The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.
The world is not what it used to be. The digital age and the advancement of human activity mean that the planet as we know it is changing and so is the way we interact with one another. Countless studies have been conducted on the impact of our current way of life upon the next generation and the environment, and few people are more in tune with this than David Hamilton Nichols.
This is not a coincidence, as Nichols’ entire life has been spent tapping into the world around him and learning how it works.
All about Nichols
Nichols is a Renaissance man; he is a transformational speaker, author, impact investor and even a producer. While these roles keep him frequently on the road, he retreats to his family home in Southern California, along with his Nigerian dwarf goats. Here he spends time reflecting on the world, where it is going, and how the ventures he puts his energy into can help it be better.
Nichols has always been an outdoorsman; as a child, he spent time around his family’s farming interests and was also an Eagle Scout. These two experiences, he says, gave him valuable skills like hard work and resourcefulness.
Nichols has translated these skills to become a successful real estate investor with an admirable portfolio. But he is not stopping there; he has gone on to build a portfolio of startups that are innovative and human-driven.
Changing the planet through innovation
Nichols has dived deep into the venture capital world and over the years has invested in over a dozen early-stage companies. In many of them, he has taken a board or advisory role. Some of these notable endeavors deal with the climate crisis and include Aether Diamonds, Chooose, and Ovanova.
Aether Diamonds makes the world’s first carbon-negative diamonds to create jewelry set in Fairmined gold. Using a proprietary process, Aether takes atmospheric carbon pollution and alchemizes it into high-quality lab-grown diamonds. Aether’s product was recently certified by Vegan Action and is the first diamond to be vegan certified due to its environmental friendliness.
Formally recognized by Sir Richard Branson and having been awarded Norwegian startup of the year, Chooose is a firm offering easy and practical ways for businesses and people to reduce their carbon footprint. Additionally, Shell Ventures’ recent investment into Chooose creates a strong partnership for humanity’s climate future.
Ovanova, on the other hand, focuses on helping homeowners in more than 17 U.S. states have access to solar power, a more sustainable way of powering the planet. Ovanova also helps raise funds for change-making organizations. When a new client signs up with Ovanova, a donation is made to a cause supported by the customer. In the bigger picture, Ovanova is helping to forward the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Beyond climate efforts, Nichols is at the forefront of disruptive and world-changing technology through other startups in his portfolio. Some of these tech ventures include Ahura AI (an EdTech company focused on rapidly training and reskilling people through AI-empowered e-learning), Creatify (a zero-cost solution to mint NFTs and a no-wallet-needed solution to buy NFTs), and Virtual Control (which uses AI, IoT, and blockchain to enable real-time asset monitoring and chemical testing across multiple industries). In addition to being an investor, he serves these three companies as a strategic advisor.
These projects have proven very successful. For example, Ahura AI can upskill and retrain a workforce up to 5 times faster than traditional education. The company has presented at the US Capitol by invitation of the Government Blockchain Association (GBA) and in Davos during the World Economic Forum. Its founder recently trained U.S. senators, representatives, their staff, and agencies, again by invite from GBA.
Creatify recently completed two major acquisitions, acquiring RageOn! and Tokenmaker assets including a full NFT studio. Creatify has also drawn attention from media projects, including having its founder cohost an episode of the brand-new, soon-to-air Bloomberg and Amazon Prime television series “Office Hours” and getting an interview and feature in an upcoming production “NFT the Movie.”
Virtual Control, with its unique and varied patent-pending solutions, enhances its broad industry value through partnerships with NVIDIA Inception Program, AT&T Blockchain, IoT and Cloud Services, and the Microsoft Startup Partner Program. The company also won the Innovation Engine Prize at IATA ONE Record Hackathon.
In all these companies, Nichols puts his years of expertise to use offering invaluable insight while also building a legacy of world-changing and planet restructuring.
What’s next for Nichols?
If Nichols’ history shows anything, it is that he has his hands in multiple projects, and this does not appear to be changing. He is involved in multiple crypto and blockchain endeavors for good with further details to be announced in coming months.
Also, currently, Nichols is executive producer on a series focusing on how to tackle major social issues that is eyeing a 2022 release date. The first season looks at ecological impact and climate change and helps the public take positive action before it is too late.
Nichols has other media projects he is producing, the details of which are not yet public. One thing is sure, however: whatever David Hamilton Nichols is working on, it will be world-changing.
The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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