Nkechi Iregbulem, Angel Investor

Nkechi Iregbulem is the Founding Principal of Hico Ventures, a Palo Alto–based early-stage venture fund backing generational companies at the pre-seed and seed stages, typically investing between $500K and $1M. She focuses on transformative technologies that advance national resilience, deep tech, and frontier innovation. Before founding Hico Ventures, she built a strong track record as an angel investor, writing first checks into groundbreaking startups such as Aeon, Neros Technologies, Laborup, and Astrus. Her investments span critical sectors including defense, industrial revitalization, and AI for advanced hardware and design. Iregbulem has made over twenty investments to date, supporting companies such as Coframe, Gradient, and Loop AI. Her approach blends conviction-driven early bets with hands-on support, helping founders build enduring, high-impact ventures shaping the next era of technological strength.