TLDR:
Black Tech Nation Ventures, the venture capital arm of nonprofit Black Tech Nation, has closed a $50 million fund to support marginalized founders in Pittsburgh and beyond. The goal is to bring companies to Pittsburgh, with a focus on supporting Black, Latinx, female, indigenous, and LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs. The firm is backed by major investors such as Alphabet and Bank of America.
Atiya Irvin-Mitchell reports that BTNV has a history of backing startups like Kloopify and EMTECH and is now looking to support the next generation of promising startups. With only about 1% of venture capital dollars in 2021 going to Black founders, BTNV is aiming to address this disparity by intentionally seeking out and funding underrepresented entrepreneurs.
The firm provides pre-seed and seed funding ranging from $250,000 to $1 million and hopes to attract companies to Pittsburgh while also encouraging existing companies to remain in the city. The current goal is for 25% of the companies BTNV backs to be Pittsburgh-based, although only 1 out of 11 currently fits that criteria.
Overall, closing on this $50 million fund is seen as a significant milestone for the Pittsburgh tech ecosystem and a statement that Black entrepreneurs are worthy of investment, according to cofounder Kelauni Jasmyn.
