New York-based female-led VC firm BBG Ventures has closed a second $60 million fund, reported Fortune. It raised the capital from institutional investors, including the State of Michigan Retirement Services and Illumen Capital.
Founders from diverse backgrounds have taken a hit amid the funding downturn in venture capital. In the first half of 2024, Black-founded US startups received $228 million in funding, which is less than 1% of the nearly $79 billion that went into these startups, claims Crunchbase. Besides this, big firms like Goldman Sachs have ended programs that back female-founded companies, and women-only founding teams still receive just 3% of the total funding.
“We are still going to be investing in women in a big way,” said co-founder at BBG Ventures, Susan Lyne. “If anything we believe the opportunity for founders who look different is bigger than ever. It’s more of a reflection of the world evolving…Gender is not the only difference. Race is not the only difference.”
BBG Ventures has over $130 million assets under management. To date, the venture capital firm has invested in over 100 companies, including Spring Health, KiwiCo, HopSkipDrive, Zola, Canela Media, Starface, Topline Pro, and Supercircle.
The firm’s portfolio companies serve “Polycultural America,” a term coined by the company to represent the pressing needs of today’s diverse society.
