Toyota’s Woven Capital names new CIO and COO for mobility future
▼ Summary
– Michiko Kato is becoming the CIO of Toyota’s Woven Capital and the first female CEO of a wholly owned Toyota subsidiary, Toyota Invention Partners.
– Woven Capital is Toyota’s venture arm, managing $800 million funds to invest in mobility startups like Xona and Machina Labs as collaboration partners.
– Two women now hold top roles at the firm, with Mia Panzer also promoted to COO, signaling progress in the male-dominated investment field.
– Kato has led investments in areas like aeromobility and hardware since joining in 2020, following a career shift from finance to startups.
– Panzer, who previously worked in finance and at a startup, will manage the firm’s operations and strategy to navigate corporate venture challenges.
Reflecting on pivotal moments, Michiko Kato recalls leaving Tokyo for Harvard Business School and later transitioning from a secure finance career into the unpredictable startup world. These decisions set the stage for her latest role. As of this week, Kato begins as the Chief Investment Officer of Toyota’s Woven Capital and as the CEO of Toyota Invention Partners. Her CEO appointment marks a historic first, making her the initial woman to lead a fully owned Toyota subsidiary.
Woven Capital operates as Toyota’s growth-stage venture capital division, targeting investments in next-generation mobility solutions. This includes sectors like space technology, cybersecurity, and autonomous driving. The firm launched an $800 million Fund II last August, following a similarly sized first fund in 2021. Its strategy involves backing at least 20 new Series B investments, with a portfolio already featuring companies such as satellite firm Xona and defense manufacturing infrastructure specialist Machina Labs.
Kato emphasizes the fund’s mission is to identify the future leader of mobility, selecting companies that can become true collaboration partners with Toyota. The investment approach is intentionally flexible. “We can co-lead, make small investments, or pursue an aggressive investment,” she notes. Personally, Kato aims to be a hands-on, valuable resource for startups, with a core focus on forging strong partnerships.
Her promotion coincides with another significant leadership change. Mia Panzer is moving from a business strategy position within a Toyota technology subsidiary to become the Chief Operating Officer of Woven Capital. This dual appointment means two of the top roles at this corporate VC (CVC) are now held by women, signaling progress in the traditionally male-dominated realms of finance and investment.
Historically, women have seen marginally better representation in CVC leadership compared to traditional venture firms. A 2014 report indicated that nearly 20% of top CVCs had women on their investing teams, contrasted with only 7% female partners at the top 100 venture firms at the time. In today’s broader venture landscape, women represent approximately 15.4% of partners, suggesting a parallel, positive trend within the corporate venture sector as well.
Kato joined Woven Capital in 2020 as an early hire after it spun out from an in-house Toyota unit. With 15 years of investment experience, including roles on the M&A team at Unison Capital and as CFO for Japanese AI startup ABEJA, she has led six investments for Woven. These include stakes in reusable rocket company Stoke and autonomous vehicle firm Nuro. She expresses particular excitement for aeromobility, physical AI, and hardware, believing these areas can fundamentally transform manufacturing.
As COO, Panzer will oversee finance, operations, HR, and legal strategy. She identifies two perennial concerns for any CVC: a corporate slowdown that stifles deals and strategic misalignment with the parent company. “My job is to essentially help with developing this through,” she states.
Panzer’s professional history is intertwined with Woven Capital’s managing director, Ro Gupta. She first worked with him in 2019, joining his mapping startup Carmera to run finance while three months pregnant with her first child. Her career includes prior roles at Goldman Sachs and pet wellness company Independent Pet Partners. After Toyota’s tech subsidiary acquired Carmera, a deal she helped facilitate, both she and Gupta moved to the division. When Gupta became managing director of Woven Capital in December 2025, he brought Panzer with him. Both Kato and Panzer now report to him.
Initially, Panzer doubted her qualifications for the COO role. She considered how women often hesitate while men confidently proceed. She recalled a career punctuated by assumptions, from a college recruiter doubting her technical knowledge because of her gender to a Goldman colleague once telling her she wasn’t his competition for a promotion for the same reason. She decided to embrace the opportunity without reservation.
Panzer references the Japanese concept of ikigai, which involves finding the intersection of what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for. This feels like coming full circle, as generations of her family worked in automotive parts. Her advice to other women is straightforward, “Let them have low expectations. Easy to overdeliver.”
(Source: TechCrunch)
