Embracing the Way of the Peasant: why investing in growth deeptech requires a down-to-earth playbook

Friday 4 October 2024 - 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm (UTC+9)

L'espace@CCIFJ, Nihonbashi-Honcho YS Building 1F, Chuo-ku, Nihombashi-Honcho 2-2-2, Tokyo

Event language(s)
English

Price: Member 6000jpy
Non-member 9000jpy

vent registration is only complete upon payment.

Any cancellation after the deadline or no-show will be charged.
A 1,000JPY late fee will be applied to registrations made past the deadline.

Ended

Event ended.

AN EXCEPTIONAL EVENING WITH JEAN SCHMITT FOUNDER AND CEO JOLT CAPITAL

In an industry abuzz with fads, overvaluations and hypes, Jolt Capital is the real thing.

Far from the madding crowd, this French private equity firm founded by Jean Schmitt and his team of ex-operators and entrepreneurs has become one of Europe’s most successful investors in growth deeptech companies.

The method: neglecting the buzz and applying expertise on the technologies and the companies themselves at their scaling stage. Like micro-optical modules and systems manufacturer Heptagon, who went from 100 to 10,000 people in 5 years; or, more recently, NILT, which designs a revolutionary type of lenses called metalenses. Jolt Capital today manages 600 million euros and is currently raising a new 1 billion euros fund.

Jolt Capital’s investments mainly took place in Europe since 2011. But the company is now entering a new era by setting foot in Asia through Japan. Jean Schmitt and his team are convinced that Japan has all it takes to become one of the world’s behemoths in growth deeptech investing. This is why JOLT Capital is opening a Tokyo office, headed by finance veteran Akira Okada.

While in Tokyo, Joltians are more than willing to share this particular moment of their history by telling their experience and make new friends. Join Jean Schmitt, Akira Okada and marketing & Jolt public affairs head Philippe Perez for a very special evening on October 4, 6 pm, at the French Chamber of commerce in Japan.

Jean Schmitt, President & Managing Partner, Jolt Capital

Jean is the President and Managing Partner at Jolt Capital, a private equity firm dedicated to growth deeptech he founded in 2011.

Prior to founding Jolt Capital, Jean was Managing Partner at Sofinnova Partners. Before turning into an investor, he had launched 4 tech companies and led them to successful exits.

Jean has a background in electrical engineering and artificial intelligence. He has also been a long-time patron for the arts in France.

Akira Okada, Operating Partner, Jolt Capital

Akira (BA in Law and MBA from Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo) spent the last 20 years at Manulife Japan (CIO) managing asset classes across the board. He had started his investment career at Long Term Credit Bank of Japan. During his 35 years in the finance industry, he’s been located in several of the most vibrant hubs on the planet (NYC, Hong Kong, London, and Singapore).

Philippe Perez, Head of Marketing & Public Affairs, Jolt Capital

Philippe is an ex-engineer in space systems and a former French diplomat in Tokyo. He joined Jolt Capital in 2020 after his last posting as a government official in San Francisco.