American actress, director, and producer Olivia Wilde has been recently making headlines for the launch of her venture capital firm. According to various reports, the VC firm named ‘Proximity Ventures‘ was quietly launched late last year.
The New York-based VC firm was launched in partnership with venture capitalist Jason Mack (formerly Mack Ventures), American musician Santi White, and Neil Sirni, formerly associated with Roc Nation, a diversified company founded by Jay-Z in 2008. Sirni was a co-founder and partner of Arrive, the venture capital arm of Roc Nation where he led direct investments in notable companies including Ethos Life, Workstream, Epic Games, Mos, and Ironclad among others. Arrive also counts SpaceX in its portfolio.
The VC firm targets early and growth-stage startups in the United States and Southeast Asia across consumer and enterprize sectors. It early invetsments include Pendulum Therapeutics, a San Francisco-based biotech company. The firm is expected to make its first close next month.
The startup ecosystem has experienced a remarkable shift in recent years, attracting investments from an entirely new demographic: celebrities, actors, and other high-profile figures. While traditional venture capitalists and tech giants have long dominated startup investments, high-profile personalities from the entertainment industry are now emerging as influential players in the field. This trend highlights how the appeal of startups has broadened beyond the traditional investor, with stars now contributing both capital and cultural value to the entrepreneurial world such as Robert Downy Jr, Shahrukh Khan, Ashton Kutcher, Jared Leto, Snoop Dogg, Kim Kardashian, Will Smith, Priyanka Chopra, Serena Williams, and many more.
