For startups, securing funding is a fundamental yet challenging task- over 90% of startups fail to acquire enough capital to get off the ground. Fortunately, equity financing offers early-stage companies a compelling funding avenue. Equity funding works by selling ownership shares in exchange for investor capital, allocating a portion of the company’s equity to external backers. This structure allows ambitious startups to raise substantial financing without burdensome debt. The process involves several funding rounds like Series A, B, C, D, and E. These various rounds of financing that startups or companies go through are to raise capital from investors at different stages of their growth journey. Each round represents a stage of development, and the funding obtained in each round helps the company achieve specific objectives and milestones . Seed Funding Before Series A, B, C, D, and E funding, there is seed funding. Seed funding refers to the initial stage of capital funding for a...

In the classic movie “Soul Food,” all of the occurrences are centered around the matriarch of the family, Mama Joe. She is the anchor for her three daughters, who went on to lead lives of their own but still very much so depend on her wisdom and guidance. As the plot would have it, Mama Joe had diabetes and was stubborn about taking her medicine and taking the necessary steps to prioritize her health. Left with few options, she has to have her leg amputated to deal with her health issues. However, Mama Joe’s family was left in the dark concerning the severity of her health issues. This issue is not a new phenomenon, as many families have dealt with surprising truths regarding their loved one’s health. At this intersection of health and wellness is where Intus Care pulls up. Intus Care is a “healthcare analytics platform that synthesizes healthcare data to identify risks, visualize trends, and optimize care.” AfroTech spoke with Evan Jackson and Robbie Felton to learn more about how...

When AfroTech last spoke with Forbes 30 Under 30 Black Honorees Brandon Hill and Tremaine Kirkman, their startup Vori had secured $5.7 million in funding. This year, the digital B2B wholesale app has raised even more capital to disrupt the grocery industry.

Mike Tyson’s venture into the cannabis space is proving to be successful.

To advance maternal and pediatric care, Cayaba Care has announced new funding. According to a press release sent to AfroTech, the Black-owned health startup has raised $12 million in a Series A funding round. The funding was led by Seae Ventures and Kapor Capital. Wellington Partners, Citi Impact Fund, and Rhia Ventures also participated in the round. To date, the company has raised $15 million with return investments from 100 percent of its institutional seed round funders including Digitalis Ventures, SteelSky Ventures, and Flare Capital.

Once Beyoncé dropped her sixth studio album in 2016, “lemonade” was one of the biggest buzzwords of the year. While the project’s title served as a metaphor, the music legend has now invested in the drink itself — sort of. Beyoncé has made an investment in Lemon Perfect — a hydrating flavored lemon water brand — Forbes reports.

Bitcoin rewards company Lolli has announced a raise of $5 million for its pre-Series A funding round from a slew of notable investors, including tennis superstar Serena Williams. Both Lolli and Williams share common interests in financial empowerment and inclusion, which are the main reasons why the bitcoin rewards platform was able to garner support from her and her team. “I’m excited to announce my investment in Lolli, a company on a mission to make bitcoin more accessible,” Williams said in a statement. “Earning and owning bitcoin is a step towards financial inclusivity for all people.” Along with Williams’ investment company Serena Ventures, the round also features her husband Alexis Ohanian’s management company Seven Seven Six and Night Media, as well as other influential investors such as Casey Neistat, Phil DeFranco, Cody Ko, Noel Miller, Ian Borthwick and Gabriel Leydon, Coindesk reports. Last year, Lolli attracted participation from popular figures Michelle Phan and Ashton...

Payment technology company Promise secured more than $20 million in a Series A funding round last month. With this fresh investment, the company’s co-founder and CEO Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins told AfroTech that she has big growth plans moving forward. Promise launched in 2017 and its original focus at that time was creating payment technology for the criminal justice system to help scale bail reform. Ellis-Lamkins said the company did that for about a year and a half before making a pivot after participating in Y Combinator’s Spring 2018 cohort. Promise has since created a payment solution that makes customizable plans and offers digital payment options to users who need to make government payments like parking tickets, child support, utilities and more. Ellis-Lamkins said this idea came to her when she was in New Orleans and realized people were in jail for simple parking tickets. She realized the same issue was happening in Oakland, where her company is based. After doing some...