Matthew Romaine
Education
Stanford University
Masters, "Music, Science & Technology" -
Brown University
BA, Computer Science, Music Theory -
Phillips Academy
, -
The American School in Japan
, -Work Experience
Shizen Capital
Current
Shizen Capital
Cookpad
Current
Cookpad
Techstars
Current
Techstars
H2 (h2.co)
Current
H2 (h2.co)
Nguyen Coffee Supply
Current
Nguyen Coffee Supply
Doorvest
Current
Doorvest
Brown Angel Group
Current
Brown Angel Group
MaxRewards
Current
MaxRewards
Calm Company Fund
Current
Calm Company Fund
ChartMogul
Current
ChartMogul
Skills
Summary
I invest in Japan’s next generation of founders as a METI-authorized fund, with capital pooled from individuals who receive tax breaks for participating. Previously, I co-founded and led Gengo as both CTO and CEO. As Gengons we built an efficient, scalable human-powered AI training data platform, with a community of over 22,000+ workers. We served many market-leading customers including Amazon, Buzzfeed, Expedia, Google, and TripAdvisor. As a team we raised over $25M from VCs including Atomico, Intel Capital, Recruit, NTT, and DBJ. We were acquired by Lionbridge in early 2019. Prior to both Gengo and launching a few projects that were recognized in the WSJ and Time.com, I spent four years at Sony Corporation in various roles starting with multi-channel audio R&D, then audio compression, and finally in the Corporate Technology Strategy team under then-CEO Howard Stringer. The journey was full-on “salary-man” — from hanko’ing documents to retail sales training in Akihabara ! In college I studied at Stanford University’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), and received dual bachelors in Computer Science and Music Theory at Brown University. I am forever grateful to my friends, family, mentors, and advisers, who’ve supported my journey. They believed in my vision and supported me through some of the most defeating experiences a founder could endure. I hope I can return the favor to a new generation of globally-minded entrepreneurs.
