black founders

SoftBank launches new fund to raise and invest $150 million in Black and Latino-led startups

The new fund hopes to deploy the $150 million within three years, and has appointed Paul Judge as its managing partner.

Without Black representation in climate tech, ‘the planet will burn’

The lack of funding and dearth of DEI data suggests that the venture community writ large is overlooking a vast amount of untapped potential.

At 0.69% in Q1, the dip in funding for Black founders ‘no longer evokes an emotional response’

The data set shows that in Q1 2023, Black founders raised an estimated $312 million out of the around $45 billion Crunchbase totaled for the quarter.

Threading the needle: 5 questions with investor Lauren Maillian

Maillian talks about power in the industry, the changing landscape for Black women and Latinas, and what her next act will be.

For Black founders and investors, ringing Nasdaq’s opening bell symbolizes progress

“We’ve come a long way, but we still have a long way to go," one investor told TechCrunch about the event.

Nex Cubed launched $40 million fund targeting Black colleges and universities

The fund seeks to foster and invest in startups where at least one founder is an HBCU student, alumni, or faculty member.

VC funding to Black web3 founders popped last year, bucking trends

Funding for Black web3 founders has only increased, and the crypto winter proved the most fruitful year.

Spatial Labs, a web3 infrastructure and hardware company, closes $10M seed round

“We’re going to be responsible for catalyzing a completely new generation to be more conscious of their environment; more conscious of how they spend and how they buy," Sandu said.

Funding for Black founders remains dismal — where do we go from here?

Where do we go from here? Is the next step looking at alternative funding, or is it staying on the battleground, always ready to fight?

Black founders still raised just 1% of all VC funds in 2022

In total, U.S. Black founders raised an estimated $2.254 billion out of the $215 billion in U.S. venture capital allocated last year in 2022.

Despite myriad flaws, US remains top spot for Black startup founders seeking VC dollars

Through the haze, the reality is that the heart of the American Dream is still beating.

3 Black investors share what they are prepping for come the new year

For 2023, it appears investors are focusing on trends that are relatively safer and likelier to bear fruit

3 Black investors talk about what they’re looking for in 2023

"I think a lot of the narrative that many investors put out there about investing in more Black founders was mostly just talk."

TechCrunch+ roundup: Vanity metric dangers, planning for failure, Black founders survey

Relying on vanity metrics is like attending a Little League awards dinner: Everyone goes home a winner!

3 Black founders explain how they’re preparing for a tough 2023

Life as a startup founder is never dull. That’s doubly true for Black founders, who routinely struggle to raise funds, be noticed and get their fair share of attention.

3 Black founders predict little will change in VC in 2023

As the fundraising climate reverts to pre-pandemic levels, Black founders discuss how they're preparing for next year.

TechCrunch wants to hear Black founders’ stories of VC fundraising

Use the embedded form to tell us your stories of success, failures and the obstacles you've faced as a Black founder.

Black startup founders raised just $187 million in the third quarter

Black founders raised just 0.43% of the nearly $43 billion deployed in Q3.

New Jersey announces $10M seed fund aimed at Black and Latinx founders

Today, in a twist, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has announced a proposal for a $10 million allocation in the state budget to create a seed fund for Black and Latinx startups, TechCrunch has learned