The global pandemic highlighted people's desire for well-being and well-being. Niremia Collective a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm, is taking advantage of that (and the gender disparity in venture capital) with its first fund of $22,5 million in capital commitments.
Niremia Collective is the latest female-led debut fund, joining others such as New Fare Partners and Curate Capital, Pact, Double Down and f7 Ventures.
Founders Naoko Okumoto and Nichol Bradford met in 2018 and worked on several projects before coming together as investors to support early-stage startups focused on wellness technology.
Niremia owes its name to the combination of “iremia”, which means a state of peace and tranquility in Greek, and the first letter of the founders' names.
"Human happiness and health should be at the center of the world," Okumoto said. “We are born to be happy and we want humans to be the best version of themselves. Investing in technology allows people to harness that human potential.”
Okumoto, who spent 17 years working with large technology companies, has a long history of investing and building businesses in the United States and Japan. Previously, he led US investment and collective impact community building for Mistletoe Venture Partners, a social impact fund founded by Taizo Son. Okumoto was also CEO of Amber Bridge Partners, an advisory firm specializing in business development, investments and cross-border operations.
Bradford, who also worked in technology and startups, went into the video game business, working at Disney Interactive and Vivendi Games. While working in corporate strategy at Vivendi, he was part of the negotiation team in Activision Blizzard's merger with Microsoft. She is also the founder of Transformative Tech, touted as “the world's largest wellness technology ecosystem” with some 9.000 members in 72 countries.
Mistletoe Venture Partners is one of the partners in the new fund and is joined by domestic and international corporations and institutional investors, including Shionogi Pharmaceuticals and MIXI Inc.
As el global wellness market Set to reach $8,5 trillion by 2027, Niremia Collective intends to provide capital and management resources to high-growth wellness startups. Additionally, the firm wants to incubate new businesses and be a resource for those planning to enter the sector.
“We invest in mental, social and emotional well-being, as well as human purpose and performance,” Bradford said. “All this is human potential and technology. This is how we heal, thrive, and reach our full potential as human beings. “You have to have mental health to be able to do that.”
Niremia Collective has so far made 12 investments since its debut fund. These include Feno, which offers oral care services powered by artificial intelligence; Tripp, a VR/XR wellness platform; and DeepWell, which specializes in gamified mental health treatment.
