Naomi Osaka and Stuart Duguid’s production company raised the money from investors like SpringHill Company, Fenway Sports Group, and Epic Games.
Production company Hana Kuma, the brainchild of Naomi Osaka and Stuart Duguid, has announced a $5 million raise that will allow it to spin off from the SpringHill umbrella.
SpringHill, LeBron James‘ and Maverick Carter‘s production company, is also an investor in the fund raise, along with Fortnite maker Epic Games, Fenway Sports Group, The Kinoshita Group, and Disruptive. The money will go toward an expansion of production programming for Hana Kuma, including into anime and manga. Kinoshita, which owns an animation studio, will assist those efforts.
Osaka, the tennis superstar who celebrates her Japanese, Haitian, and American heritage, wants to continue telling stories she’s never seen before in an educational way. Hana Kuma’s first production came in the form of Mink!. The 2022 documentary tells the story of Patsy Takemoto Mink, the first woman of color elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and co-author of Title IX legislation.
As part of this announcement, Matt DeMartis will leave SpringHill, where he served as vice president of strategic partnerships, to become Hana Kuma’s general manager.
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Ian Stonebrook got to speak with Osaka and Duguid at the end of 2022 for a Boardroom cover story. That year, Osaka’s $60 million in earnings led all female-identifying athletes.
“I’ve really been a sponge and have tried to absorb a wealth of knowledge,” Osaka, a 25-year-old Grand Slam champion, said at the time about her off-court ventures.
Osaka went on to say she wanted to control her own destiny, and seeing her own production company raise millions on its own in pursuit of new and innovative projects is yet another way she continues to redefine what it means to be a mogul in sports and business.
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