In a revelation, Sean “Diddy” Combs has been identified as one of the investors in X Corp, the company owned by Elon Musk that acquired the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. The disclosure came as part of a federal court ruling, unsealing a list of shareholders connected to Musk’s $44 billion purchase of the platform in 2022. Court Order Unseals X Corp’s Investors The court-ordered disclosure revealed nearly 100 investors, including high-profile names like Bill Ackman, Larry Ellison, and Marc Andreessen. Among them, Sean Combs Capital, one of
Online resources business Hello Alice recently announced its Series C funding round closure despite facing a controversial class-action lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges their partnership with Progressive Insurance to offer grants specifically to Black-owned businesses was racially discriminatory. Hello Alice’s Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion In October 2023, Hello Alice found itself at the center of a legal battle when America First Legal, Mitchell Law PLLC, and Ashbrook Byrne Kresge LLC filed a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination. This was due to the company’s initiative, which provided $25,000 in grants to 10 Black-owned businesses in
Partech, a global technology investment firm, has closed its second Africa-focused fund, Partech Africa, at over €280 million ($300 million). Partech Africa The achievement surpasses its initial target of €230 million, marking Partech Africa as the largest fund dedicated to African startups. Partech Africa partners with entrepreneurs who combine technology and operational excellence to address large opportunities across the continent. The African startup landscape experienced a downturn in investment activities in 2023, with venture capital inflows decreasing to between $2.9 billion and $4.1 billion. This contrasted the $4.6 billion to
For almost six years, I’ve sat in on investor meetings and made deals with startup teams committed to disruption. I’ve seen entrepreneurship in its greatest form, and as an early-stage investor, I’ve been part of getting exciting ideas off the ground and into the marketplace. Uniquely, my career as a founder-turned-investor has been surrounded by nuanced advocacy for social equity and fair opportunities, driving me to relentlessly champion underrepresented voices and create a level playing field for all. Early in my career, I worked closely with the leadership gender gap
The latest figures from Crunchbase have revealed that Black founders raised just $187 million in the third quarter of this year, considerably less than the $350 million WeWork’s Adam Neumann raised for his latest venture. TechCrunch reports that this quarter’s figures mark a significant and continued decline in capital for Black-owned businesses. In total, Black founders have raised just over $2 billion in venture capital funding this year – although this may seem like a lot – it’s a massive decrease from the record-breaking $4.72 billion raised in 2021. Lack of
Angeles Investors have announced the winners of this year’s Estrellas award. The line-up features a collection of the top 40 funders and venture capital firms investing in Hispanic and Latinx startups. This year’s cohort exemplifies leadership in investing in top startups and Hispanic and Latinx founders, among the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. economy. “It’s exciting to see the number of top funders and venture capital groups investing in Latino startups grow,” said Adele Cepeda, Angeles Investors Board Chair and Director at BMO Financial Corporation. “In 2020, we started
Business accelerator program, Comcast RISE, has dedicated $1 million to supporting Philadelphia BIPOC-owned businesses. The program, which was initially launched in 2020 as a response to help small business owners of color who were impacted financially by the COVID-19 pandemic, will award more than 100 Philadelphia small businesses owned by women and people of color with $1 million in grants. According to a press release, Comcast RISE has distributed over $16 million in grants to early-stage businesses, and $75 million in in-kind support for marketing and technology services, impacting more than 9,500
Backstage Capital, one of the first venture capital firms to pave the way for hundreds of underrepresented founders, has announced Bank of America as the latest investor in its Opportunity Fund I. The investment firm, founded by Arlan Hamilton, has been investing in underestimated founders since 2015. As a result, the platform has one of the largest portfolios of underrepresented founders in venture capital. Their portfolio comprises 200 companies led by women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ founders. According to a press release, Bank of America recently announced that it had
Here is our latest roundup of tech headlines from across the African continent. Black-owned digital insurance platform, Lami Technologies, has raised $3.7 million in a seed extension funding round. The funding round, which Harlem Capital Partners led, will help the API platform begin its path to building and distributing an end-to-end digital insurance platform. The additional funding brings Lami Technologies’ overall funding amount to $5.6 million. Lami Technologies, founded in 2018 by Jihan Abbas, is an end-to-end digital insurance and API platform enabling companies across sectors to offer insurance products.
Black-owned cardiovascular telehealth provider, Moving Analytics, has raised $20 million in Series A funding. The funding round, which Wellington Access Ventures and Seae Ventures led, also included investors Philip Ventures, Aphelion Capital, Nueterra Capital, SteelSky Ventures, and Citi Ventures. Moving Analytics, co-founded in 2013 by Ade Adesanya, Harsh Vathsangam, and Shuo Qiao, has partnered with cardiology offices and cardiac rehab facilities to expand access to secondary prevention for all patients. The platform specializes in cardiovascular prevention and uses a virtual cardiac rehab program, Movn, to support patients who have recently
