Female Founders Fund has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise $75 million for its fourth fund. Female Founders Fund Female Founders Fund was created in 2014, becoming the leading source of institutional capital for female, women of color, and LGBTQ+ founders, raising seed capital with over $3 billion in enterprise value. Anu Duggal, founding partner of the fund, has been praised for her impact in diversifying venture capital over the last decade. A serial entrepreneur, Duggal began her tech career as a co-founder of Exclusively.In,
Anu Hariharan, who led Y Combinator (YC) Continuity, has partnered with two former colleagues and former Brex executive Lucas Fox to launch a new fund, Avra. Helping founders scale their companies YC Continuity was an investment fund supporting founders as they scaled their companies. But this year, it scaled back growth stage investment and cut nearly 20% of its staff before being discontinued. According to TechCrunch, Hariharan finalized plans for launching Avra two months after YC shut the Continuity fund. She draws on her years of experience supporting founders as
Black digital media brand Black Enterprise has released its 40 under 40 2023 honorees. The list showcases Black visionaries and changemakers making their mark in their respective industries, including technology and STEM, business, media, finance, and many others. “Black Enterprise’s 40 Under 40 list is not just a celebration of individual success but a testament to the boundless potential within our community,” said Early Graves Jr., CEO of Black Enterprise. “This announcement serves a powerful reminder that Black excellence knows no bounds and that, collectively, we are charting an extraordinary
Dove has launched the world’s first and complete guide for coding natural hair in video games with Code My Crown. The guide was created by Black artists in partnership with the Open Source Afro Hair Library. Black Hair In Video Games Despite all the technological advancements in video games, depicting natural hair and protective styles is still limited, highly stereotypical, and not representative. According to Dove, 85% of Black gamers believe video games poorly represent textured hair. Data also shows that 91% of Black gamers are eager to see themselves
Tech Spark AI has raised $1.4 million to create a new generative AI platform, Spark Plug, which aims to create a more inclusive, personalized educational experience for students. The pre-seed funding round was led by TD Bank, with participation from Salesforce, Canada’s government, and NBA Canada. An educational ChatGPT alternative Tamar Huggins and her 13-year-old daughter Talia Grant founded the AI company eight years ago to improve the education experience of Black and brown students across North America. Tech Spark is Canada’s first tech and design school committed to empowering
Black Girls Code (BGC) has launched the Build a Beat Challenge with Ciara contest to inspire young coders nationwide. Founded in 2011, Black Girls Code is a nonprofit organization that engages African American girls and other youth of color with computer programming education. The organization offers computer programming, coding, website, robot, and mobile application building for girls and women of color ages 7 to 25. They also partner with schools, local organizations, and dedicated volunteers to get participants the resources they need to thrive. Build a Beat Challenge with Ciara
Shekel Mobility, a B2B marketplace and management system for auto dealers, has secured over $7 million in funding, comprising $3.2 million in equity and over $4 million in debt. Small and medium-scale dealerships comprise nearly 82% of the African car dealership market, according to Benjamindada.com. Many of these dealers struggle with offering affordable prices for used cars due to insufficient financing options. In most sub-Saharan Africa, the figure for automotive transactions is less than 2%. Shekel Mobility aims to change that. Shekel Mobility Shekel Mobility empowers auto dealerships to realize
Relevance Ventures and Skoden Ventures have announced the launch of the Native American Capital and Investment Alliance (NAICA) to bridge the gap between Native American founders and capital providers. Relevance Ventures is one of the only privately owned and operated Native American venture capital firms in the US. They provide strategic venture assistance and guidance to entrepreneurs who foster balance and harmony while delivering a positive societal impact. Skoden Ventures is a boutique venture fund investing in early-stage startups with Indigenous, Black, Brown, and women founders. Native American Founders For
UpSurge Baltimore has named Kory Bailey its new CEO. Founded in 2021, UpSurge Baltimore is an ecosystem builder focused on making Baltimore the country’s first Equitech city and a launching pad for founders of all backgrounds. Bailey will be the first Black person to lead the company. Meet Kory Bailey Bailey is a noteworthy leader in the startup and tech community that focuses on developing relationships locally and nationally with founders, investors, and startup support organizations. Bailey, from Durham, NC, grew up loving sports and technology and went on to
Affordable childcare may be more important than developments in AI for American innovation, says Reshma Saujani, founder of Moms First and Girls Who Code. Saujani spoke about her concerns about affordable childcare in light of emergency federal support for US childcare coming to an end. Emergency Federal Childcare Funding Expires The childcare funding expired on September 30, leaving as many as 70,000 childcare centers at risk of closing, with as many as 3.2 million children losing their spots. The funding stemmed from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the $1.9
