Yoky Matsuoka Launches Yohana, New Wellness Company for Moms & Families
New service combines the best of tech with a human touch to deliver busy families the help they've been searching for
PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Yoky Matsuoka, renowned tech leader, global executive, and mom of four, announces today the launch of Yohana, a new wellness company focused on helping busy families prioritize well-being. Its first offering is the Yohana Membership: a personal assistant service designed for parents (especially moms) to help alleviate the challenges of juggling career, family, and a never-ending to-do list.
The Yohana membership is the first tech-enabled personal assistant service designed for busy families. The demands of managing both a career and the full-time job of running the household were already taking a toll on parents and families before the pandemic. It has now become a true national crisis: 74% of U.S. mothers feel mentally worse since the beginning of the pandemic, and 9.8 million moms are suffering from burnout. Yohana helps parents tackle the ever-growing list of things that need to get done—from home maintenance to kids' activities, calendar coordination, self-care, personal to-dos, and everything in between.
"As a mom of four, wife, daughter to elderly parents, and CEO, I was already juggling a ton. For my husband and me, the pandemic made life oscillate out of control—just like it did for millions of women and families," said Yoky Matsuoka, Founder & CEO of Yohana. "As a technologist, I was frustrated that despite the many innovations available, there was nothing specifically designed to help household CEOs maintain their well-being and be the best version of themselves. It's a group of people I know well—I'm one of them—so I set out to combine cutting-edge technology and human touch to create a real solution with impact."
With a passion for creating tech that helps people live healthier and happier lives, from revolutionizing the home thermostat to developing the modern prosthetic robotic hand—earning her a MacArthur Foundation 'genius' award—Matsuoka is now combining her unique background and expertise to deliver the support that families and moms need.
"I've spent my entire career building technology and solutions that empower people to be the best versions of themselves," said Matsuoka. "My vision for Yohana is to create products and services that are personal and enhance well-being for moms and families. We're starting with the Yohana Membership."
There are three components to the Yohana Membership:
- Yo Assistants: professional problem-solvers, real people who partner with Yohana members to tackle their to-do lists; supported by internal subject matter experts, dedicated researchers, and a network of experienced local pros
- The Yohana app: where members chat with their Yo Assistant, coordinate to-dos, track progress and get it all done, together
- Data systems and intuitive tools: help Yo Assistants learn from every to-do completed, tailor solutions to each member's preferences, and finish projects faster, better, and with member privacy top of mind
Yohana is a US-based independent subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation. The Yohana Membership launches today with a nationwide waitlist open to moms and busy parents across the U.S. The service will first be available in the Seattle area beginning September 2021, when local families will be invited off the waitlist to experience the service. As part of its launch in Seattle, the first tier of the Yohana Membership will be available at $149 per month for help with unlimited to-dos. Membership plans, pricing, and to-do list options will evolve and expand as Yohana launches in additional cities. To sign up for the waitlist, or for more information, visit http://yohana.com. For media inquiries, email [email protected].
About Yohana
Brought to life by tech pioneer and mom of four Yoky Matsuoka, Yohana is a new wellness company focused on helping families find more balance, prioritize well-being, and be more present for each other. Its first offering is the Yohana Membership: a personal assistant service designed for busy parents—especially working moms—to help prioritize their well-being by alleviating the challenges of managing the household. Unlike other smart assistant and productivity apps, Yohana starts with a Yo Assistant: a real person, a professional problem-solver who (with the help of tech tools, data, and a network of pros and researchers), helps moms and families manage their households. Yohana is a fully funded independent subsidiary of Panasonic, one of the oldest purpose-driven brands in the world.
About Yoky Matsuoka
Yoky Matsuoka is the Founder & CEO of Yohana, an independently led subsidiary of Panasonic. Matsuoka also leads global innovation and serves as the Managing Executive Officer of Panasonic Corporation. Prior to founding Yohana, Yoky Matsuoka brought her distinct approach to human-centric design to leading tech giants, most recently as a Vice President at Google, and Chief Technology Officer at Nest. Prior to Nest, she was head of innovation and co-founder of Google X. She also served in a Senior Executive role at Apple and was Chief Executive Officer of Quanttus, a wearable health technology startup. Matsuoka's career began in academia as an endowed professor at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Washington, where she founded and directed the Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering and the Neurobotics Laboratory. Matsuoka received the MacArthur Genius Award for her work in robotics and neuroscience. This grant motivated her to create the YokyWorks Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping children with physical and learning challenges, and whose current focus is removing reading barriers to unlock each of those children's potential. Matsuoka received her Ph.D. and M.S. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and B.S. at the University of California, Berkeley, all in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. She has been featured in Fortune, Forbes, Fast Company, TechCrunch, and Wired. She currently resides in the Bay area with her husband, four children, dog, and pet pig.
About Panasonic
Panasonic Corporation is a global leader developing innovative technologies and solutions for wide-ranging applications in the consumer electronics, housing, automotive, and B2B sectors. The company, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2018, operates 522 subsidiaries and 69 associated companies worldwide and reported consolidated net sales of $63.196 billion U.S. dollars for the year ended March 31, 2021. Committed to pursuing new value through collaborative innovation, the company uses its technologies to create a better life and a better world for customers. Learn more about Panasonic: https://www.panasonic.com/global.
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