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Black Tech Nation Ventures, the venture capital arm of nonprofit Black Tech Nation, began March by closing on a $50 million inaugural fund. It will use the money to make Pittsburgh a haven for Black technologists and entrepreneurs, according to cofounder Kelauni Jasmyn.
“I think the entire goal is to not only for folks in the city but for those outside of Pittsburgh,” Jasmyn told Technical.ly. “Really folks of all backgrounds to potentially receive support or access and funding to build their ideas.“
The Pittsburgh-based venture firm, founded in 2021, has always hoped BTNV could fill in the gaps for marginalized founders when it comes to gaining capital.
Over the years, BTNV has backed startups such as Kloopify (one of Technical.ly’s 2022 RealLIST Startups), fintech company EMTECH, mobile vendor Goodfynd, and other companies based in Atlanta, Boston, District of Columbia, Indianapolis and New York.
Now, Jasmyn said the venture firm is eager to support the next generation of promising startups, with a focus on supporting Black, Latinx, female, indigenous and LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs building tech companies.
Only about 1% of venture capital dollars in 2021 went to Black founders, according to Crunchbase.
