Y Combinator’s summer (S22) batch is notably different to its previous ones. Firstly, this batch kicked off with an in-person event – the first since the winter 2020 batch. Secondly, the summer cohort includes 240 companies, significantly fewer than the 414 companies in the winter 2022 cohort. And third, only eight startups in Africa got into the accelerator this summer compared to 24 from the previous batch, representing a 60% reduction. While the region represented about 6% of the entire winter batch, it’s 3% for this batch. When YC went
Capital G, Alphabet’s independent growth fund, has announced that seven Black-owned VC firms will join the Alphabet family as a part of the program’s $100 million commitment to investing in Black founders. According to data, only 4% of the US venture capital workforce and 1.2% of VC-backed founders are Black. The lack of diversity within the venture capital space has a knock-on effect on the number of Black-owned businesses that receive extra funding or investments. After years of leading a large team focused on investing in Black-led VC funds, startups,
The founder of the Black Fashion Fair (BFF), Antoine Gregory, has partnered with HubSpot and NTWRK to create a collection of Black designers for HubSpot’s upcoming event. Since launching in 2020, Gregory’s Black Fashion Fair has created a worldwide community of Black creatives and designers. Not only has the community helped to empower underrepresented founders, but it has also helped drive the success of a vast majority of upcoming designers. “Antoine Gregory’s Black Fashion Fair is a great example of a business that puts its mission at its core –
Headspace Health is acquiring Shine, a mental health and wellness app dedicated to providing an inclusive mental health experience for the BIPOC community. Founded in 2016, Shine has more than 45,000 paid subscribers and has reached over six million people by offering self-guided content. It also offers daily mediations, self-care courses, personalized support, and virtual workshops hosted by third-party experts and its community. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Still, Headspace Health says the acquisition of the New York-based company will expand its ability to provide more
Forbes has released the world’s most influential CMOs list to recognize some of the most powerful changemakers in the marketing industry. According to Forbes, the platform conducted a data-driven analysis to select this year’s finalists. Research insight provided by Sprinklr, and supplemental data supplied by LinkedIn, helped Forbes narrow down 50 pioneers that are actively spearheading brands and communities in the marketing sector. The people in the list represent companies with over 8 million employees globally and have acquired over $5 trillion in market capitalization. So, let’s meet some of
Investment banking giant, Goldman Sachs, has taken a massive step toward bridging the racial tech gap by investing $2.25 million in Black and Latinx students. By becoming a premier sponsor of the Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) Tech Developer, the investment company will provide Black and Latinx computer majors with the skills, coaching, and experience needed to become strong candidates in the ever-evolving tech industry. “Our goal is to ensure students have the tools they need to land top tech roles upon graduation,” said Julian Johnson, Executive Vice President, SEO.
Businesses in the US and Canada can now self-identify as Black-owned on Tripadvisor. The world’s largest travel guidance company decided to launch the new feature after research showed that 77% of Black-owned businesses and 63% of Hispanic/Latinx-owned businesses actively use their platform. Tripadvisor aims to use the data gathered on its users to help make accommodation providers and restaurants-owners feel safe and welcomed on the platform. Now more than ever, it is crucial that POC-led businesses get the recognition they deserve to help amplify their voice and make their businesses
Google has announced that 60 new startups would join their Black Founders Fund, specifically designed to help support Black founders in Africa. Since launching the program in 2021, Google has invested in 50 startups from nine African countries, creating over 500 jobs and raising over $87 million to help support underrepresented founders. The Black Founders Fund has invested $20 million in funding to help founders across the US, Europe, Africa, and Brazil. The latest cohort will receive up to $100,000 in capital, including access to the best of Google, people, products,
VC firm, Kapor Capital, announced that it officially raised $125 million in a pre-seed funding round. The new fund, the platform’s largest to date, has been backed by partners including Cambridge Associates, Align Impact, Ford Foundation, Bank of America, PayPal, and Twilio. The new funding, which has been ongoing since last year, was raised by the company’s managing partners, Uriridiakoghene “Ulili” Onovakpuri and Brian Dixon, as part of Kapor Capital’s new leadership. The Oakland-based venture capital firm founded in 2011 by Mitch Kapor and Freada Kapor has actively worked to bridge
Yesterday, JusticeText announced they had closed a $2.2 million seed funding round. The funding round led by Bloomberg Beta, True Ventures, and Reid Hoffman included investors John Legend and Michael Tubbs. JusticeText, co-founded by Devshi Mehrotra and Leslie Jones-Dove in 2019, is a software platform that aims to help build more transparency around criminal proceedings. The idea to develop JusticeText stemmed from a class project both Jones-Dove and Mehrotra worked on during their time at university. After witnessing the death of Trayvon Martin, both founders felt their system would be a more proactive solution to solving
