Miki Hirai

Miki completed her MBA in the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge. She has a BA from the University of Tokyo in South European Literature and Languages. She was awarded a full scholarship for top academic performance and the Italian Government Scholarship to study in Italy. 

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In her free time, Miki enjoys travel, fishing, opera, and Italian culinary arts.

Most recently, Miki Hirai was a Principal with the University of Tokyo Edge Capital (UTEC), where she focused on seed- and early-stage information technology investments. Miki authored an article in the Kauffman Fellows Report about UTEC's work, entitled Introducing a Global Ecosystem for Japanese Technology Entrepreneurs: The University of Tokyo Edge Capital (UTEC) [http://www.kauffmanfellows.org/journal_posts/introducing-a-global-ecosystem-for-japanese-technology-entrepreneurs/]. 

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Before UTEC, Miki was an intern at TTP Ventures (UK), and before that worked at Nomura Securities in Japan and the US where her specialty was IPOs, focused on the technology industry. Her responsibilities included analysis of companies' financial and historical data, due diligence, and pricing. She met with and evaluated 300 venture-backed companies, advised on financial and business plans, and completed several IPOs. 

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Working with these passionate and idealistic venture-backed companies sparked Miki's interest in the venture ecosystem in Japan, and how she can bring a western approach to the more traditional Japanese environment. She believes that cross-border collaboration among VCs is a critical element for fueling innovation. 

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Miki's team, CamGaN, won the first prize from the Cambridge Business plan competition and Intel Technology Challenge in Europe. While at Cambridge, she organized several international technology events as the head of the external relationship team of the Cambridge University Technology and Enterprise Club. She also organized workshops for entrepreneurs as a facilitator of the Ignite Programme at Cambridge's Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning.

Miki served her fellowship at the University of Tokyo Edge Capital under the mentorship of Managing Partner Tomotaka Goji as a member of Class 16.