Two recent Stanford graduates have raised $2 million to launch Breakthrough Ventures, a hybrid accelerator for college student and recent graduate founders across the US, according to TechCrunch. The program mirrors how top universities often turn class projects into venture-scale companies by packaging funding, infrastructure, and investor exposure into a single pathway. While Breakthrough recruits founders nationally, much of its deal flow and decision-making remains anchored in Stanford-connected spaces, a dynamic that shapes who sets early company terms and captures ownership at the earliest stages. Funding, Infrastructure, and Formation Rolled
Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick is bringing his education technology startup, Lumi, into K–12 classrooms through a new partnership with Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS). The collaboration launches a phased district pilot that introduces students to AI-powered storytelling tools designed to support literacy, creativity, and responsible technology use. Kaepernick’s AI Storytelling Platform Founded by Kaepernick in 2024, Lumi Story AI emerged from stealth with $4 million in seed funding led by Alexis Ohanian’s venture firm, Seven Seven Six. The platform is built to position AI as a creative assistant, helping
A 13-year-old boy in the UK is paying his own boarding school fees using profits from his Caribbean food business, a venture he started at just six years old. Malaki Conteh now covers the portion of his school fees not covered by financial aid at The Prebendal School in southern England, where he attends as a full-time boarder. Tuition runs about £4,000 ($5,384) per semester, with Conteh paying the remaining balance after receiving a 50% scholarship, My London reports. Turning a Family Kitchen Into a Business Conteh runs Malaki’s Food
Martin University, Indiana’s only historically Black university, will close permanently after its Board of Trustees voted to cease operations, citing unsustainable finances. The shutdown shows how access-oriented colleges without endowments become structurally dependent on volatile public funding, philanthropy, and enrollment volume. When any one of those inputs weakens, accreditation and creditor obligations can force liquidation, shifting educational infrastructure toward larger institutions with stronger balance sheets. Endowment scarcity turns budget shocks into existential threats. According to The EDU Ledger, Martin’s trustees concluded that the school’s long-standing financial model could not support
Howard University will launch an “Intro to Artificial Intelligence” course in spring 2026, partnering with CodePath and with financial support from the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, according to a press release shared with AfroTech. Howard faculty and CodePath’s faculty network will jointly teach instruction spanning data structures, AI literacy, and agentic workflows, the release said. The program positions applied AI-assisted software development inside a core academic setting rather than treating it as an extracurricular credential. “Our work is rooted in the idea that HBCUs are not only equipping students for
Cactus Jack Foundation, a non-profit founded by rapper Travis Scott, has launched a new initative for students with Space Center Houston. As reported by Complex, the program will allow Houston Independent School District students to engage in a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-enriched curriculum. Cactus Jack Foundation’s new initative The program will teach students the necessary skills to pursue careers in engineering, design, and exploration. Students will analyze real-world challenges such as water scarcity, space habitation, and power generation and discuss solutions through virtual and in-person workshops at Cact.Us Design
Peter Iwuh, founder of Tykoon Sports Agency, the first Black-owned NIL marketing firm, has launched Tykoon AI, AfroTech reports. The new platform, created with Co-founder and Chief Technical Officer Omogbolade Ajayi and Chief Growth Officer Alexander Turner is designed to help underrepresented athletes at HBCUs, smaller schools and lesser-known conferences take advantage of name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities. What is Tykoon AI? Tykoon AI is an all-in-one platform that enables students to connect with local businesses through its interactive merchant map. The app allows athletes to choose their school,
Iwnetim Abatek, an Ethiopian entrepreneur and assistant professor at MIT in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, has been named to the MIT 35 Innovators Under 35 list. The annual list, published by MIT Technology Review, celebrates the world’s most promising young creators in science and technology. Abatek’s research focuses on sodium-ion batteries, a potentially cheaper alternative to lithium-based power for electric vehicles and grids. He’s also exploring ways to use underground heat and pressure to produce ammonia, a key fertilizer ingredient and potential green fuel, according to MIT
Career Karma, the app and community that has helped thousands transition into tech careers, has been acquired by New York-based student platform Climb Credit. Ruben Harris founded Career Karma in 2018 alongside twin brothers Artur and Timur Meyster, building on the success of their earlier podcast that introduced newcomers to the tech industry. With this acquisition, Career Karma’s mission to expand access to tech careers takes on a new scale, helping prospective students gain training programs and career opportunities before and after they graduate. About Credit Karma Before launching Career Karma,
Lagos and San Francisco-based Compound AI has launched KidGPT, an AI agent specifically designed for children aged five to thirteen and their parents. The AI agent assists children in studying and learning various topics, including math, English, and even language learning. It gives children questions and additional prompts rather than giving them answers. “I’ll help you think through how to write the essay yourself first. What do you already know about bees? What do you want to include in your essay? Let’s start with a plan,” it says on their website. AI
