Editor's note: This article is the second in a three-part series on the state of venture investment to Black-founded startups in 2026. Driving these reports is data from Crunchbase's Diversity Spotlight feature, which offers insight into diversity in startups' and investment firms' leadership teams. Read Part 1, exploring the data on funding to Black founders, here. Part 3 will be published next week. Only around $942 million ' or just 0.32% of total U.S. venture funding ' went to startups with a Black founder or co-founder last year, per Crunchbase data. That's one of the lowest shares in years, and down more than two-thirds from just three years prior. This year has started off on a slightly rosier note, with $643 million raised by U.S.-based startups with a Black founder or co-founder as of May 20. The majority of that was raised in the first quarter, marking the most raised in a single quarter since Q2 2022, when $653 million was raised by Black founders or co-founders. The...
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