Black Ops Ventures, a Black-owned VC fund, has announced that it has closed its first fund with investments totaling $13 million. In securing investments for this initial close, Black Ops relied upon long-standing relationships with some of the most respected names in the tech industry. From successful founders including Drew Houston, Jacob Gibson, and Morgan DeBaun to top-tier venture investors, including Ben Horowitz, Union Square Ventures, and Jeff Bussgang, the Black Ops partners galvanized their network of investors and founders to support their unique strategy. Bank of America and Northwestern Mutual led the fundraising round. Founded in 2020, Black Ops
Netflix said it has fulfilled its pledge to the Black community by moving two percent of its cash holdings – around $100m – into Black-led banks and financial institutions in the US. The funding has been shared between six institutions, including $10m deposited with Hope Credit Union in the form of a transformational deposit to fuel economic opportunity in underserved communities in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. The move comes after it announced back in June 2020, amid racial-equality protests across America, that it would invest capital in Black banks to
Amazon has partnered with Pharrell Williams’ education equity nonprofit YELLOW and the Georgia Institute of Technology to launch the 2022 “Your Voice is Power” music remix competition. Now in its second year, the “Your Voice is Power” educational collaboration underscores the partners’ continued commitment to encourage K-12 students to share their perspectives on equity while learning to code new music remixes. Students will use EarSketch, Georgia Tech’s learn-to-code-through-music platform, to remix beats and create their own magic. The song selection features Pharrell’s “Entrepreneur,” Alicia Keys’ “Underdog” and Khalid’s “New Normal.” To further prepare the young competitors, the initiative
Virtual trucking carrier CloudTrucks has secured a $115 million Series B funding round on a reported $850 million valuation, according to Forbes. The firm, which provides a tech platform that helps small trucking businesses manage their administrative duties, including scheduling, instant payments, expense tracking, was founded by Tobenna Arodiogbu, Jin Shieh, and George Ezenna back in 2019. Tiger Global led its Series B round with Menlo Ventures, Flexport, Michael Ovitz, and Opendoor CEO Eric Wu. The round also includes follow-on investments from Caffeinated Capital, Craft Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Abstract, BTV, and Kindred Ventures. This Series B comes
Gozem, a super app that provides a host of services — including transport, e-commerce, and financial services in Francophone Africa — has raised $5 million in Series A financing. The firm is present across 13 cities, having moved to Gabon and Cameroon with over 800,000 registered users and more than 5 million trips completed. The company, which is based in Togo and Singapore, raised funds from AAIC, Thunes (TransferTo), Momentum Ventures (SMRT), Innoport Ventures (Schulte Group), CMC Ventures (National Express), and Liil Ventures (Mobility ADO). Costamagna, in a statement, said
The Parent Company — a publicly traded U.S. cannabis organization backed by Jay-Z — has named Tiffany Mcbride the managing director of its social equity ventures. She will oversee The Parent Company’s Social Equity Ventures program and help identify more minority entrepreneurs working in the cannabis sector to offer them capital and mentorship. “This is an exciting time to join The Parent Company as the Managing Director of Social Equity Ventures to continue to ensure that minority communities have a seat at the table in the cannabis industry,” McBride said in a press
Hospitality and Outreach for Latin Americans, or HOLA, is donating $5,000 to create the “Dream Big Scholarship Fund” for Latino Students at the tech academy. Some of the students have financial needs but may not have access to state and federal aid. The funds for the donation came from the proceeds from the annual HOLA Festival last August. HOLA’s mission is to enhance cultural diversity and ensure the success of Latinos in the areas of education, health, safety, workforce, economic strength, and leadership ”Well we feel it’s important to grow
Afterpay is hiring! Check out their roles on pocitjobs.com Xin Ge has worked as Afterpay’s Chief Technology and Risk Officer for three and a half years. Throughout his career, Xin has learned the value of professional development in creating successful teams. In this interview, Xin talks about how his experience at big companies like eBay and PayPal prepared him for his role at Afterpay. He also shares what Afterpay is doing to develop diverse teams in the tech industry. Hey, Xin. Could you kindly explain what you do at Afterpay?
Greenwood, a mobile banking platform described as doing it for the culture, seeks to support the Black and brown community in their endeavors to generational wealth. Co-founded by former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, rapper-activist Michael “Killer Mike” Render, and Bounce TV founder Ryan Glover, Greenwood is not a bank itself; instead, it features banking services provided by Coastal Community Bank and will eventually provide financial management services. It reinvests in Black and Latino communities through monthly grants and recently launched a podcast group that specializes in financial literacy and investment
SaLisa Berrien, who recently received a $100,000 Black Founders Fund award from Google for Startups, is expanding COI Energy, a Tampa-based company, across the United States. Recognized by Jason A. Scott last year as one of 30 U.S. black founders to watch in 2021, Berrien was one of 50 companies to receive a $100,000 Black Founders Fund award from Google for Startups. She participated in Google Startups for Women, which she completed last December, and has raised $2 million-plus in funds. Now her goal is to make her firm a global company. With just
