Zeal Capital Partners has closed its second fund at $82 million, tripling its assets under management (AUM) to $186 million in just five years. The Washington, DC-based firm plans to invest the new capital in early-stage startups across fintech, healthcare, and the future of learning and work. A Broader, Stronger Investor Base Zeal’s investor base has grown significantly with this latest fund. Zeal’s limited partners now include Citi Impact Fund, M&T Bank, MassMutual, Wells Fargo, Zaffre Investments and Spelman College, according to a press release shared with POCIT. In addition
Houston-based South Loop Ventures announced a $21 million Fund I, led by Rice Management Company and Chevron Technology Ventures. Texas Capital Bank and The Great Commission Foundation of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas also participated in the funding round. According to its founder and managing director, Zach Ellis, the fund will focus on founders nationwide but hopes to attract founders in healthcare, energy, space, and climate. The firm has made 13 investments and hopes to increase to at least 30. Investing in diverse founders The firm launched in 2022, focusing
The Sidemen, Europe’s largest YouTube collective, has co-founded Upside, a venture capital firm backing consumer tech startups. The group, which includes KSI, Miniminter, Zerkaa, TBJZL, Behzinga, Vikkstar123, and W2S, has amassed over 50 million followers and 50 billion views across all social media channels. The Sidemen’s new venture As stated by The Times, they’ve launched Upside VC, using some of their own mone, and have made 12 investments between £100,000 ($ 133,700) and £500,000 ($666,880) in companies, including Howbout, Mile, and Nimbi. Companies supported by Upside will not only get finance
Wave Ventures, Europe’s largest Gen Z-run VC fund, has announced its third fund, which is €7 million ($7.8 million), tripling the size of its previous fund. The fund is supported by a diverse group of investors, such as Slack, Bolt, Skype, Supercell, Wolt, Silo AI, and Smartly.io, as well as European early-stage VCs, and family offices, according to a press release. The fund comes at a crucial time for early-stage investing across the Nordics and Baltics. The quick advancement of generative AI, no-code tools, and open-source technologies makes entrepreneurship more
Black Unicorn Factory (BUF), a Los Angeles-based venture capital firm, has officially become the most prominent Black-owned venture capital firm in US history by the number of startups funded and total equity issued. The firm has provided over $500 million in alternative investment capital by backing over 150 early-stage companies across various industries. “Cash or other consideration” BUF differs from other firms that rely solely on cash-based investing, as it leverages non-traditional, SEC-compliant methods rooted in the concept of “cash or other consideration” as allowed under exemptions like Reg CF,
Pre-seed venture capital firm Symphonic Capital has announced the launch of its inaugural fund of $13.5 million to invest in early-stage companies. Symphonic Capital focuses on founders who are closing critical access gaps within healthcare and financial services.”That’s because we believe everyone should have access to reliable healthcare and financial freedom, regardless of their race, gender or ethnicity,” Founder Sydney Thomas and partner Shruti Shah said in a press statement. The fund is led by experienced pre-seed investors and operators and backed by leading institutions, such as Known, Candide, Illumen
Growth Warrior Capital recently raised $26 million for its first fund from investors like Bank of America, the George Kaiser Family Foundation, and Pivotal Ventures, the investment firm founded by Melinda French Gates. Promise Phelon launched Growth Warrior in 2020 in Charlotte, North Carolina to support underrepresented and overlooked entrepreneurs. Since then, the firm has written checks up to $3 million and has a portfolio of 11 companies. These include Capitan, an AI insurance claim platform that raised $104 million, and ForceMetrics, an AI platform for first responders. Supporting underrepresented entrepreneurs Growth
The Caribbean Venture Collective (CVC) is a new initiative aiming to close the longstanding gap in venture support for founders with ties to the Caribbean. Launched last week by Techstars alumni Daniel Smith and Mita Carriman, the CVC is a global network and founder fellowship program designed to increase visibility and access to capital for the region’s innovators. Venture support for Caribbean founders Trinidad-born Smith is the founder of Keepingly, a platform that helps homeowners manage and store homeownership documents. Carriman, born in New York to parents from Jamaica and
The Black Economic Alliance Entrepreneurs Fund LP, which is raising $50 million to support young startups, is over halfway towards its goal. As stated in a filing last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the fund has currently raised $28.5 million and is led by venture capitalist Melissa Bradley. The Washington Business Journal reported that she shared that the fund’s investment will focus on young companies that specialize in products or services in four key areas: financial inclusion, health and wellness, sustainable communities, and what she called “narrative change”—companies focused
Tech company Yango Group has launched Yango Venture, a corporate venture intended to support hopeful startups across sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, as stated by Gulf Business. The fund will target Series B investments in the online-to-offline (O2O), B2B software-as-a-service, and financial technology industries. Yango Group also hopes to grow its capital base as entrepreneurial environments expand in these promising markets. “With Yango Ventures, we are leveraging our expertise and network to support startups in scaling, thriving, and creating meaningful impact in their
