A venture capital firm has put together a dream team, and its new additions only add to its high-profile status.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Nascar driver Bubba Wallace are the newest additions to join the long list of athletes a part of a fund by the firm Andreessen Horowitz.
No Games With These Investors
Andreessen Horowitz, also known as a16z, announced the launch of its third Cultural Leadership Fund. This fund aims to assist the growth of Black wealth through the ownership of future technology companies. According to Forbes, other athletes a part of the fund are NBA player Blake Griffin, NFL running back Leonard Fournette, and WBNA stars Nneka Ogwumike and Maya Moore.
The fund also includes musical artists Pharrell Williams and The Weeknd.
The fund includes various tech startups and targets Black influencers across industries like music, business, and sports for its investment portfolios.
Since 2018, the fund has raised over $60 million. A part of the fund’s investment portfolio includes equity stakes in video game developer Roblox, publishing platform Substack, and blockchain company Dapper Labs.
Changing The Narrative
Intending to promote Black wealth in tech, one of the hopes of the fund is to help alleviate the gap, noting only 7.4 percent of Black people make up the tech workforce.
Wallace called the Cultural Leadership Fund (CLF) “important work.” He also noted that the purpose is to amplify opportunities and “access and equity for Black communities in tech.”
During its initial fund in 2018, CLF had Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant and music legends Diddy, Nas, and Quincy Jones as investors. The second funding round for CLF was in June 2021.
Currently, a16z reports that it has over $33 billion in assets under management.
