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A major technology foundation is distributing funding to nonprofit organizations across the United States this year. According to a press release, the OpenAI Foundation announced $40.5 million in unrestricted grants to 208 nonprofits across the country. The awards support organizations working in AI literacy and public understanding, community innovation, and economic opportunity. Some of the grantees include STEM From Dance, which partners with schools, community centers, and youth programs to integrate dance and AI education for young girls of color across several states. Digital NEST in California is a workforce development nonprofit helping youth in agricultural communities gain career skills, mentorship, training, and paid work experience to thrive in the digital economy. 3 Dots Downtown, a community arts center in Pennsylvania, offers programs and workshops focused on AI literacy, art, and professional development. And Amigos Together for Kids in Florida supports parents and...
A new cohort of small businesses has received a financial boost to power their business with AI. The C oramino Fund Through The Coramino Fund, the investment arm of Kevin Hart and Juan Domingo Beckmann’s tequila company Gran Coramino, $10,000 grants have been allocated to small business owners over the past three years so they can utilize AI training provided by 1st Street Partnerships to improve their operations. The program was launched in partnership with Local Initiatives Support Corp. (LISC) and is part of a $1.5 million commitment to support more than 150 under-resourced entrepreneurs across the U.S. and Mexico as they compete with larger companies, according to information provided to AFROTECH™. “According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 20% of new businesses fail within their first year, and nearly 50% fail by their fifth year. The most successful entrepreneurs — locally and nationally — are the ones that have support, whether from their networks, communities,...
What began as unfamiliar territory for Haley Bryant has become her mission — to democratize access to venture capital through her work at Hustle Fund. The Boston native comes from a family of entrepreneurs. Her father worked at Bank of America in London and later launched an investment business and then a consultancy. She was inspired to bet on herself throughout her career by observing her father’s blueprint as well as that of other family members. Her mother owns a public policy consultancy, and her sister is a leader of Sick Sad Girlz Club, a community of more than 30,000 women with chronic illness. Bryant initially planned to become a journalist and attended the University of Virginia, earning a degree in media studies and communications by 2010. However, she was always drawn to technology, she says, which led her to Apple and its retail stores after college. She onboarded as an associate and, within four years, rose to senior manager, leading stores that were earning millions...
Dillard University has joined the growing list of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to earn philanthropic donations from MacKenzie Scott . The New Orleans, LA-based HBCU has received a historic $19 million contribution — the largest single gift in the university’s history, according to a news release. The contribution follows a $5 million donation in 2020 from the MacKenzie Scott Foundation and underscores Scott’s continued investment in HBCUs nationwide. “If anyone ever doubts the difference one person can make, look no further than MacKenzie Scott and how her generosity will resonate across generations,” Dillard president Dr. Monique Guillory said in the news release. “This gift will strengthen the university at a moment when our mission has never been more urgent.” The unrestricted gift will enable Dillard to accelerate key strategic priorities, including enhancing student success, expanding scholarship opportunities, and strengthening institutional...
The Greater Sacramento Urban League (GSUL) has filed a lawsuit in hopes of recovering a six-figure investment. According to the Sacramento Business Journal, GSUL has sued Black Star Universal LLC and its founder, venture capitalist Kwame Anku. Black Star Universal is the investment arm behind the Black Star Fund, which has raised millions to support Black founders. GSUL invested $300,000 in Black Star Universal in April 2023, and now GSUL is asking for the funds to be returned. GSUL CEO Ken Barnes shared the intentions of the funding, which was deployed before his appointment in April 2025, succeeding Dwayne Crenshaw. “This was prior to my involvement with the organization,” Barnes said, according to the Sacramento Business Journal. “Partnering with the Black Star Fund would help GSUL do two things: support Black entrepreneurs and create an additional funding stream beyond donations to support our mission.” Barnes first learned about the $300,000 investment three days into his role...
Miami-based founders Justin Elliott and Jahreem Samuels have scored an investment for their AI and blockchain-verified commerce platform. The pair’s journeys brought them together, and they became united in business through shared pain points in their respective industries. Elliott explored mechanical engineering while in high school, but in college, he shifted to marketing, maintaining an interest in web development, and eventually became the head of digital marketing and e-commerce for a jewelry company that launched several businesses. “I’ve always had my own businesses where I’ve had to learn how to build websites, learn how to do the marketing, learn about SEO, so I’ve always been on that side of things,” Elliott told AFROTECH™. “I’ve also been in music, so like engineering, technical side, and music has always been parallel in my life.” For 10 years, Elliott worked as a full-time DJ, touring globally, until the pandemic hit. At what felt like the height of his career, he no...
HarbourView Equity Partners and Grammy-winning artist and producer Hit-Boy have announced an exclusive partnership. According to Billboard, the deal follows the conclusion of Hit-Boy’s 18-year publishing agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Sherrese Clarke, founder and CEO of HarbourView Equity Partners, said the firm is committed to investing in creators who shape culture. View this post on Instagram A post shared by HarbourView Equity (@harbourviewep) “Hit-Boy’s work has defined a generation of music, blending innovation with impact in a way few others have,” Clarke said when announcing the news. “We’re honored to partner with him and proud to help preserve, celebrate, and continue his extraordinary legacy.” Hit-Boy said the partnership represents a new chapter in his career focused on ownership, innovation, and creative freedom. “HarbourView will be a forward-thinking partner and that is exactly what I want when making...
Black-woman-owned Prismm has secured significant funding to help families in times of crisis. Prismm Prismm is a transaction-enabled digital vault. It stores critical records that become essential during an emergency. Users can upload documents, property and asset information, and financial accounts. They can also add beneficiaries, trusted persons, lawyers, executors, or advisors as connections, granting them view-only, view-and-modify, or no access across all categories, according to the company’s website. All information stored on Prismm is encrypted using HTTPS and kept in a digital vault that can be decrypted only with an authorized user account and the correct account key. Prismm intends to protect deposits for financial institutions and automate the inheritance transfer process, which is timely given that $84.4 trillion in wealth is projected to be transferred to Millennial and Gen X heirs by 2045, according to financial services organization, Cerulli Associates. Inception...
Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, has announced plans to invest at least $1 billion in Zimbabwe to develop large-scale projects in cement production, power generation, and fuel infrastructure. The announcement followed his meeting with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa in the capital of Harare, Reuters reports. According to Reuters, the Dangote Group’s planned investment includes a cement plant, a power generation facility, and a fuel pipeline. Business Insider Africa adds that the initiative represents one of Zimbabwe’s most significant private-sector commitments in recent years. Dangote said the timing reflects improvements in Zimbabwe’s economic environment under Mnangagwa’s administration. “Mnangagwa has turned the economy around,” he said, per the outlet. “That really gave us the confidence that this is the right time for us to come and invest.” This is not Dangote’s first attempt to establish operations in the country. In 2015, Dangote Cement...
SKIMS has reached new heights. Launched in 2019, the shapewear brand was created by Kim Kardashian, who teamed up with Emma Grede (chief creative officer) and her husband, Jens (chief executive officer), according to Forbes. Emma previously launched Good American in 2016, a venture in partnership with Khloé Kardashian, per the company website. SKIMS, which began as an online, direct-to-consumer brand, has expanded to 20 retail locations across the U.S. and Mexico, notes Forbes. The brand’s offerings have also grown beyond shapewear to include t-shirts, pajamas, jackets, and men’s hoodies. View this post on Instagram SKIMS’ success continues to be proven by the numbers with a $4 billion valuation following a 2023 raise, Forbes mentioned. Fast forward to 2025, the brand secured $225 million in a new round, boosting its valuation to $5 billion, Forbes reports. Goldman Sachs Alternatives led the round with participation from Byron Trott’s BDT & MSD Partners. The Gredes have added $150...
Farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia will receive backing from the Gates Foundation. According to a news release, the foundation, chaired by billionaire Bill Gates, will invest $1.4 billion over four years to support farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia who are battling climate change and whose livelihoods depend on agriculture. Supporting these farmers is vital not only for regional preservation but also for global food security, as one-third of the world’s food supply comes from low-resourced countries. So, disruptions could have a widespread effect. “Smallholder farmers are feeding their communities under the toughest conditions imaginable,” Gates said in the news release. “We’re supporting their ingenuity with the tools and resources to help them thrive — because investing in their resilience is one of the smartest, most impactful things we can do for people and the planet.” The $1.4 billion investment will support digital advisory services such as mobile apps...
SoftBank has sold its entire $5.83 billion stake in U.S. chipmaker Nvidia to focus on its OpenAI investment. The Japanese investment firm announced on Nov. 11, 2025, that it sold 32.1 million Nvidia shares in October, along with a portion of its T-Mobile stake, which sold for $9.17 billion, CNBC reports . Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto said the sales were part of the company’s “asset monetization” strategy. “We want to provide a lot of investment opportunities for investors, while we can still maintain financial strength,” Goto said during an investor presentation, per CNBC. The CFO also announced a four-for-one stock split . “So through those options and tools, we make sure that we are ready for funding in a very safe manner,” he added. A source reportedly told CNBC that SoftBank’s share sales of Nvidia and T-Mobile, along with a margin loan on its Arm holdings, are “sources of cash” for its $22.5 billion investment in OpenAI and for other projects, such as the acquisition...
You can never predict JuJu Watkins’ next move. The University of Southern California (USC) basketball player is now an investor in the National Women’s Soccer League’s Boston Legacy Football Club (Boston Legacy FC), according to a press release. Watkins makes history in the process as the first college athlete to invest in a women’s professional sports team. She joins a group of investors that includes Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman, actress Elizabeth Banks, Celtics General Manager Brad Stevens, WNBA player Aliyah Boston, and Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams. Sportico reports the city of Boston was awarded a National Women’s Soccer League team in 2023, and the team will begin competing in 2026. “Boston Legacy FC is creating a space for women to achieve, lead, and inspire others at the highest level, and I’m proud to be part of the movement pushing women’s sports forward,” Watkins said in a press release. Jennifer Epstein, controlling owner of Boston Legacy FC, commented:...
Spelman College is the latest HBCU to receive funding from billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. CBS News reports Scott signed the Giving Pledge after divorcing Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in 2019. She vowed to donate over half her wealth, and she has been doing so ever since, with some allocated to Historically Black Colleges and Universities. She made early rounds in 2020, with Spelman College receiving $20 million toward scholarships and its endowment. Fast-forward to 2025, and Scott has doubled down on her pledge and invested an additional $38 million in unrestricted funding. The commitment will support financial aid and the school’s technology infrastructure. “This investment is a powerful affirmation of our mission and our commitment to educational excellence and equity,” Spelman Interim President Rosalind “Roz” Brewer said in a statement, according to CBS News. “The flexibility of this gift allows us to move more swiftly to strengthen the entire student experience,...
Steven Bartlett has secured historic funding for the creator economy. Bartlett, who has remained on an entrepreneurial path since dropping out of college and becoming a millionaire by 23, as AFROTECH™ previously told you, has scored an eight-figure investment for his creator company Steven.com. The company houses several divisions such as FlightStory, FlightFund, and, more recently, FlightCast, an AI-powered podcast hosting platform, as mentioned in a news release. “Steven.com is the creator holding company built to help high-potential creators grow their audience, build IP, commercialise their work, launch ventures, and provides the technology to power it all ... If you’re an aspiring creator please do get in touch,” he explained on Instagram. Slow Ventures and Apeiron Investment Group led Steven.com’s round. Philipp Freise (KKR), Second Sight Ventures, Tom Profumo (Active Partners), Magnus Grimeland (Antler), Gary Vaynerchuk, Kevin Rose (founder of Digg), Will Ahmed (Founder of...