Pryce Yebesi, 24, has sold Utopia Labs, his crypto invoicing business, to Coinbase and announced the launch of his new startup, Open Ledger. Open Ledger implants automated accounting software into products that small businesses currently use and has already raised $3 million in a round led by Kindred Ventures and Blank Ventures, as first reported by TechCrunch. Why did Yebesi launch Open Ledger? Pryce Yebesi started thinking about Open Ledger while running Utopia Labs as the product and operations lead. After noticing that the businesses he operated with still used
Oxford Cancer Analytics (OXcan), a medtech company that focuses on creating blood tests for early cancer detection, has secured $11 million in Series A funding. This latest funding round, led by We Venture Capital and Cross-Border Impact Ventures, brings OxCan’s funding total to $16.7 million. “The power of the OXcan proteomics biomarker discovery platform and the data generated by Oxcan stand out against the backdrop of other liquid biopsy companies, indicating a truly superior performance in the identification of early stage lung cancer,” Louise Warme, MD, Head of WeVenture Capital
Navigating the tech industry as women of color is already challenging, but when layered with other marginalized identities, the obstacles become even greater. Marianna Di Regolo (she/her) and Cat Perez (she/they), the married couple behind Famm, are proving that innovation, resilience, and community-building can create meaningful change in this space. Building a Platform for Inclusivity Famm was born out of a personal and community need. Created as a marketplace spotlighting LGBTQ+-owned e-commerce brands, Famm recently launched a social network app for LGBTQ professionals. “As I navigated my gender identity, I struggled
Here are five Black innovators we think are set to make significant moves in 2025. From health tech and biodesign to venture capital and the creator economy, these individuals are at the forefront of progress. They’re reshaping industries, launching transformative products, and empowering communities worldwide. Here’s a closer look at their work and why you should keep them on your radar. Amanda Spann – Empowering Non-Technical Founders Amanda Spann is a marketing consultant and app entrepreneur dedicated to empowering the Black tech community. Her most recent initiative, The App Accelerator,
In 2024, Black-owned businesses faced significant challenges, from rising costs and gentrification to limited access to funding. Amid these obstacles, communities around the world rallied to provide crucial support. Through flash mobs, crowdfunding, and organized shopping events, they helped Black-owned businesses weather financial hardships and highlighted the power of collective action. Here are four examples of communities stepping up to make a difference. The Sistah Shop – Atlanta Facing potential closure due to financial difficulties, The Sistah Shop, a retail space showcasing over 100 Black women-owned brands, received a lifeline from
When Nadia Odunayo sat down in January 2019, she had a choice to make: pursue her idea for a running app or dive into her passion for books. She chose the latter, and what started as a side project quickly evolved into The StoryGraph, a community-driven social cataloguing web platform for books. With Amazon-owned Goodreads dominating the market, The StoryGraph has become a refreshing favorite for readers looking for a more personalized experience. Revolutionizing Reading With The StoryGraph Odunayo, a Black British engineer and entrepreneur, built The StoryGraph to offer
Prequel, a platform tackling the challenges of application reliability through community-driven problem detection, announced it has raised $3.3 million in seed funding. The funding round was led by Work-Bench, with participation from Runtime Ventures, Operator Partners, and notable tech founders such as Shay Banon (Elastic), Jon Oberheide (Duo Security), Monica Sarbu (Xata), and Andrew Morris (GreyNoise). A Fresh Approach to Reliability Engineering Engineering teams face increasing challenges to deliver reliable services in complex software environments. From open-source dependencies to service misconfigurations, the issues can disrupt releases and inflate cloud costs
John Hope Bryant, CEO of Bryant Ventures and Operation HOPE, has donated $1.8 million to support the entrepreneurial ambitions of 70 Albany State University (ASU) graduates. Each recipient will receive $25,000 and extensive business resources to launch their ventures. $1.8M Grant to Boost Black Entrepreneurship The selected graduates will receive financial backing and also a “special forces team” offering tools like free domain names, Shopify accounts, and access to legal and financial experts. ““They get a free domain name that they own, a free website that they own, a free
Players Health, founded by former athlete Tyrre Burks, has secured $60 million in Series C funding to expand its mission of ensuring safety in youth sports. Led by Bluestone Equity Partners, the funding round also included Mosaic General Partners, RPM Ventures, SiriusPoint, and TriplePoint Capital, bringing the total raised to over $100 million. A Former Athlete’s Vision for Change Tyrre Burks founded Players Health to address the challenges he experienced as an athlete playing Division II football team while attending Winona State University, then in Europe and the Canadian Football
Penny Jar Capital, the early-stage investment firm backed by basketball star Stephen Curry, has filed paperwork with the SEC to raise a second fund, as first reported by TechCrunch. The filing for Fund II doesn’t list a specific target amount and also submitted a separate filing for a related entity called Fund II Collective. Both filings were made in October, signaling Penny Jar’s commitment to expanding its portfolio. As Penny Jar’s anchor investor and special advisor, Curry helps the firm source investment opportunities and works behind-the-scenes to drive impact for the portfolio
