Tokyo Wellness Impact Fund Invests in HICKY, Inc. for Development of Central Sleep Apnea Treatment Device

Tokyo Wellness Impact Fund (Limited Liability Partner: Toranomon Impact Capital LLC, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Representative: Takeshi Aoki, President & CEO, Capital Medica Ventures Inc.; Atsushi Mandai, President & CEO, Monex Ventures Inc.) is pleased to announce its investment in HICKY, Inc. (Headquarters: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director: Kentaro Hayashi, hereinafter referred to as "HICKY"), a company developing an innovative medical device to treat Central Sleep Apnea (CSA).

Social Issues to be Addressed and Investment Background

Heart failure is a leading cause of death worldwide, with approximately 1.2 million patients in Japan, a number projected to increase further by 2030. "Central Sleep Apnea (CSA)," which co-occurs in about 40% of heart failure patients, not only degrades sleep quality but is also a serious condition directly impacting the prognosis of heart failure patients. CSA is known to increase the re-hospitalization and mortality rates of heart failure patients, significantly affecting their outcomes. However, current treatment options for CSA are limited, and the hurdles to treatment implementation are high, leading many heart failure patients to live without treatment. HICKY is developing a next-generation device that fundamentally solves these issues. By adopting a stent-like shape that does not require leads, the company aims to reduce procedural difficulty and shorten procedure time. Furthermore, through wireless power supply technology, it seeks to eliminate the need for re-operation for battery replacement, thereby reducing the burden on patients.

[Logic Model for Achieving Social Impact Aimed by HICKY]

This project, born from the University of Tokyo BioDesign program, is being developed by a team possessing both expertise and drive, having captured the urgent needs of the clinical field. We are convinced that the realization of this project will be a major turning point in improving the prognosis of heart failure patients, and we have decided to invest at this time. We will wholeheartedly support HICKY in its pursuit of creating social impact.

[About Tokyo Wellness Impact Fund]

This fund was launched with Toranomon Impact Capital LLC selected as the operator under the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Social Impact Investment Fund program, and it invests in startups that solve social issues in the wellness domain. For details on our activities, please refer to the "Tokyo Wellness Impact Fund 2024 Impact Report" published in May 2025. https://capitalmedicaventures.com/cms/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/TWIF2024.pdf

[About HICKY, Inc.]

Established: 2022 Representative: Kentaro Hayashi, Representative Director Location: 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo Business Activities: Development of stent-type devices for the treatment of Central Sleep Apnea URL: https://www.hicky.jp/

[About Capital Medica Ventures, Inc.]

Established: November 11, 2026

Representative: Takeshi Aoki, Representative Director

Location: Kasumigaseki Building 19F, 3-2-5 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Business Activities: Venture Capital Business

Capital: 100 million yen

URL: https://capitalmedicaventures.com/

With the mission "To contribute to solving social problems by accompanying entrepreneurs with expertise," we are a venture capital firm practicing impact investing in startups in the healthcare domain. We believe that creating outcomes (behavioral changes in customers and the profits generated from them) is essential for maximizing business profits, and we provide investment support to startups that emphasize outcome creation.