Bio

Masashi "Mac" Kubota is passionate about contributing to the advancement of society and being an innovator in electronics, sympathizing with the corporate philosophy and slogan, with 19+ years of track record in the electronics components & semiconductors industries across various roles & functions as an investor, scientist, researcher, engineer, professional, manager, and corporate venture capitalist.

He is the Principal at WONDERSTONE Ventures, the corporate venture capital (CVC) arm of Murata Manufacturing, the industry-leading manufacturer of electronic components, devices, and integrated modules, which has been transforming electronics from the inside, with product lines of Capacitors, Inductors, Resonators, Filters, Sensors, Batteries, RF switches, Front-end modules, Connectivity modules, etc, with about $100B market cap & 12B revenue.

He is investing in leading startups who change the world & define the next era of Cyber-Physical Systems, across 6 themes : Next-generation communication & 6G, Optical & Semiconductors, Space, Robotics, Bioelectronics, and Environment

He is developing and championing the operations of the CVC by executing fund strategy and investment policy, leading investment decision-making (new and follow‑on) through the investment committee, supporting portfolio and CVC staff, and serving as the leadership to external founders, investors, and corporations. He directed 11+ startup investments (Hark, Aliro, Neurophos, Privateer, Lightsynq (acquired by IonQ), Swave, Augmental, Xona, HaiLa, etc.).

Honors & Awards
◦ Rising Stars, Global Corporate Venturing (2026)
◦ President's Award, Murata Electronics North America (2023)
◦ Most Valuable Player, The Global Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Program, certified program for Registered Technology Transfer Professional (RTTP) by Alliance of Technology Transfer Professionals (ATTP) (2018)
◦ 1st Place Winner, The Global Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Program, certified program for RTTP by ATTP (2018)
◦ President's Award, Silver, ROHM (2010)
◦ President's Award, Gold, ROHM (2008)
◦ Provost's Award, University of Tsukuba (2007)
◦ Scholarship Grant, Japan Student Services Organization (2007)
◦ Outstanding Paper Award, The Japan Society of Applied Physics (2006)

Professional Education
◦ ( Candidate for Stanford Executive Program, Flagship program for Senior-level leaders & Executives, earning Stanford Graduate School of Business Alumni status (2026) )
◦ Ph.D, The University of Tokyo, Engineering (2014)
◦ Master, University of Tsukuba, Engineering (2007)
◦ Bachelor, University of Tsukuba, Engineering (2005)

Publications
◦ 50+ publications, including Nature Publishing Group
◦ 4,010+ total forward citations and 29+ h-index

Patents
◦ 74+ patents filed, 20+ granted

Links
◦ LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/masashikubota/
◦ Google Scholar : https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=3gapThUAAAAJ&hl