April 1, 2026 — Toyota’s corporate venture arm, Woven Capital, has installed new leadership. Michiko Kato is now its Chief Investment Officer and CEO of Toyota Invention Partners. Mia Panzer has been named Chief Operating Officer.
The appointments put two women in the fund’s top roles. This shift comes as Woven Capital deploys capital from its second $800 million fund.
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Strategic Leadership for a $1.6 Billion Pool
Woven Capital is Toyota’s growth-stage investment vehicle. It targets companies in mobility, autonomy, space, and cybersecurity. The fund seeks startups that can become long-term partners for the automotive giant.
“We can co-lead, we can make small investments, or we can do an aggressive investment; we try to be flexible,” Kato told TechCrunch. She emphasized a hands-on approach focused on partnership creation.
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Kato’s promotion also makes her the first female CEO of a wholly owned Toyota subsidiary. She joined Woven Capital in 2020 as an early hire after it spun out from an in-house Toyota unit. Her investment career spans 15 years, including roles at Unison Capital and as CFO for AI startup ABEJA.
At Woven, she has led six deals. Her portfolio includes stakes in reusable rocket firm Stoke and autonomous vehicle company Nuro.
Operations and Alignment
Mia Panzer will oversee finance, operations, HR, and legal strategy as COO. She moves from a business strategy role at another Toyota technology subsidiary.
Panzer outlined the core challenges for any corporate venture capital (CVC) unit. “There are two things every CVC is always worried about — a corporate slowdown that kills deals and misalignment with the parent company,” she said. “My job is to essentially help with developing this through.”
Her history with Woven Capital’s managing director, Ro Gupta, dates to 2019. She joined his mapping startup, Carmera, while three months pregnant to run finance. Toyota’s tech subsidiary later acquired Carmera, bringing both Panzer and Gupta into the corporate fold.
Gupta became managing director of Woven Capital in December 2025 and brought Panzer into the fund. Both Kato and Panzer report to him.
A Signal for Corporate Venture Capital
The dual appointments are notable in finance and venture capital, industries where women remain underrepresented in senior roles. Data on gender diversity in CVCs is sparse. A 2014 report indicated less than 20% of top CVCs had women on their investing teams.
In traditional venture capital, women accounted for about 15.4% of partners at top firms in recent years. Industry watchers note that CVCs have often shown slightly better diversity metrics than independent VC firms. The Woven Capital moves suggest this trend may be continuing.
Panzer reflected on her initial hesitation about the COO role. She considered how women often question their qualifications while men “just jump in and do it.” She recalled past assumptions about her capabilities, from college recruiters to colleagues.
“I always say to other women, ‘Let them have low expectations,'” Panzer said. “Easy to overdeliver.”
Investment Thesis and Portfolio
Woven Capital’s mandate is to find the “future leader of mobility.” The firm launched its first $800 million fund in 2021. It announced a second fund of the same size in August 2025.
The capital is earmarked for at least 20 new Series B investments. According to the firm, its portfolio includes satellite company Xona and defense manufacturing infrastructure firm Machina Labs.
Kato expressed particular interest in aeromobility, physical AI, and hardware. “I think we can fundamentally transform the way manufacturing is done,” she said of the fund’s potential impact.
For Toyota, the CVC serves as a strategic radar. It identifies and funds external innovation that can complement the company’s core automotive business. The implication is a more open approach to sourcing new technology.
What This Means for the Mobility Sector
The leadership change signals Woven Capital’s intent to be a more active, strategic investor. With two new funds to deploy, the pace of its deal-making could accelerate.
For startups in mobility and hard tech, this represents a significant source of capital. Woven Capital offers not just funding but potential commercial partnerships with Toyota. This could be a decisive advantage for companies building capital-intensive physical products.
The appointments also reflect a broader corporate shift. Large automakers are increasingly using venture arms to manage technological disruption. What this means for investors is a more competitive field for funding the next generation of transportation companies.
Woven Capital’s next steps will be closely watched. The fund’s ability to identify winners and forge productive links with Toyota will test its new leadership team.
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy and quality.
