2175 North California Boulevard Suite 600, Walnut Creek, CA USA 94596
Two Embarcadero Center Suite 1900, San Francisco, CA USA 94111
Ryu Fukuyama focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions and venture capital financings in a wide range of business sectors, including energy, manufacturing, clean-tech, SaaS, med-tech, health-tech, life science, and other high-growth sectors. In addition, a significant part of Ryu’s practice consists of advising start-ups and emerging growth companies through all stages of their lifecycle, from formation to liquidity event, as well as operational matters such as employment and consulting agreements, commercial contracts, employee/founder separation, and incentive compensation for service providers and employees.
Prior to joining the firm, Ryu was an associate in the Chicago, Illinois office of a boutique law firm where he focused his practice on mergers and acquisitions and general corporate matters. While attending law school, Ryu served as Technical Editor of the Santa Clara Law Review.
Ryu was recognized in 2025 as one of the "Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch" for Mergers and Acquisitions Law by The Best Lawyers in America®.
Ryu is fluent in Japanese.
Experience
Venture Capital and Start-Up/Emerging Growth Company Matters.
Represented start-ups and emerging growth companies and their investors on numerous financing and secondary transactions, ranging from pre-seed to late/growth stage financings.
- Represented the lead investor in a Series C financing in a leading EdTech company.
- Represented a late-stage aviation company in its recapitalization and offering of convertible debt securities.
- Represented a New York venture capital firm for a Series B financing for an insurance tech company and associated recapitalization.
- Represented a Colorado proptech company in its Series A financing and associated recapitalization and secondary transactions.
- Represented a Michigan company providing AI-powered workforce training platform in its Series A financing and post-closing recapitalization and securities offering.
- Represented a late-stage Georgia-based healthtech company in multiple rounds of private placement of debt and equity offerings.
Mergers and Acquisitions.
- Represented a European conglomerate in its $100 million acquisition of logistics company based in New Jersey.
- Represented a Washington-based environmental clean-up company in its sale of the company to a private equity buyer.
- Represented a private equity fund in its add-on acquisitions of storage design companies in the Southeast.
- Represented a provider of information technology, in its tender offer to acquire stock of a California public company (traded in NYSE) providing staffing services.
- Represented a company providing data privacy platform in its $200 million acquisition of a California start-up providing platform for security and compliance procedures.
- Represented an Austria company in its acquisition of a California software company.
- Represented a California-based start-up offering health/well-being programs in its sale to a private equity buyer.
- Represented a private equity fund in its add-on acquisition of a lessor of monitoring equipment.
- *Represented a publicly-traded Japanese aluminum manufacturer in its carve-out acquisition of a U.S. subsidiary of a Japanese aluminum manufacturer publicly traded in Japan.
- *Represented a Japanese manufacturer of water treatment plants and equipment in its acquisition for a U.S. water treatment equipment manufacturer.
- *Represented a Japanese chemical company in its two-phase buyout of a Mexico-based engineering and systems company.
- *Represented the sole shareholder of a North American franchisor of supermarket-based food service counters in the sale of the company to a publicly-traded Japanese food service company for $257 million.
Joint Venture and Other Investment Transactions.
- Represented an Austrian technology company in connection with its joint venture with a Japanese venture capital fund.
- Represented a renewable biofuel company in its financing in connection with its biofuel projects.
- Represented a renewable biofuel company in its financing from a large Japanese conglomerate.
- Represented a German company in its investment into and joint venture with a Georgia-based real estate investment company.
- Represented a Swedish geothermal investment company in its joint venture with a large oil company.
- Represented a travel nurse staffing provider based in Georgia, in its investment into and joint venture with a California company providing healthcare staffing platform.
*Experience gained by attorney prior to joining Kilpatrick
Insights View All
News Releases
Joint Ventures & Strategic Alliances
Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition-Search Funds
Santa Clara University School of Law J.D. (2016) High Tech Law Certificate – Corporate Specialization, with honors, Emery Merit Scholarship
Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan LL.B., Law (2013)
California (2021)
Illinois (2016)
American Bar Association, Member
U.S.-Japan Council (USJC)
Emerging Leaders Program, Class of 2023
Emerging Leaders Program Steering Committee, Member
Santa Clara University Bronco Ventures Accelerator, Mentor
ShibuLA Ventures, Advisor
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