Donna Summer’s estate has reached a settlement with Kanye “Ye” West and Ty Dolla $ign over claims that they unlawfully used Summer’s classic hit “I Feel Love.” According to Rolling Stone, the settlement comes after the estate accused the artists of “blatant theft” in their song “Good (Don’t Die)” from the album Vultures 1. Legal Battle and Settlement The lawsuit, filed in February by Summer’s estate, alleged that West and Ty Dolla $ign, whose legal name is Tyrone Griffin Jr., copied significant portions of Summer’s iconic track without permission. The legal complaint detailed
OpenseedVC has reached the first close of its $10 million fund for operator-led startups in Africa and Europe. Founded by former Octopus Ventures and Oxford Seed Fund investor Maria Rotilu, OpenseedVC is a new solo General Partner (GP) that aims to be the first check for startups. OpenSeedVC: Filling a Crucial Funding Gap According to Sifted, Rotilu is Europe’s first Black solo GP and one of the first female solo GPs in the region. Rotilu’s strategy with OpenseedVC is to back startups even earlier than the pre-seed stage, at a
Angeles Ventures, a Latine and woman-led early-stage VC fund, has announced an equity investment from Bank of America. This investment aims to accelerate Angeles Ventures’ mission to find, fund, and grow Latine ventures across the United States. Addressing the Funding Gap for Latine Entrepreneurs Even though Latine Americans make up over 20% of the U.S. population and are the most entrepreneurial group in the country, they receive less than 2% of venture capital funding. Angeles Ventures aims to change this by focusing on tech-enabled B2B and B2C startups at the
El Salvador, the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, has mined nearly 474 Bitcoins worth approximately $29 million using geothermal energy from the Tecapa volcano, according to Nasdaq. Harnessing Volcanic Power for Bitcoin Mining Since September 2021, El Salvador has been leveraging the geothermal power of the Tecapa volcano to fuel its Bitcoin mining operations. This initiative, a collaboration with prominent mining firms like Foundry USA, Antpool, ViaBTC, F2Pool, and Binance Pool, taps into the 102 megawatts generated by the state-owned geothermal power plant. Of this, 1.5 megawatts are
Latino Business Action Network recently launched a Startup Accelerator program to empower Latinx tech entrepreneurs through mentorship, networking and educational resources. Latinos are the most prolific creators of new companies in the U.S., with over 5 million Latino-owned businesses currently operating, according to a recent Latino Business Action Network (LBAN) report. Despite this impressive number, Latino entrepreneurs face significant barriers to accessing venture capital. Aimed At Tech Entrepreneurs The accelerator program, supported by JPMorgan Chase, will focus on 40 Latino majority-owned, venture-backed tech companies specializing in fields such as AI, Agtech, health tech, fintech, and biotech.
Viola Davis, journalist Joy Reid, and radio host Charlamagne Tha God are among the partners that have teamed up with The Grio founder David A. Wilson and tech leader Brandon John-Freso to launch ALTR. ATLR pronounced ‘alter’, is a personal development app tailored to the Black community. A Collaborative Vision for Empowerment ATLR aims to provide short-form audiobooks by Black luminaries and authors. It is currently open for early access sign-ups and is scheduled for an official launch in late 2024. The development of ALTR is in collaboration with JuVee Productions, founded by Davis
Break Through Tech AI, the largest program of its kind in the U.S., aims to support college students from underrepresented backgrounds into top tech careers. Specifically, the program helps underrepresented groups, including lower-income, Latina and Black women and nonbinary students, gain the skills they need to get jobs in data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Expanding Access to Elite Tech Opportunities Hosted and supported by institutions such as MIT, UCLA, and Cornell Tech, Break Through Tech AI is free and focuses on students from public institutions and historically Black colleges.
Seven organizations focused on diversity in tech have announced the formation of the Diversity Data Alliance to address funding disparities faced by underrepresented groups. The alliance comprises All Raise, Diversity VC, BLCK VC, StartOut, 2Gether-International, Vets in Tech, and Somos VC. Standardizing Data for a Unified Approach The Diversity Data Alliance has agreed upon a set of standardized demographic data points to be collected across each member organization. This initiative, which began in the spring of 2023 and saw its implementation in 2024, focuses on capturing demographic information, such as race, gender identity, sexual orientation, educational attainment,
NBA legend Charles Barkley has pledged a $1 million donation to St. Mary’s Academy, where two high school students, Calcea Johnson and Ne’Kiya Johnson, claimed to have solved a mathematical mystery. The duo’s work, unveiled at the American Mathematical Society’s Annual Southeastern Conference, presented a new proof of Pythagoras’ theorem that many mathematicians thought impossible. Jackson and Johnson have submitted their discoveries for final peer review and publication. NBA Legend Charles Barkley’s Donation After learning about their achievement during a segment on CBS’ “60 Minutes” featuring St. Mary’s Academy, Barkley was deeply moved
Irving L. Peddrew III, the first African American admitted to Virginia Tech, has passed away at the age of 88. Breaking Barriers in Education In 1954, Irving Peddrew made history as the first Black student admitted to Virginia Tech, a historically white, four-year public institution in the former states of the Confederacy. Despite the milestone, Peddrew faced a level of adversity, including being forced to live and eat off campus due to segregation. He found a home with a Black couple, Janie and William Hoge, who supported him during his
