Ted Hirose is Group Director, US Region of TEL Venture Capital Inc. In 1997 he joined Tokyo Electron Limited and has been assigned to TEL Venture since 2007. Before being assigned to TEL Venture, in Japan and the U.S., he had been involved in SPE account management as well as corporate strategic planning, which included various strategic alliances and M&As. At TEL Venture, Ted is currently based in Silicon Valley and covers the U.S. region, not only in the semi space but also new business areas for TEL. Some of his investments include: Invarium, NanoGram, Unidym, Crystal Solar, Luxtera, Genalyte and SBA Materials. Ted is passionate about supporting ventures, especially when combining the best of both worlds – US entrepreneurship spirit and detailed craftsmanship from TEL Japan.