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Tru Skye Ventures, co-founded by Metta World Peace, has invested in a new sports technology company. According to its website, Tru Skye Ventures is a $100 million fund for sport-tech innovation, fan engagement, health, and wellness companies established in partnership with Stephen Stokols. On March 4, 2025, it was announced that FanUp, a fantasy sports and pop culture platform that has 2.3 million global fans, largely Gen Z (86%) and women (55%), closed a strategic financing round led by Tru Skye Ventures and 9.58 Ventures, co-founded by Fred Toney and Omar Sillah. American tennis star Frances Tiafoe and general partners—NFL safety Jalen Mills, NFL linebacker Deion Jones, and NBA assistant coach David Vanterpool—also participated in the round, according to a news release shared with AFROTECH™. “I’m thrilled to welcome powerhouse partners like Tru Skye Ventures and 9.58 Ventures to our strategic round,” FanUp Founder and CEO Tejas Bodiwala said in a news release. “Collectively, we’ll...
After her first business failed, Carolyn Rodz is now making it her mission to help other entrepreneurs succeed. Rodz was an investment banker for JPMorgan Chase between 2001 and 2005, per her LinkedIn. After exiting her job, she ventured into entrepreneurship , but that did not fare well, leading her to reenter the workforce. Although this was a trying time, it did not deter her from entrepreneurship altogether — she launched Cake, a digital media company, in 2009 and exited in 2015 — and it paved a pathway of opportunity for a wider community. “I knew very little about starting a company and my first business failed,” Rodz said in an interview with the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast. “I went back to work, paid off debts, licked my wounds for a bit, started a second company that I ultimately sold, ran it very differently with the lessons that I learned and feel very fortunate that I got to start over again because many people don’t have that opportunity. I was young and single and...
Snoop Dogg is going where the money is. Snoop Dogg, who acquired Death Row Records in 2022, shared the low payout he received from streaming. After receiving 1 billion streams on Spotify, he recalls being compensated only $45,000, as AFROTECH™ previously told you. “In the streaming world, I can show you right now. They just sent me some sh-t from Spotify, where I got a billion streams, right? My publisher hit me. I said, ‘Break that down, how much money is that?’ That sh-t wasn’t even $45,000… You see what I’m saying? So it’s like…when this sh-t came out, I could tell an artist that same song that you put out traditionally that didn’t make no money, give it to me. Every time you sell it if somebody else sells it you get 10% of it,” Snoop said on the “Business Untitled” podcast. However, in response, a Spotify spokesperson said: “We can’t speak to endorsement deals for Web3 companies but…$45,000 for a billion streams? It’s well documented that a billion streams on Spotify generates...
African fintech platform Mansa has secured new funding. Mansa, founded in 2023 by Mouloukou Sanoh (CEO) and Nkiru Uwaje (COO), enables seamless cross-border payments and instant transactions for its customers. Its offerings include competitive exchange rates, virtual card processing to support cash flow management, and automated matching of financial transactions to bank statements. This is made possible by leveraging a stablecoin infrastructure, its website mentions. “We’re starting by being the primary liquidity provider to the biggest payment companies across emerging markets,” Sanoh explained to TechCrunch. “From there, we can handle payouts and also offer additional services like foreign exchange. The goal is to create a one-stop payment platform where they can finance their payments, settle transactions instantly, and access foreign currency seamlessly — all in one place.” The inception of Mansa, based in Dubai, UAE, originated from Sanoh experiencing issues receiving money...
Breakr continues to find new ways to improve the creator economy. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the platform was created by Historically Black College and University (HBCU) alums and brothers Anthony and Ameer Brown to ensure artists can connect with brands and agencies and establish creative campaigns they are compensated for. With an early focus on music, Breakr partnered with BMG and Sony Music and built a roster of clients that included Ye (formerly Kanye West), Young Thug, Megan Thee Stallion, Rick Ross, Future, and Gunna. Additionally, Nas is involved not only as an artist on the platform but also as an investor. He participated in a $4.2 million seed round led by Slow Ventures in 2021. Breakr has expanded its scope beyond the music industry, adding partners such as Hershey, Billboard, Celsius, Samsung, and UMG, information shared with AFROTECH™ notes. In 2022, 30,000 creators had onboarded onto its platform. In 2025, that number has more than doubled, reaching a community...
Fintech platform Raenest has raised new funding to support African businesses. The company, founded in 2022 by Victor Alade, Sodruldeen Mustapha, and Richard Oyome, offers a range of services, including virtual and physical dollar cards, international transfers, invoicing for global payments, the ability to create USD, GBP, and EUR bank accounts, and currency conversion, among other features listed on its website. Raenest’s original platform was structured as an Employer of Record (EOR), helping foreign companies pay employees on the continent while remaining compliant, TechCrunch reports. The founders recognized a deeper-rooted issue, leading them to update Raenest to assist the continent’s gig economy and businesses directly. “A U.S. company might not care if a payment is delayed by five days, but for someone in Nigeria or Kenya, that’s a big deal — especially when converting to local currency becomes another hurdle,” Alade told TechCrunch. Looking ahead, Raenest intends to secure...
Saquon Barkley has expanded his portfolio ahead of Super Bowl LIX, set for Feb. 9, 2025. The running back, wearing a No. 26 Philadelphia Eagles jersey, is heading to New Orleans, LA, to face the Kansas City Chiefs — a rematch of the 2022 Super Bowl matchup, ESNP reports. Barkley has combined his passion for sports and business and will be featured in a Super Bowl ad for Ramp, a financial operations platform that provides exclusive perks to over 30,000 customers. These perks include smart accounts payable, which processes bills in seconds, corporate cards, vendor management, procurement, travel booking, and automated bookkeeping. Customers have saved upwards of $2 billion through Ramp, CEO and Co-Founder Eric Glyman mentioned in a press release. For these reasons, Barkley is not only endorsing the company through the commercial but is now an investor in the platform, the press release reported. “I’ve always believed a winning mindset applies to every part of life. If you want to...
Hip-Hop icon RAKIM is aligning himself with artificial intelligence (AI). According to a news release, the rapper, who released the studio album “G.O.D.’s Network” in 2024, is now the founder of the fintech platform Notes Technology, which will benefit artists by providing them access to loan and credit providers to fund creative projects, AI-powered education around financial literacy and entrepreneurship, and fintech tools to manage capital and income. By merging music, finance, and technology, Notes seeks to empower artists with the tools they need to succeed and maintain control over their careers. “With Notes, getting ‘paid in full’ is beyond just the money, it’s also about the knowledge and understanding of the urban music game from a position of being conscious of how it all works as a business, and how to leverage that to thrive and succeed as independent urban music artists and creators,” RAKIM said in a statement shared on the company website. Notes Technology’s other...
In an unexpected twist, following President Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration, Instagram and Facebook users began noticing their accounts automatically following official profiles of the new administration, including Vice President JD Vance and First Lady Melania Trump. For many, this raised alarms about their control over their social media accounts and Meta’s evolving relationship with political power. ‘I Didn’t Sign Up for This’: The Backlash According to Yahoo News, social media lit up with frustrated users who claimed their accounts were now following President Trump, Vice President Vance, and First Lady Melania without their consent. The sentiment was clear: users were uneasy, especially as trust in social media platforms continues to be scrutinized. Meta’s Explanation: Procedural or Problematic? Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, quickly responded, attributing the issue to standard procedure. According to the company, users who had previously followed the...
Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. Last week, the Chinese social app RedNote grew in popularity as a potential TikTok replacement . As TikTok users waited for the Supreme Court to rule on the ban, they quickly migrated to the platform. The app became number one in the Apple App Store, with thousands of American users joining. Users have mistakenly referred to RedNote as the Chinese version of TikTok, but the platform is more akin to Instagram. RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu in China, launched in 2013 as a shopping platform. Like many apps, it serves as a default search engine for content on makeup, fashion, travel, and lifestyle tips. Users can post photos and videos in a similar fashion to Instagram Reels and TikTok. The migration from TikTok to RedNote has become a protest statement in the wake of the U.S. government’s ban on TikTok. Initially, calls to ban the app began with President Donald Trump in 2020 before being passed...
As the U.S. government inches closer to banning TikTok, its millions of American users are left with pressing questions: Will the app still work? What happens to creators and businesses that rely on it? And what’s the truth behind those rumors about Elon Musk buying the platform? Let’s break down what this potential ban means for TikTok users — and what steps they can take to prepare. Will TikTok Still Work After The Ban? If no one intervenes and the ban goes into effect, TikTok will be removed from app stores like Google Play and the Apple App Store. While current users may still have access to the app, CBS News reports that one likelihood is that they won’t receive updates, which will likely lead to significant performance issues over time. Without updates, key features like bug fixes, video uploads, editing tools, and personalized content recommendations may falter. There’s also the possibility that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) could block TikTok’s servers entirely, making...
HBCU graduates Terry Comer and Khalil Thompson have secured new funding for their work in the NIL space. In 2021, the pair, who had an interest in college sports, united to launch NIL FanBox, marketed as the only “university-approved, player-endorsed recurring collectibles platform.” It works by sending sports fans 100% authenticated collectibles from their favorite college athletes. Its website mentions that the curated box includes three to five signed collectibles, a “Golden Ticket,” exclusive player merchandise, and digital authentication. One of its partnerships, with The University of Texas at Austin, resulted in the Longhorn FanBox, which is valued at $199 each football season and energizes fans by including “ultra-rare” collectibles and “behind the moment” interviews. Photo Credit: NIL FanBox While NIL FanBox certainly benefits fans, it also supports athletes by allocating a portion of its revenue back to them. NIL FanBox returns more than 30% of its revenue to participating...
Users are already looking to find new social homes to replace TikTok. Is TikTok Going Away? As AFROTECH™ previously told you, the platform is on the brink of a potential ban following President Joe Biden’s signing of a law in April 2024, which requires ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, to sell the platform to a U.S.-based company within a year “For years, the Chinese government has sought to build detailed profiles about Americans – where we live and work, who are friends and coworkers are, what our interests are, and what our vices are,” Elizabeth Barchas Prelogar, the 48th Solicitor General of the United States, told the Supreme Court during a hearing on Friday Jan. 10, 2025, according to CNN. She also stated TikTok’s “immense data set” gives China “a powerful tool for harassment, recruitment and espionage.” If ByteDance refuses those terms, the application will no longer be available in the United States on Jan. 19, 2025. “Absent such relief, the Act will take effect on Jan. 19,...
Taking into consideration its network of entrepreneurs, T.D. Jakes Enterprises has launched an accessible marketplace. In 2023, the social impact holding company set out to support underrepresented entrepreneurs by addressing a critical gap. Despite the efforts of stakeholders driving meaningful change, there were no centralized systems or platforms to provide comprehensive resources. This need inspired the launch of the Good Soil Movement in April 2023. “What we didn’t find was one centralized space where entrepreneurs can not only network but actually get access to capital, access to back office support, legal help, accounting support, business plan development, understanding where they fall on the capital continuum… So out of that, we created Good Soil,” Michael Phillips, chief operations officer of T.D. Jakes Enterprises, told AFROTECH™. Nourysh Good Soil has set an ambitious goal: to empower 1 million small business owners to generate $1 million in revenue each. To advance this...
Seasoned tech executive Omar Johnson is leveraging his experience to revolutionize how brands market themselves. Raised in Brooklyn, NY, Johnson’s exposure to technology was initially limited to video games and consumer electronics. However, his inquisitiveness grew and ultimately helped him secure roles with major tech giants. “A lot of my curiosity was sort of like self-driven,” he told AFROTECH™ in an interview. Tech Journey Johnson’s interests also lay in marketing, leading him to earn an MBA from Emory University in 2004. Following a brief stint at Campbell Soup Company as an associate brand manager, he transitioned to roles with brands such as Coca-Cola and Nike. At the latter, he began as an assistant brand manager before being promoted to content manager of advising and innovation, which remained his focus. “Find the most important things that the company is betting on for the future and work on those things,” Johnson explained. “I always had that sort of lean when I was at...