Ex-MIT and Stanford engineer KJ Hardrict is changing the interview process for job seekers. Hardrict’s background spans engineering, venture capital, and content. He has worked at Link Ventures as a principal and served as a founding engineer and a senior engineer for various startups, according to his LinkedIn profile. Hardrict has also gained more than 115,000 YouTube subscribers. It’s the variety of his experience that has given him a front seat to the hiring process, Hardrict acknowledged to AFROTECH™. “As an engineer and startup operator, I saw how often incredible people were filtered out before anyone spoke to them. As an investor, I saw founders struggling to identify key talent in a sea of resumes,” he said. Hardrict also considered his own experience in the job market and noticed that being seen, not just read about, set him up for success. “Recruiters would watch my videos on YouTube, and within a few minutes, they understood who I was and how I thought. That made me...

Hannah Bronfman is opening up about her experience as a first-time fund manager. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, Bronfman became an angel investor in 2017. She is also a content creator who has been working in social media for over a decade, with 148.7 million followers and 6.6 million likes on TikTok alone. This also afforded her a unique opportunity to be gifted equity in companies in exchange for marketing, she noted at AFROTECH™ Conference 2024. She has invested in more than 70 companies, including Monte’s Fine Foods, Golde, and Topicals. Conteur Capital Now, Bronfman is entering new territory in the world of investing, becoming a first-time fund manager. She is a general partner at Conteur Capital, an investment firm focused on women’s health, technology, and health services. Bronfman offers a candid look at her journey in the new Amazon documentary series, “ The CEO Club” , where viewers get a front-row seat to her efforts to raise $40 million in capital for the venture...

The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) wants to prepare the next generation of asset managers. Since 1944, the UNCF has been committed to serving students in higher education, raising more than $6 billion to provide them with access, a news release mentioned. Its latest effort is focused on positioning students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) with opportunities to become leaders in the asset management industry and secure careers in finance. Project ACCLAIM The UNCF received a $10 million gift from Adage Capital Management and Elizabeth and Phill Gross to jumpstart Project ACCLAIM in 2025, which first benefited students at Morehouse College and Howard University in fall 2025. Project ACCLAIM (Accelerating Learning in Asset Investment Management) is designed to expand access to wealth-building opportunities in investment management by providing coursework, hands-on training, and co-curricular activities, according to the news release. Students also have access...

Roman Scott and Itbaan Nafi, both hailing from Stanford University, are on a mission to empower student founders in the VC world. It all started in 2024 at San Francisco International Airport, where Scott and Nafi first met by chance at baggage claim, according to information shared with AFROTECH™ . By that time, the pair had already become founders, each having established a footprint in technology. Scott, who graduated from Stanford that year with a bachelor’s degree in systems engineering and then a master’s in management science and engineering, launched a software development company at 15 to help support his unemployed parents, per an email to AFROTECH™ . That company, called Burton Algorithms, has now worked with more than 20 companies across healthcare, financial services, and infrastructure, and even with his alma mater, Stanford. Nafi currently attends Stanford, where he created his own bachelor’s program in software, policy, and design engineering and is pursuing a...

Ariel Investments is putting its dollars toward women’s sports. Ariel Investments Co-CEO and President Mellody Hobson announced in a Jan. 30 press release the launch of Project Level, a venture the firm hopes will level the playing field for investment, attention, and profits in women’s sports — a category that saw $1.28 billion in global revenue in 2024. Launched with the help of Jason Wright, managing partner and head of investments, and Emma Rodriguez-Ayala, chief administrative officer and general counsel, Project Level anticipates achieving strong financial returns on women’s sports in the long term, according to the press release. “Project Level seeks to harness the exploding talent, fandom, vie wership, and media interest in women’s sports by working to accelerate growth through diversified investments and significant ownership stakes,” Hobson, Project Level’s chief fundraiser and head cheerleader, explained in the press release. “Our highly curated portfolio will range from...

Black-led Waymo has received a new round of funding. Waymo is the world’s first autonomous ride-hailing service and positions itself as the “world’s most experienced driver, ” according to its website. The service uses highly detailed, custom maps, real-time sensor data, and AI to determine its exact position on the road at all times, rather than relying solely on GPS, the company states. Waymo, owned by Alphabet Inc., has served more than 20 million riders, with more than 400,000 rides being completed weekly across the following metropolitan areas, per its website: Atlanta Austin Los Angeles Miami Phoenix San Francisco Bay Area New Round Of Funding Waymo intends to scale its technology across the U.S. and globally. According to a press release, the company secured $16 billion in funding in an investment round, valuing it at $126 billion post-money. The round was supported by majority investor Alphabet, with Dragoneer Investment Group, DST Global, and Sequoia Capital leading the...

Black woman-led skincare brand Topicals has closed another round of funding, per an exclusive report from The Business of Fashion. Topicals Founded in 2020 by Olamide Ayomikun Olowe, Topicals was born out of her search for a solution for those with hyperpigmentation, eczema, and dark spots. CNBC reports Olowe also struggled with hyperpigmentation and Pseudofolliculitis Barbae (PFB). Per its website, the Topicals product lineup features its faded under eye masks, serum, brightening cleansing bar, and more. She teamed up with Claudia Teng, who previously worked as a dermatology clinical research assistant, to launch the science-backed brand, with both women ultimately ditching their plans to attend medical school. Topicals later secured $14.8 million in funding before Olowe was 26 years old — as AFROTECH™ previously reported — making history as the youngest Black woman to raise $10 million in funding in 2022. Funding Now, WNBA player Angel Reese, which Forbes lists as one of the...

Shiloh Luckey is under federal investigation for allegedly mismanaging millions of dollars in venture capital funds. Luckey, who formerly went by Shiloh Johnson, is the founder and CEO of ComplYant, a Los Angeles-based tax management platform for small business owners. She claims she launched the company after observing the pain points that small businesses can experience while she was working as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). “I saw firsthand how small business owners struggle with managing their tax deadlines. Running a small business is hard enough already, and on top of everything entrepreneurs have to manage, late fees and fines are the last things they need,” Luckey said in a news release. “ Tax compliance is fragmented and complex, so it’s no wonder small business owners find it difficult to navigate. It’s time we make it much easier to do the hard stuff better.” The statement was shared in a news release announcing a $5.5 million seed round that closed in 2022, led by...

David Robinson is suing his business partner for millions. Robinson and Daniel Bassichis are co-founders of private equity firm Admiral Capital Group, which launched in 2008. The pair also has real estate under Admiral Columbus LLC. According to the San Antonio Express-News, now Robinson, Admiral Capital, and two associated firms have filed a lawsuit seeking more than $34 million in damages, alleging that Bassichis committed fraud, conversion, civil conspiracy, and more. Robinson’s stake in Admiral Capital is 51% while Bassichis owns the remaining stake. Separately, Bassichis owns an investment firm focused on real estate, Vero Capital. According to Bassichis’s LinkedIn profile and the firm’s website, it was founded in 2007. However, the lawsuit claims Bassichis launched the firm in 2022, a year after receiving “the blessing of Robinson,” with the goal “to expand his individual investment opportunities” and “to create a separation” from Admiral Capital. Reportedly, Admiral Capital...

A newly founded AI startup is making waves in the tech world with one of the largest seed rounds in recent memory. According to Bloomberg, Unconventional AI, launched just two months ago by former Databricks AI lead Naveen Rao, secured $475 million in seed funding at a $4.5 billion valuation to develop a new generation of energy-efficient computers designed specifically for artificial intelligence. The funding round was co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Lux Capital, DCVC, Databricks, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, per Bloomberg. Rao also invested $10 million of his own funds on the same terms as other investors. The company is exploring a larger funding goal of up to $1 billion, according to TechCrunch. Bloomberg notes that Unconventional AI draws inspiration from biology, where living systems must operate within strict energy limits yet achieve high efficiency. Rao highlighted the human brain as an example, noting it can perform...

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...

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has put its Talent x Opportunity (TxO) program on hold, marking an unexpected shift in the firm’s efforts to support founders from underserved communities, TechCrunch reports. Launched in 2020, as AFROTECH™ previously reported, the program aimed to bridge gaps in venture capital access for entrepreneurs, particularly women and minority founders, by offering mentorship, funding, and industry connections. The a16z TxO fund pause comes after five years of operations, during which the program supported more than 60 companies, per TechCrunch, including Brown Girl Magazine, food tech startup Myles Comfort Foods, and maternity tech company Villie. Participants benefitted from a 16-week training program, access to a professional network, and $175,000 in investments via a donor-advised fund managed by the nonprofit Tides Foundation. In 2024, TxO expanded to include grants of $50,000 each for three nonprofits focused on tech entrepreneurship in underserved...

Black Operator Ventures (Black Ops VC) is working to close the Series A funding gap for Black tech founders. Black Ops VC is a venture capital firm led by a Black team of co-founders with a shared mission to “invest in extraordinary founders solving complex problems with software,” its CEO, James Norman, said in conversation with AFROTECH™. Norman and Black Ops General Partner Sean Green sat down with AFROTECH™ to discuss the firm’s vision, leading oversubscribed seed rounds, opportunities in today’s investment landscape, and more. The duo met nearly a decade ago in Los Angeles. Green was among the early cohorts of Transparent Collective, which supports Black, Latinx, and womxn entrepreneurs with raising early-stage funding, and Norman serves as its chairman. Call To Action Realized Before their paths formally aligned, the pair charted unique territory. Norman launched his first company at age 16, an online retailer for car and home audio. He had always been interested in building...

African fintech company Moniepoint has secured new funding to expand its footprint globally. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the company, founded by CEO Tosin Eniolorunda and Chief Technology Officer Felix Ike, offers banking accounts, loans, expense cards, instant payouts, and accounting and bookkeeping solutions. According to information shared with AFROTECH™, the company has processed more than $250 billion in transactions annually for more than 10 million business and personal banking customers. The company said it “is one of the few fintechs globally, and the first in Africa, to achieve profitability at unicorn scale while driving financial inclusion,” in a press release. Moniepoint has officially closed its Series C round, amounting to over $200 million in equity financing. The round was led by Development Partners International’s African Development (ADP) III fund, with LeapFrog Investments joining for the final close, the press release confirmed. Lightrock, Alder Tree...

Rashaun Williams’ HBCU pride guides his path as an entrepreneur and serial investor. The South Side of Chicago native, who will be appearing on Season 17 of “Shark Tank” as a guest judge, comes from humble beginnings. During the Clover x Shark Tank Summit held at The Venetian in Las Vegas, he recalled to AFROTECH™ a time when he’d run extension cords from next door through a window just to power hot plates, relying on kerosene heaters, and looking to the Sears Tower from a distance — now renamed the Willis Tower — at those who were living the American Dream. Williams Enrolls in Morehouse College Over time, Williams vowed to change not only his own circumstances but those of his family and community. He wanted to attend a school that created Black leaders, guiding him to Morehouse College , he told AFROTECH™. Determined to secure his place, he drove his application to the campus rather than mailing it. He enrolled in 1997. “Morehouse is kind of the Harvard of the Black community. The...