As he retires from the NBA, former professional basketball player Andre Iguodala is set to lead Mosaic, his venture capital (VC) fund. Iguodala had an established reputation for nearly two decades as one of the NBA’s most versatile players, an All-Star, and an Olympic gold medalist. He has now announced his retirement from pro basketball to DealBook to focus on his other career as a startup investor. “It’s been a blessing to play for that long,” he told DealBook. Mosaic Mosaic is Iguodala’s $200 million venture capital fund raised with
Black-owned beauty-tech company Myavana is using AI to provide personalized insights and hair regimens that work for women of color. Myavana is the brainchild of computer scientist Candace Mitchell Harris. Her natural hair journey led her to seek data-driven, intelligent hair care solutions everywhere, from the lab to the Metaverse. The Science of Hair Data reveals that Black consumers drive the global hair-care market, spending nine times more on hair-care products than other racial groups. Black women, in particular, spend about $1.7 billion annually on hair-care products. While studying computer
Black-owned tech startup Slinger has raised £500,000 ($600,000) in pre-seed funding to shake up the hospitality industry’s hiring process. Brexit and COVID-19 have left the UK’s hospitality industry struggling with staff vacancies – industry vacancies are still 72% higher than pre-pandemic levels. As a result, the industry is having to turn away £25 billion ($30.3 billion) worth of business in the UK. Slinger aims to change this. Group Chat To Google-backed Founded by Theo-Lee Houston, Slinger aims to make hospitality hiring processes easier and fairer, connecting talent with businesses in
The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) has announced the launch of the Venture Access Alliance. Comprising over 70 investors, the Alliance aims to build a more inclusive tech startup ecosystem in New York City. A more inclusive startup ecosystem New York City is the second largest tech ecosystem in the world. Over 30% of businesses in the city are minority-owned, and there has been a noticeable surge in Black-owned businesses. The Alliance is part of NYCEDC’s broader Venture Access NYC program, which aims to increase diversity in the city’s startup
Michigan Central and Newlab have announced the Founder Fellowship, a Detroit-based program supporting a cohort of five climate tech founders from underrepresented backgrounds. A New Mobility Innovation District Michigan Central is Ford Motor Company’s new $1 billion mobility innovation district in Corktown, Detroit’s oldest neighborhood. The hub is part of Ford Motor Company’s vision to reshape the future of global mobility, working with key partners and suppliers and connecting to a broader network of city and regional assets and testing. Newlab, is a tech incubator founded to address societal needs
Sony Group has announced the establishment of the Sony Innovation Fund: Africa (SIF: AF) to support the growth of African entertainment businesses. Sony Innovation Fund The Sony Innovation Fund invests in technology-driven transformational companies shaping the future of business, entertainment, and society. Since 2016, Sony has been participating in the ecosystem of new business creation worldwide, with SIF specifically investing in seed to early-seed companies. The fund invests in startups bringing creativity and promising innovations to the world who’d benefit from partnering with Sony. Sony also has the Innovation Growth
Grammy-winning artist John Legend has co-founded his first-ever tech startup, It’s Good, to give users personalized food, travel, and experience recommendations. The company, co-founded by tech entrepreneur Mike Rosenthal, recently raised $5 million in a seed funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. Legend previously co-founded Cravings – a food e-commerce site – with his wife, Chrissy Teigen. The “It’s Good” App It’s Good is an invite-only platform that delivers travel, food, and experience recommendations from people you know and critics, celebrities, and influencers. Launched in March with a select
A South African digital bank, Bank Zero, has expanded into commercial banking with the launch of its zero-cost business banking app. Disrupting Traditional Banking Bank Zero was founded by tech entrepreneur Michael Jordaan, banking innovator Yatin Narsai, and five other co-founders. Founded in 2018, the company entered the South African market three years later and is now 45% Black-owned and 20% women-owned. The co-founders have a combination of deep and diverse banking and technology skills, with extensive experience in and knowledge of banking through previous roles. Bank Zero aims to disrupt
Atlassian has agreed to acquire video communication platform Loom for $975 million. The acquisition will ramp up Loom’s asynchronous video collaboration tools to tap into the demand fueled by the adoption of hybrid work. The journey to unicorn status Loom is an asynchronous (async) video messaging tool that helps users communicate through instantly shareable videos. Founded by Vinay Hiremath, Shahid Khan, and Joe Thomas in 2015 in San Francisco, CA, it boasts 25 million users in 1.8 million workplaces. The platform became increasingly popular during the pandemic, with a $1.53
Research from Extend Ventures revealed that only 0.24% of funding went to Black founders in the UK in the last decade. Additionally, a report conducted by Cornerstone VC also found that only 1% of founders who receive seed funding identify as Black and only 3% of VC-funded founders identify as Black. To celebrate and amplify Black founders in UK tech this Black History Month, we have compiled a list of resources and funds available. Black Seed Black Seed is a community-led by Black founders, for Black founders, based in Brixton,
