Robotics Startups & Cross-Border Fundraising: How to Attract Global Capital and Industrial Partners
Robotics startups do not raise capital like typical software startups. Investors and industrial partners need to see more than technology. They need to understand the market urgency, commercialization path, pilot strategy, hardware scalability, and why your team can build across borders.
Join us for Robotics Startups & Cross-Border Fundraising: How to Attract Global Capital and Industrial Partners, featuring Sabrina Sasaki, Partner at Monozukuri Ventures, investing in early-stage manufacturing tech, robotics, Physical AI, and advanced materials.
In this session, we will discuss how robotics and hardtech founders can position their startups for global investors, build credibility with industrial partners, approach cross-border fundraising, and turn technical innovation into investable business opportunities.
This session is designed for robotics, Physical AI, manufacturing tech, automation, industrial AI, and deep-tech founders who want to raise capital, secure pilots, and build global partnerships.
There will also be live Q&A and networking, so you can ask questions directly and connect with founders, investors, and ecosystem leaders.
Agenda:
- Welcome
- Host and Speaker Introduction
- Panel Discussion
- Audience Q and A
- Networking Session
Speaker:
Sabrina Sasaki, Partner at Monozukuri Ventures. She is investing in deep tech for manufacturing, including robotics, Physical AI, and advanced materials that strengthen industrial technology and supply chain resilience. Over the past decade, she has supported early-stage hardtech startups from pre-seed to Series A across the U.S. and Japan, combining fund management with hands-on business development. She also co-founded Deep Tech Forum North America & Japan, bridging VCs, CVCs, corporates, and startups across the U.S., Japan, and Canada, and connects portfolio companies with 50+ Japanese manufacturers for pilot validation and scaling.
Moderators:
- Erdinc Ekinci - Founder, Investment Lead of Co-capital.vc, Co-Founder, CEO of Openfor.co, Managing Director of Founder Institute Japan/Korea/Taiwan
- Yu Li Shein- Venture Scout of Decile Group, Co-Director, Founder Institute Korea/Japan & /Taiwan Co-founder, COO, Openfor.co, Inc
What you will learn:
How robotics and deep-tech startups are evaluated by global investors
What makes a robotics startup attractive for cross-border fundraising
Common fundraising mistakes hardtech founders make and how to avoid them
How to build credibility with international investors before you start fundraising
Strategies for securing pilots, PoCs, and industrial partnerships with large corporations
How Japanese and global investors differ in evaluating robotics and manufacturing-tech startups
What industrial partners look for before engaging with early-stage startups
Lessons from supporting robotics and industrial automation startups from pre-seed to Series A
Who should attend:
Robotics, Physical AI, and industrial automation founders
Deep-tech and hardware startup teams
Founders preparing for fundraising or global expansion
Startups seeking pilots, PoCs, or industrial partners
Investors, corporates, and ecosystem builders in deep tech
About Ecosystem Organization:
-Co-Capital: Co-capital is a strategic VC-as-a-Service firm pre-seed to Series A stage, focused on seeking strong partner alignment. Specializing in GTM expansion, venture building, and marketing-led growth, working with elite entrepreneurial talent and scalable startups preparing for global GTM and investment readiness. Powered by a 300+ individual expert network and delivered in close collaboration with Founder Institute and Openfor.co, enabling fast momentum and execution.
- Openfor.co is evolving into the AI-era infrastructure layer for entrepreneurial individuals — an incubator where founders, operators, creators, and professionals can plug into Silicon Valley-grade support without needing to already have a company, funding round, or elite network. Suitable to build and grow both a person as an assets and business assets as well. Through a simple membership, AI-enabled systems, visibility support, events, content, mentorship, collaboration access, and venture-connected opportunities, we help individuals become visible, valuable, commercially real, and opportunity-ready at their own pace. Our future is not just education or community; it is a scalable operating environment for people building their next career, business, startup, or investment-ready path in the AI era.
- Decile Group: Decile Group is a venture capital platform focused on helping emerging managers launch and operate venture capital firms. Through education, infrastructure, and global investor networks, Decile Group supports the next generation of VC fund managers and startup ecosystem leaders worldwide.
- Founder Institute: The Founder Institute is the world’s most proven network to turn ideas into fundable startups, and startups into global businesses. Since 2009, our structured accelerator programs have helped over 9,000 entrepreneurs raise over 2BN in funding. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 100 countries, our mission is to empower communities of talented and motivated people to build impactful technology companies worldwide.
- Founder Capital: Founder Capital is a venture capital firm focused on investing in FI’s best-performing pre-seed full-time founders who have already demonstrated traction. This layer supports founders who are building full-time, executing consistently, and showing early signs of market validation. It provides capital, strategic guidance.