Google’s Black Founders Fund announced on Tuesday that it’s awarding $5 million to 76 Black founders.
In a blog post on Google’s website, Jewel Burks Solomon, Head of Google for Startups U.S., reiterated that these investments are “non-dilutive, meaning that unlike most investments, founders are not giving up any ownership in their company in exchange for funding.”
She also added: “Racial equity is inextricably linked to economic opportunity around the world, and that’s why we’ve also announced funding to support Black founders in Brazil and across Europe.”
According to TechCrunch, all the selected startups had previously participated in Google’s Founder Academy in Atlanta, a program for Georgia-based startups, or are connected to Google’s startup community. Burks Solomon also told TechCrunch Google “didn’t open it outside of our network because we want to be able to offer support, in addition to the funding.”
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) reports that at least 35 of the startups selected are based in Georgia.
