Google Announces Its Latest Investment In Black Founders – Essence

Google has rolled out its list of recipients of its 2024 Google for Startups Founders Funds for Black and Latino entrepreneurs.

This focused on AI-centered startups. Each founder will receive $150,000 in non-dilutive cash awards and $100,000 in Google Cloud credits to help with operational growth. businesses. Additionally, the founders will receive mental health resources and mentorship from Google experts.

“AI can enable startups to build transformative products and solve complex challenges, but founders need access to capital to realize this potential,” said Maya Kulycky, Vice President of Strategy and Operations at Google Research in a news release. “Through the Google for Startups Founders Funds, we are proud to invest in promising Black and Latino founders who are leveraging AI technology to help address some of today’s most pressing issues. We are inspired by the groundbreaking work of these founders and their potential to shape the future of AI.”

Some of the recipients include Akeptus, a smart home energy management system company, Beta Financial Services, a Chicago-based company that aims to remove human bias from deposit and lending services and Bountiful an agricultural tech company that helps farmers understand what impacts crop production in the field and at scale.

“Google believes that racial equity is inextricably linked to economic opportunity,” Google says in a statement. “The company created the Founders Funds to help level the playing field for Black and Latino entrepreneurs who are consistently locked out of access to early capital. Today’s announcement builds on the program’s success to date—since 2020, Google has deployed more than $50M to Black and Latino founders around the world. These founders have raised over $590 million in follow-on funding.”