Core Ventures Group

Core Ventures Group is a seed-stage venture capital firm. We put our financial and human capital to work in support of seasoned founders building advanced technologies and impactful businesses. We strive to find and support curious and ambitious founders of the highest character and integrity.

Shinya Akamine founded Core Ventures Group to support world-class entrepreneurs in building valuable businesses in 2012 and shortly afterwards recruited Joanna Drake as a Co-Founding General Partner. They are an experienced operator team that work closely with a concentrated portfolio of founders from Core Ventures Group seed stage funds – CVG I vintage 2012 and CVG II vintage 2015. They draw from our entrepreneurial experiences and diverse human capital networks to help start-ups overcome early market challenges and build not just breakthrough products, but solid sustainable businesses.

Tragically we lost Shinya in 2019. He was irreplaceable as Founding Partner of Core Ventures Group and we put future CVG funds on hold, while Joanna continues to support CVG founders in their company building and board service. We are proud that so many of the CVG founders have become category leaders across a broad spectrum of industries – from mobile marketing to consumer lending to transactionless shopping.