, focusing on Silicon Valley and Asia.
Before investing, he was the founding CEO of ResuPress (now Coincheck, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan), and the creator of STORYS.JP, the “Medium.com of Japan.” In another life, he worked at J.P. Morgan in New York and Tokyo. He grew up in Japan and speaks fluent Japanese.
In his free time, he is an avid snowboarder, diver, and yakitori connoisseur.
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Mariana Zobel de Ayala is a Managing Director of Ayala Corporation, Southeast Asia’s oldest conglomerate, and concurrently serves as a Senior Vice President of Ayala Land, one of the region’s top three listed property developers.
In her role, Ms. Zobel de Ayala leads the Leasing and Hospitality Group, overseeing more than two million square meters of commercial space through Ayala Malls, over seventy office buildings via Ayala Land Offices, and more than 4,800 hotel keys through Ayala Land Hospitality. She founded Ayala Land’s Leisure Estates division, focusing on transforming the Philippines into a major global tourism destination through master-planned, mixed-use developments in high-potential sites across Palawan, Batangas, and Bataan.
She is a Board Director of Ayala Land and actively participates in its Executive, Risk Oversight, and Sustainability Committees. Mariana also serves as a Director of AREIT, Ayala Land’s listed REIT subsidiary with over USD 2 billion in assets under management. Additionally, she is a Board Director of Bank of the Philippine Islands, one of the country’s largest banks, and is a member of the Management Committee of the Ayala Group.
Ms. Zobel de Ayala is a board advisor for Asia Partners, a Singapore-based growth equity firm managing over USD 1 billion, which focuses on scaling high-growth technology companies in Southeast Asia. She is also a board director of U-Go, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting educational equality in emerging markets by providing scholarships to women pursuing higher education.
Prior to her current roles, Mariana served as Senior Vice President at the Bank of the Philippine Islands, leading the development of its marketing and digital platforms for the Consumer Banking division. She has also held various roles within Ayala Land, including project lead for various residential condominiums and office buildings, general manager of a shopping mall, and Deputy Head of Ayala Malls. Her career at Ayala Group began as a corporate strategy and business development associate at Ayala Corporation, where she supported portfolio reviews and healthcare business development initiatives.
Mariana started her professional journey at J.P. Morgan in New York. She holds a BA in Social Studies (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics) from Harvard College and an MBA from INSEAD.
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Kenta Akiyama joined Lazard in 2005 and was appointed Head of Investment Banking Japan in 2021. Throughout his career, he has focused on M&A advisory across all industries mainly in cross-border context. From 2006 to 2007, he was on secondment to Lazard NY office, and was involved in various cross-Atlantic/Pacific M&A transactions.
Prior to joining Lazard, he worked in the M&A department of Daiwa Securities SMBC.
Waseda University, B.A. in Economics
Kenta Akiyama
Tatsuo Kawasaki
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Tatsuo is Chairman and Co-founder of Unison Capital which was founded in 1998. At Unison, he has been responsible for investment portfolios across a wide range of businesses, including automobile, electronics, financial services, consumer goods and services, and business services. Since May 2025, he has been serving as Vice President in charge of Finance at Keio University.
Tatsuo actively serves for various companies and institutions as a board member, advisor or in a similar capacity, including Tier IV, Nutrix AG, Way Equity Partners, Environment Technologies Fund, GLIN Capital Partners, Asia Society in Japan, The International House of Japan and The Association of Corporate Executives (“Doyukai”).
Prior to Unison, Tatsuo’s professional experience includes NextCard (a US based fin-tech venture), McKinsey and Goldman Sachs. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Keio University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Gaudenz H. Trapp
Kiyoshi Seko
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Kiyoshi Seko joined Kyoto Fusion Engineering Ltd in April 2021. At KF, he oversees overall business operations, fundraising, PR & marketing, etc. Prior to joining KF, Seko spent approximately 10 years at Mitsubishi Corporation, executing numerous business development projects and strategic investments, including overseas joint venture establishment and cross-border M&A. After obtaining an MBA, he executed multiple investments at Coral Capital, one of Japan's leading VCs, focusing on deep tech areas, including investment in KF. Seko holds a Master's degree in Physics and Engineering from the University of Tokyo and an European MBA from IE Business School.
Nozomu Tsunoda
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Nozomu Tsunoda founded LegalOn with the aim of enhancing the quality of legal services by leveraging cutting-edge technology like AI. Previously, he worked as a corporate lawyer at Mori Hamada, one of the Big 4 law firms in Japan.
Toru Miyagi
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Toru Miyagi has a work experience spanning from 2014 to the present. Miyagi started as a Consultant at McKinsey & Company in April 2014 and worked in that role until April 2018. In May 2018, Miyagi co-founded UPSIDER, Inc. and currently holds the position of Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer there.
Toru Miyagi attended The University of Tokyo from 2009 to 2014, earning a Bachelor's degree in Sports Science and Education.
The A1 Asia Summit convenes a select group of senior decision-makers driving the next chapter of AI investments in Japan and Asia:
Investors — Global Family offices, GPs, PE, and growth funds looking for Asia’s frontier operators and long-term opportunities.
Operators — Founders and executives of Asia’s best AI companies, connecting with global growth investors and partners for the next stage
Strategic Partners — Corporates and ecosystem leaders accelerating AI adoption across industries, forming alliances with both global capital and frontier builders.
For Decision-makers Shaping Asia’s AI’s Future