Black Ops Ventures will invest in Black-led technology ventures across the U.S. and Canada after closing a $13 million seed fund led by Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and Milwaukee-based Northwestern Mutual.
The Miami-based venture capital firm will address the funding disparities that exist among Black-led startups moving from seed funding to series A capital rounds, managing partner Heather Hiles said.
According to Northwestern Mutual, its investment in Black Ops Ventures came from the Milwaukee company's Impact Investing Fund, a $100 million commitment to invest in Black communities on both a national and local level, with the goal of addressing inequality and the racial wealth gap.
Among other investments, the Northwestern Mutual Impact Investing Fund has contributed to Milwaukee early-stage venture capital fund Gateway Capital Partners, and New York City-based Clear Vision Impact Fund, which is affiliated with the Black-owned financial services firm Siebert Williams Shank & Co. LLC.
Nationwide, women- and Black-led tech startups often struggle to raise capital compared with ventures led by white men. Just 1.2% of the $147 billion invested in U.S. startups during the first half of 2021 went to Black entrepreneurs, according to Crunchbase – even less than the 2% that went to women-led companies.
"I have advised and met with hundreds of Black founders. I know firsthand there is an abundance of talented and overlooked startups in the marketplace," Hiles said. "There is no lack of high-quality, Black-led companies. There is only a lack of access to capital."
Hiles is also the founder of Pathbrite, a San Francisco-based education tech company.
Founded in 2020, Black Ops Venture is managed and led by an all-Black team of founders. It focuses on pre-seed, seed-stage and series A investments in Black founders who "are resilient, have a unique perspective on their market, and possess the conviction to win their space," according to its website. On top of funding, the Black Ops team connects founders with the operator experience and networks they need to successfully scale their companies.
Partner Sean Green, an investor and serial founder, said he's acutely aware of how undercapitalized Black-led startups are compared to their white-led peers. He said he wants to share the knowledge he's gained over the past decade to help other founders succeed.
"I am ready to take what I've learned and arm Black founders with capital, insider knowledge and connections to scale their ventures," he said.
