The latest figures from Crunchbase have revealed that Black founders raised just $187 million in the third quarter of this year, considerably less than the $350 million WeWork’s Adam Neumann raised for his latest venture. TechCrunch reports that this quarter’s figures mark a significant and continued decline in capital for Black-owned businesses. In total, Black founders have raised just over $2 billion in venture capital funding this year – although this may seem like a lot – it’s a massive decrease from the record-breaking $4.72 billion raised in 2021. Lack of
Every celebrity is migrating into the VC space, it seems. Kevin Hart is the latest example of a notable entertainer making major moves in the investment space. The comedian’s venture capital firm, Hartbeat Ventures, has received its first institutional investment from JP Morgan, the largest bank in the US. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the bank provided “the max allocation” through Project Spark, an initiative launched by the bank to support firms led by underrepresented founders. Hartbeat Ventures, launched earlier this year, is an early-stage VC firm focusing on financial inclusion. In
Software platform Adobe has partnered with HBCUs across the US to provide more Black Americans with the skillsets needed to prevail in the competitive tech industry. According to a study by Zippia, Black people currently make up 13.6% of the US population but only 7% of the tech industry. Abode’s investments aim to inspire students to express their ideas in a compelling, digital-first world and provide them with critical digital literacy skills needed to thrive in the modern workforce. “To create products that solve challenging problems for people all over the world, companies
A Latino Corporate Directors Association (LCDA) report has revealed a lack of Latinx representation on giant company boards. Lack of representation on company boards According to the LCDA, Latino directors are missing from 47% of Fortune 100, 59% of Fortune 500, and 65% of Fortune 1000 boards. This means companies seriously lack Latino/Hispanic representatives on a higher level. Despite Latinx people making up the second largest US population, with a total of 62.1 million, there has been no change in Fortune 100 companies adopting more diverse practices by having Hispanic/Latino representation on their
The nation’s only historically Black liberal arts institution, Morehouse College, has partnered with the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) to launch the new Center for Broadening Participation in Computing (CBPC). Center For Broadening Participation In Computing The CBPC will prepare underrepresented students to compete fairly in the tech industry. The initiative represents a fusion of four distinct programs at Morehouse College, which aims to help tech companies strengthen the pipeline for recruiting and retaining diverse students. The CBPC will become a hub for supporting and assisting college students across the state
Black visionary Gianni O’Connor is on a mission to unleash the true power of technology. Through artificial intelligence, O’Connor is working to build a one-of-a-kind AI personality that will make it easier for users to converse with their game console – sound strange? We’re officially stepping into the future. Who is Gianni O’Connor? Gianni O’Connor’s entrepreneurial journey began in 2012 when he launched the music social media site Micsu (later Mozrt). The 29-year-old UK-based entrepreneur then founded the social trading app Trad3r and, most recently, Go Games. “I love being
Mentor Connect is a mentorship program that eliminates the loneliness of being an entrepreneur. The mentorship program, sponsored by Ben Franklin Technology Partners and Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies (PACT), currently has over 200 mentees and 130 mentors in its network. The network aims to provide a positive community for entrepreneurs to grow and connect with like-minded people. Not only does it give them space to share their concerns and issues, but it also helps provide them with a reliable network they can lean on in their time of need. “We always say
Black-owned startup CourtRoom5 is a platform dedicated to providing everyone with access to the courts and justice available to all. Founded in 2017 by Sonja Ebron and Debra Slone, CourtRoom5 works to help civilians navigate the judicial system and offers affordable legal advice to people from marginalized communities who can’t afford legal aid. Navigating the judicial system Sonja Ebron PhD is an electrical engineer and entrepreneur with a background in AI. She co-founded CourtRoom5 with her wife Debra Slone PhD, a former library school professor and qualitative data analysis expert. Motivated by their own
Are Black and Latinx neighborhoods more prone to experiencing slower internet services? According to a recent study by The Markup, the households that suffered from slower internet service were based in prominently lower-income areas with fewer white residents. Despite the service being a lot slower than the other household, both are paying the exact same price for their internet services – meaning the slower internet speed doesn’t come at a cheaper price. Racial Digital Divide In the study, The Markup gathered and analysed more than 800,000 internet services from AT&T,
Olympic gold medalists Lauryn Williams and Sanya Richards-Ross, also of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, are embarking on a new journey in the venture capital space. As Debut Capital company investors, Lauryn Williams and Richards-Ross have become two of the first venture capitalists to invest in the Black-owned hiring platform Us In Technology (UIT). “We are incredibly excited about helping UIT connect many more people of color, women, military veterans, people with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community to life-changing opportunities within the tech industry,” said Richards-Ross. From Athletes
