Venture firm Ulu Ventures has raised $208 million to support diverse founders.
WSJ Pro reports that the VC firm founded by Miriam Rivera and her husband, Clint Korver, has invested in companies where 80% have a white co-founder. However, an equal 80% share also has at least one founder who is an immigrant, a woman, or from a minority group.
Since its inception in 2008, this initiative has supported 250 startups, leveraging a data-driven approach to minimize cognitive bias and foster inclusive investment across all demographics.
“Venture capital has so many decision-making problems when it comes to bias, diversity, disdain for data and analytics, hubris, misapplication of pattern-matching, and so on, that we feel like the one-eyed VCs in the land of the blind,” Korver told the outlet.
The couple acknowledges a shift due to the changing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) landscape. Major companies are throwing in the towel and dismantling DEI commitments, with some erasing related terms from websites and annual reports. Companies stepping back from DEI include Google, Pepsi, and Amazon.
This is a result of pressure from conservative parties, including President Donald Trump’s administration, which has stated “DEI creates and then amplifies prejudicial hostility and exacerbates interpersonal conflict,” per ABC News. Trump also signed an executive order immediately upon resuming his post as the 47th president of the United States on Jan. 20, titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Referencing.”
As previously reported by AFROTECH™, this has contributed to a growing list of companies scaling back or rebranding their DEI departments and programs, with PBS being the latest to close its DEI offices.
However, Ulu Ventures intends to continue carrying its standard in supporting diverse groups.
“We want to be an example of how to do it thoughtfully; we don’t want to be a target,” Maria Salamanca, a partner at Ulu, commented, according to WSJ Pro.
The firm has already surpassed $400 million in funds under management. Its latest $208 million raise, supported by limited partners, is the largest by a VC firm led by a Latina woman in U.S. history, according to Ulu. However, reaching this milestone was not easy. Though changes in the DEI landscape were a contributor, other factors included bank failures and the declining crypto market.
“When there’s a threat of a trade war, when there’s high inflation and high volatility, people tend to rely on heuristics and biases and miss analytical properties that they may otherwise see,” Korver mentioned. “Ulu Ventures is leaning into its data-driven process and continuing to stay focused.”
