Hana Kuma
Multicultural creative house producing culturally specific stories.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| investor investor investor investor | €0.0 | round | |
* | N/A | Early VC | |
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
Hana Kuma is an Emmy-nominated creative house co-founded in 2022 by tennis champion Naomi Osaka and her agent, Stuart Duguid. The company's name translates to "flower bear" in Japanese, reflecting Osaka's multicultural heritage which inspires the firm's mission. Hana Kuma focuses on producing a wide range of content, including scripted and unscripted series, documentaries, anime, manga, and branded content. It aims to tell stories that are culturally specific yet universally resonant, with a particular focus on amplifying diverse voices and tackling important societal issues.
The company was launched in partnership with The SpringHill Company, an entertainment and marketing firm founded by LeBron James and Maverick Carter, which initially served as an incubator, providing financing, operational, and production resources. In 2023, Hana Kuma spun off from SpringHill after raising $5 million in a funding round to expand its team and production capabilities. Investors in the company include The SpringHill Company, Epic Games, Fenway Sports Group, The Kinoshita Group, and The Players Fund, an athlete-led venture capital firm. This financial backing is intended to help forge new partnerships and explore new content opportunities, including expansion into anime and manga.
Hana Kuma's business model centers on developing and producing content that appeals to a global, multicultural audience. Its first production was the 2022 New York Times documentary "Mink!", about Patsy Takemoto Mink, the first woman of color elected to the U.S. Congress. Other notable projects include a video podcast series with Modern Health titled “Can't Wait To Hear From You,” which explores the mental health journeys of high-performing individuals. The company's content strategy is to develop proprietary intellectual property and serve brand partnerships, building long-term value.
Keywords: media production, creative house, multicultural storytelling, content creation, documentary production, anime, manga, branded content, diverse voices, athlete-led company, Naomi Osaka, Stuart Duguid, The SpringHill Company, impact storytelling, video podcasts, culturally specific content