Google is awarding Black and Latino startup founders who are disrupting the artificial intelligence (AI) space.
The tech giant established the Google for Startups Founders Funds to ensure Black and Latino entrepreneurs receive financial assistance and necessary support to influence multiple sectors. According to information provided to AFROTECH™, each recipient will receive $150,000 in non-dilutive cash awards and $100,000 in Google Cloud credits.
Recipients also receive mental health resources and mentorship from Google’s experts across AI and sales.
This is Google’s fifth year in funding, and it has allocated more than $50 million to 570 Black and Latino founders. Moreover, founders who received funding support have later secured more than $590 million in additional investments.
Google has unveiled its latest round of recipients, whose work encompasses using AI in preventative wildfires, keeping fast fashion out of landfills, and education.
The 2024 Google for Startups cohort includes Manny Smith, the founder of EdVisorly, a platform to help community college students transfer to 4-year colleges and universities through its mobile app. Seke Ballard is also listed for his AI-powered company Beta Financial Systems, which helps small businesses connect with opportunities to access capital.
Additional companies listed include Hue, a Software-as-a-Service platform; Akeptus, a smart home energy management system; Bountiful, an agricultural tech company; Hacware, an email security awareness platform; and Improving Aviation, a company providing AI and emerging vehicle technologies to enhance public safety, aviation, and wildfire management operation.
“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.”
