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In 2025, America’s higher education landscape is being reshaped by a wave of federal funding cuts and political pressure from the Trump administration. Universities across the country are under scrutiny, not only for how they handle civil rights issues but also for their participation in diversity and inclusion initiatives. As a result, many schools have already begun scaling back their scholarship offerings , cutting graduate research funding and even laying off staff. This shift marks one of the most significant challenges to U.S. higher education in decades, particularly affecting institutions that rely heavily on federal research grants. With billions of dollars in play and political agendas now influencing financial support, students and faculty alike are facing an uncertain future. The Federal Clampdown On Higher Education (RUT MIIT/Unsplash) The Trump administration’s approach to federal funding has caused ripples across nearly every sector of higher education . Historically,...
Growth Warrior Capital has raised new funding to support enterprise companies being fueled by artificial intelligence (AI). The operator-led venture firm, which invests in early-stage Enterprise AI companies, was created by Promise Phelon, a former Silicon Valley tech CEO with more than 15 years of experience as an angel investor. According to a news release shared with AFROTECH™, her career trajectory has led to an expansive network , some of whom have now invested in Growth Warrior Capital’s first fund, which totals $26 million. Limited partners include Ho Nam and Han Kim (Altos VC) and well as Seth Levine and Brad Feld (Foundry). Amazon Catalytic Capital, Bank of America, Bessemer Venture Partners, Pivotal Ventures, and more are also listed as limited partners. “My goal is to be the first VC fund of significant scale run by a woman of color,” Phelon, founder and managing partner, said in a news release. “We have the backing of VC industry legends, and their support is proof of...
The Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs (RICE), dedicated to expanding opportunities for Black entrepreneurs in Atlanta, GA, and beyond, has received a $2 million donation from The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. According to a news release, Blank’s donation will help the center move forward with RICE 2.0, a hub for innovation, collaboration, and economic empowerment that will provide essential resources for Black business founders, including small business grants, expanded programming, and mentorship opportunities. “This investment reflects our chairman’s entrepreneurial journey and his commitment to giving back to Atlanta, a city that has given him so much,” Blank Foundation President Fay Twersky said. “RICE’s extraordinary work supporting entrepreneurs creates pathways to economic mobility and opportunity. By investing in entrepreneurs at all stages, we’re fostering collective thriving where individual success strengthens entire communities.” In 1978, Arthur Blank...
Tisha Thompson is among the 2% of female founders who have successfully secured funding. Thompson launched LYS Beauty in 2021, a clean color cosmetics brand designed to serve a diverse range of skin tones and types, according to its website. Her journey in the beauty industry began during college when she worked as a makeup artist to support her education while studying accounting, Fortune reports. After earning her degree, she secured an accounting role at PÜR Cosmetics, where she quickly advanced through the ranks, eventually becoming VP of Marketing and Innovation. “During my tenure there, I wore a lot of hats, similar to what I do now as a startup founder. I helped to innovate clean beauty product development, supported brand management and marketing, and also oversaw finance and operations,” she told the outlet. Now, Thompson is successfully leading her own business and has stacked on wins since. This includes making history as the first Black-owned clean makeup brand to launch...
Black Economic Alliance Entrepreneurs Fund has reached the halfway point of its funding goal. The fund was launched by the Black Economic Alliance Foundation, which is led by Executive Vice President Alaina Beverly, to create generational wealth for the Black community, working alongside public, private, and social sectors to accomplish this goal, its website notes. Samantha Tweedy is CEO of the coalition behind this effort, Black Economic Alliance, which is made up of “business leaders and aligned advocates.” In 2021, the Washington, DC-based foundation established the Black Economic Alliance Entrepreneurs Fund LP to further its mission and has since onboarded venture capitalist Melissa Bradley, to lead its investment strategy, according to The Business Journals. Bradley was previously recognized as a AFROTECH™ Future 50 Dynamic Investor and founded 1863 Ventures, which provided business development programs, coaching, mentorship, and access to capital primarily for new...
Although Wally Amos didn’t set out to build a world-class brand, his creation has stood the test of time, leaving a lasting legacy. The beloved Famous Amos, with its signature bite-sized cookies inspired by Amos’ family recipe, launched in 1975 in a storefront on Los Angeles, CA’s Sunset Boulevard. When the store opened, his son, Shawn, was just seven years old, and he was one of its workers. “He worked in the back, and I worked in the front, and literally the two of us were tearing this place apart, building it, and opening it up. I learned the value of work, of just that all you have at the end of the day is work,” Shawn told AFROTECH™. “He wasn’t looking to create a worldwide brand or be an icon. He just wanted to open up a store selling cookies and make a living. And he really valued the work and took pride in the work.” The store’s launch was made possible through a $25,000 loan from notable entertainers such as Marvin Gaye and Helen Reddy. For years, Wally had been sharing his...
The efforts of a financial institution created to fund underserved farmers is being put on pause. According to a news release, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced in October 2024 the launch of the Southern Farmers Financial Association (SFFA), a bank that would make it easier for underserved farmers to access funding. Black farmers, in particular, face greater challenges in securing loans and often encounter discriminatory practices, Civil Eats mentions. To create better outcomes, Southern Farmers Financial Association r eceived $20 million in funding through former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris’ Inflation Reduction Act, which would support lending and outreach, hiring full-time staff, and attracting private sector capital. “Every farmer needs affordable financing. Farmers must have reliable and consistent access to capital to be successful,” USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development Dr. Basil Gooden said in a news release. “For too...
New funding has been raised for an online learning platform helping students avoid the debt of college. Campus was created by Tade Oyerinde, also its chancellor, to provide quality education to students through accredited, career-focused degree programs led by professors from top higher learning institutions such as Stanford University, University of California – Los Angeles , and Howard University. According to its website, Campus offers online associates degrees in business administration and business administration with applied artificial intelligence (AI) concentration to participants nationally. For its Sacramento, CA, campus, it has specific offerings for students in-state such as an associate’s degree in paralegal studies as well as one in AWS cloud administration. This campus also provides certification in medical assisting, medical billing and coding, phlebotomy, technical support, barbering and cosmetology, and other programs for California residents. Furthermore, to...
Los Angeles, CA-based venture capital firm Slauson & Co. has announced a new cohort of its Friends & Family program. According to its website, the Friends & Family program benefits founders of emerging category-defining businesses across various sectors, including artificial intelligence (AI) , consumer technology, health and wellness, and fintech . The initiative offers essential capital, connections, and community support to help the founders advance business operations, attract investment, and connect with like-minded individuals in its early stages. On Wednesday, March 19, 2025, the firm announced 10 founders selected from over 800 applications, including Ballin AI, which provides AI-powered scouting and recruiting tools for athletes and athletic departments worldwide, and Coblr, a streamlined platform that connects fashion repair shops, brands, and consumers to unlock the $700 billion circular fashion market. “I couldn’t be more excited to learn from, and grow alongside, this...
Tyler Perry has provided great financial relief for 85-year-old Anniece Tisdale. According to WSMV-4, Tisdale hired an unlicensed contractor to renovate her East Nashville, TN, home to accommodate her disability and growing family. However, the project took a turn for the worse when the contractor abandoned it altogether after not meeting completion expectations. Tisdale was then left with a home unsafe to live in and thousands of dollars lost. After an interview with the local news station, Tisdale was asked by Sherri Shepherd to appear on her “Sherri” talk show, and was joined by her daughter, Yolanda, who revealed that at least $180,000 had been invested into the home renovation project. Yolanda and her husband both took out personal loans and pooled from savings and credit cards to gather the funds. Yolanda also helped to refinance her mom’s mortgage to pay for the $200,000 in renovations. “We signed the contract in January. We were supposed to be f inished March 31. It was a...
There were some initial hesitations around Unrivaled’s 3-on-3 women’s basketball league, but that has not stopped it from attracting notable investors. Unrivaled is a startup founded in 2023 by WNBA players Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, its business model is unprecedented, offering the highest salaries in women’s sports and granting participating players an equity stake in the league. Its concept has proven to be a success among its players. “Everybody got equity coming into this league, that’s the most important thing…I know five years from now this thing is gonna be bigger than ever,” Angel Reese from Unrivaled’s Rose BC team shared during a virtual press conference held in January. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rose BC (@rosebc) The potential of Unrivaled was not understood by all. In fact, Collier recalls receiving various “no’s” during the league’s inception. “It was hard because you think the same thing like, ‘Oh, I’m an...
President Donald Trump has laid off various staffers working at the Department of Education. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, President Trump had interest in dismantling the department. This would greatly reduce its role in the country’s education, which includes managing $1.6 trillion in federal student loan programs, overseeing K-12 school grants, and implementing civil rights law for federally funded schools. “This is an assault on every young American who went to public school like me,” Ro Khanna, U.S. representative from California’s 17th congressional district, said during a February news conference in San Jose, CA. “This is an assault on every American family who has someone who is disabled and needs the IDEA (The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) program to provide education. This is an assault on every neighborhood in America that has a public school that gets Title 1 funding.” He continued, “This is an assault on every child who gets school lunches in America....
Calaxy wants creators to become more independent. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Calaxy is the brainchild of tech entrepreneur Solo Ceesay and NBA star Spencer Dinwiddie. It serves as a social marketplace where users can create more meaningful experiences to engage their fans. With the added benefit of direct-to-consumer monetization, Calaxy eliminates the need to rely solely on brand and advertising deals. In 2022, Calaxy raised $26 million in a funding round led by The HBAR Foundation and Animoca Brands, with participation from Polygon. A portion of the funding was dedicated to expanding into the Web3 space. Calaxy has since developed “Worlds, ” allowing creators on the decentralized social marketplace to customize no-code apps. These apps enable creators to set up shops to sell subscriptions and digital experiences directly to fans and customers, otherwise known as the “population.” Additionally, creators can access wallets that store cryptocurrencies and NFTs, according to...
Founder Erica Plybeah responded to an inconvenience with an innovative solution that improves the quality of life for patients needing medical transport. Established in 2017, she launched MedHaul to provide safe and reliable non-emergency medical transportation to individuals, regardless of their needs, per her LinkedIn. The company was inspired by her personal challenges in finding dependable transportation for her grandmother’s medical appointments in Memphis, TN, according to its website. Her grandmother has type-2 diabetes with a double-leg amputation. Living in an underserved area also limited access to transportation, and Plybeah wanted to lower this barrier for others, which motivated her to establish MedHaul, a company that works alongside healthcare facilities, research facilities, and community organizations to ensure people have access to medical transportation. Its technology is also helpful for healthcare providers to book medical transportation appointments that can...
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...