Kiichiro DeLuca is a venture capitalist at WERU Investment, the first and oldest university affiliated venture capital firm in Japan. He leads investment research at the firm, covering broad sectors ranging from general technology and life sciences to various frontier domains including space. He also serves on the board of portfolio companies, including LeoLabs, where he has served since the firm’s lead investment in 2018. In addition to investments in startups in the United States and Japan, Kiichiro collaborates with universities and research institutions around the world to commercialize and create new ventures to drive innovation and economic growth.

Prior to venture capital, Kiichiro spent time in both engineering and business development roles. He began his career as an aerospace engineer supporting numerous spaceflight projects at NASA/JPL, industry (ATA Engineering), and academia (Georgia Tech and University of Tokyo), specializing in mechanical systems analysis and GN&C of spacecraft. Following his time in the aerospace industry, he led technology driven business development efforts at early and late-stage startups in San Francisco and Tokyo before joining the venture capital firm which was the lead investor in the late-stage startup.

Kiichiro holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering (Highest Honors) from the Georgia Institute of Technology.