Are we officially in the future? It appears we are. The world’s first robot burger vending machine, created by RoboBurger Inc, has secured $10 million in seed investment funding via a partnership with equity firm Promethean Investments. What is Roboburger? RoboBurger, founded by Audley, Dan, and Andy in 2019, is a company that specializes in engineering, robotics, and, last but by no means least, delicious burgers made from high-quality ingredients. According to reports, RoboBurger is the world’s first fully autonomous burger vending robot that assembles Michelin star burgers. The company, which
African-based agri-tech startup iProcure has closed a $10.2 million Series B funding round to further expand its services to Uganda and Tanzania. The funding round led by Investisseurs and Partenaires included participation from Novastar Ventures, British International Investment (BII), and Ceniarth. iProcure, founded in 2013 by Stefano Carcoforo and Nicole Galletta, has grown to become one of rural Africa’s most significant agricultural supply chain platforms. Not only has the platform revolutionized agriculture supply chains in Africa, but it has also helped connect manufacturers and distributors with local retailers. Additionally, iProcure
SoLa Impact and Riot Games have partnered to launch the Tech & Entrepreneurship Center, which aims to help “inspire and develop the next generation of Black and Brown game developers.” The new center will be located in the heart of South Los Angeles and will provide accessible technology education to the South Los Angeles community. The initiative was made possible after the popular game developer app, Riot Games, donated $2.25 million to the SoLa I CAN Foundation. The additional funding went towards the design of the center, which will be free for all
LA-based tech non-profit, Minor-IT has expanded its I.T. training services to help African American and minority youths hoping to succeed in the I.T. industry. Minor-IT, founded in 2019 by Stephen Jones, works to enable minority youth to help them pursue I.T. careers through educational experience, peer-to-peer learning, and networking. They offer guidance and mentoring to help students with the tools needed to achieve unlimited career success. They also sponsor counsel and network with children and teens to help facilitate change in an underrepresented industry. “For me, breaking into I.T., getting
Black-owned African integrator system, Bluechip Technologies, has announced its expansion to Europe amid growing demand. Bluechip Technologies, co-founded in 2008 by Kazeem Tewogbade and Olumide Soyombe, is a software company that works to provide business solutions and strategies to companies. The Nigeria-based organization focuses exclusively on assisting companies in planning, designing, implanting, and operating business application solutions. The organization gathers data from multiple sources and translates it into information that can help organizations understand trends. This process also allows them to assist businesses with understanding data to make better decisions
Black woman-owned sports tech platform PowerHandz has closed a “multimillion-dollar investment” with one of the world’s largest investment companies, Vanguard Holdings Group. In 2021, the company announced its merger with PH Innovation Holdings. The partnership enabled PowerHandz to feature some of its performance products and training content in the multi-sport training app’s live stream, reaching a more comprehensive range of youth, coaches, and parents worldwide. The platform received a multimillion-dollar capital injection from Vanguard Holdings Group a year later. Vanguard has also made a private tender offer to the tech
Banking platform BMO recently announced its partnership with the Black Professionals in Tech Network (BPTN), North America’s largest community of Black tech and business professionals. The partnership will focus on supporting and providing opportunities for Black professionals in the financial services industry. It will also help the banking platform increase representation of Black colleagues by bridging the network gap. BMO’s recent announcement with BPTN falls under their Zero Barriers to Inclusion Strategy, highlighting its critical goals for the year. The Inclusion Strategy includes reaching new hiring targets and providing access
Timbaland and Swizz Beats co-founded Verzuz during the peak of the first pandemic. The platform has provided millions of viewers with entertainment from the comfort of their homes. The show, which sparked success after hosting some exciting head-to-head music battles, was acquired by Triller in 2021. The deal included Swizz Beats and Timbaland directing a portion of their equity stake to 43 artists who have made appearances on the platform. The agreement also involved the award-winning producers overseeing Triller’s music strategy. Many speculated the video app acquiring Verzuz would impact
NFL Star Jonathan Taylor has invested $6 million into Sports Tech company Strive in a Series A funding round. The funding round, led by venture capital firm, Future Communities Capital, included a range of investors, including SeaChange Fund and Seed to B Capital. NFL quarterback Troy Smith and Jonathan Taylor were new investors who also participated. Strive, founded by Nikola Mrvaljevic in 2016, aims to provide accurate muscle data to athletes and teams. Mrvaljevic decided to launch the company after seeing that college coaches welcomed his ideas on using data
Black-led communication startup, Simpu, has launched its first-ever omnichannel inbox, allowing businesses to interact with customers through various social channels. The omnichannel inbox will not only enable companies to communicate with their consumers in a range of mediums, but it also allows them to diverge away from the traditional customer support channels, which primarily focus on phone, email, or chat support. Collins Iheagwara co-founded Simpu with Kolawole Balogun and Tioluwani Kolawole in 2020, which was designed to help business owners unify all their communication channels through an automated workflow. The
