Ulu Ventures, reportedly the largest Latina-led fund in the US, has raised $208 million for its fourth fund. The fund supports seed-stage tech startups in the US using an inclusive, data-based approach that seeks to limit cognitive bias without shutting out any demographic group. This strategy has led to a more diverse portfolio than traditional venture investments. “Ulu is a beacon for the most talented entrepreneurial teams because we reduce bias by applying impartial methods of assessing risk and the same criteria to all people,” CEO, Co-founder, and Managing Director
This week on Techish, Michael and Abadesi break down DeepSeek, China’s open-source AI rival, what the rise in AI agents means for jobs, and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) hiring Daniel Perry, the man who placed Jordan Neely in a lethal chokehold on a NYC subway. They also discuss Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy sweep for his Drake diss track and why Bianca Censori, Kanye West’s wife, never seems to be wearing any clothes. Chapters 00:30 The Rise of Deepseek: A Game Changer in AI 07:33 Job Ads for AI Agents 12:55 Kendrick Wins
Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has hired Daniel Penny, the former Marine who made national headlines following the killing of Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless Black man, on a New York subway. The news was first reported by The Free Press. Penny was acquitted of criminally negligent homicide in December 2024. Although he has no prior investment experience, Andreessen Horowitz plans to train him for his new role. Jordan Neely’s Death Jordan Neely was known for being a Michael Jackson impersonator who performed in Times Square. During
This week on Techish, Abadesi sits down with Alphonso David, a Human Rights and civil rights lawyer and advocate, to talk about his work as President and CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum. They dive into breaking down barriers for marginalized communities, why diversity, equity, and inclusion actually matters, and the need for real investment in Black and Brown businesses. Alphonso also shares the secret to his perseverance and what we can learn from the past to drive change today. Chapters00:00 Breaking Down Barriers for Marginalized Communities03:20 Why Diversity,
Geek Ventures is raising a second fund, as stated in a recent SEC filing, according to TechCrunch. The New York-based tech venture fund is the brainchild of Ihar Mahaniok, an engineer with over 20 years of experience in building code and machine learning. The second fund has raised $9 million so far but has no set target amount; its first sale was recorded on Monday, January 13, as stated in the filing. Helping immigrants in the tech industry Mahaniok grew up in Belarus, where he did an undergraduate in computer
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
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
Google has joined a $90 million equity investment round in Cassava Technologies, signaling a significant step in supporting Africa’s digital infrastructure. The funding round also includes contributions from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Finnish development firm Finnfund, among others. Bolstering Africa’s Connectivity This investment aligns with Google’s broader efforts in Africa, including the Equiano subsea cable and the new Umoja fiber-optic cable connecting Africa and Australia. Cassava has already established itself as a leader in Africa’s tech ecosystem, offering solutions in data centers, cloud services, and renewable
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
Marcy Venture Partners, co-founded by Jay-Z, has merged with Pendulum Holdings’ investment arm, Pendulum Opportunities, to establish a new firm: MarcyPen Capital Partners. The merger brings together two prominent Black-owned investment firms, combining resources to oversee a total of $900 million in assets, a spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch. Two Black-owned investment firms Marcy Venture Partners was founded in 2018 by Jay-Z, Jay Brown (Roc Nation co-founder), and venture capitalist Larry Marcus. Known for backing brands like Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty, Partake Foods, and web3 startup Spatial Labs, the firm has
