![]() ![]() “We are focused on addressing financial inclusion across the globe, and Collide Capital has been an investor in us from the early days. With Amazon’s investments, these VC funds expect to support hundreds more companies and, in turn, help create more jobs and unlock economic growth in historically underserved communities. Investors from the VC funds supported by Amazon have supported hundreds of underrepresented startup founders. The fund is part of the Techstars investment business that provides access to capital, one-on-one mentorship, and customized programming for early-stage entrepreneurs. ![]() Techstars Rising Stars Fund-With its first investments in 2022, the Rising Stars Fund is a pre-seed venture capital fund investing in underrepresented founders of color in the U.S.Share focuses on solving problems by creating and investing in innovative companies that unlock human potential in categories including health tech, future of work, people tech, fintech, transportation, and purpose tech (companies facilitating impact and change). Share Ventures-Share Ventures is a Los Angeles-based venture fund and venture foundry focused on human performance.Elevate will also collaborate closely with Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund which invests in emerging climate technology companies. It will also make investments in companies that are led by underrepresented entrepreneurs, are empowering diverse talent, and/or are creating economic opportunity for distressed or disadvantaged communities. Elevate Future Fund-Elevate Future Fund, which is overseen by Energy Impact Partners, focuses on increasing funding to underrepresented founders working on solutions to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable and clean energy future.To date, Collide Capital has backed over 40 companies, of which over 80% are led by Black, Latino, and/or female founders. Collide Capital-Collide Capital is a Black-owned seed and pre-seed venture capital fund led by two founders: Aaron Samuels, who co-founded AfroTech, and Brian Hollins, who is a founding board member of BLCK VC.Through this initiative, Amazon has invested in the following funds: Despite these challenges, diverse and inclusive teams are 75% more likely to see ideas become products and 70% more likely to serve new categories. Research shows that these inequities create a negative ripple effect for underrepresented entrepreneurs, including reduced access to networks, mentors, and sponsors. venture capital funding last year, as reported by Crunchbase News. Similarly, Black-founded startups attracted only 1% and Latino-founded startups attracted only 2% of U.S. According to PitchBook, women founders received 2% of U.S. Studies consistently show that Black, Latino, women, Indigenous and LGBTQIA+ startup founders are underrepresented across the total number of funded startups. Historically, underrepresented founders have had less access to startup venture capital and greater difficulties in securing funding to bring ideas to fruition. Amazon teams will also work with the startups to identify partnership and product collaboration opportunities that could accelerate their growth. In addition to capital, the companies in the funds’ portfolios will receive mentorship from Amazon executives and gain access to resources to support their business and technical strategy. “We hope that our investment will be catalytic-sparking a force-multiplying effect by inspiring others to invest in these companies, fostering inclusion and innovation, positively impacting communities, and creating generational wealth and financial return."įounder and CEO of fintech startup EMTECH We want to ensure that these companies and their founders have the same access to capital as anyone else," said Peter Krawiec, Amazon’s senior vice president of worldwide corporate development. “We’ve seen incredibly innovative ideas from underrepresented entrepreneurs-from companies offering inclusive health services for women to startups helping companies mitigate climate impact for underserved communities-and we’re convinced that an inclusive investment strategy leads to better returns and innovation. Amazon expects to support more than 10 funds and over 200 companies through the next year. The company will invest in funds that focus on Black, Latino, Indigenous, women, and LGBTQIA+ founders. Amazon is launching Amazon Catalytic Capital, a new initiative to invest $150 million into venture capital (VC) funds, accelerators, incubators, and venture studios that provide funding to entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds, primarily at the pre-seed/seed stage of venture capital funding. ![]()
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