BBG Ventures Raises $60M For Women And Diverse Founders

BBG Ventures, the New York-based venture capital firm known for supporting female founders, has raised a new $60 million fund.

Co-founders Susan Lyne and Nisha Dua, who launched BBG Ventures in 2014 with a vision of investing in women-led startups, announced that the fund’s focus now includes founders from diverse backgrounds across race, income, and age. 

Meeting Market Needs in a Challenging Economy

Amid a significant decline in venture funding for underrepresented groups, BBG Ventures’ decision to diversify its founder support comes at a critical time. 

In the first half of 2024, only $228 million—or about 0.3%—of the nearly $79 billion in venture capital allocated to U.S. startups went to Black-founded startups, per Crunchbase data. 

This marks a stark 60% decrease in funding from the same period in 2023, underscoring the uphill battle faced by minority founders in the current economic climate. 

Lyne pointed out that BBG Ventures’ expanded focus doesn’t mean abandoning women founders but rather enhancing its commitment to supporting a broader pool of diverse entrepreneurs.

“Many of our LPs believe in impact and trying to broaden access to capital,” Lyne stated according to Business Insider.

This new fund includes returning and new investors, such as Fairview Capital, Pivotal Ventures, California Endowment, and Mizuho, indicating strong institutional support for the fund’s mission. 

Strategic Investments in AI and Healthcare

With this latest fund, BBG Ventures intends to invest in high-potential sectors such as healthcare, fintech, and AI. 

However, the firm remains measured about becoming overly AI-focused, said Dua. 

Instead, BBG Ventures is pursuing opportunities where AI can responsibly drive growth, such as its recent investment in UpWage, an AI-powered recruiting platform for hourly workers. 

Another recent investment includes Nara, a startup developing certified organic whole milk formula, which emphasizes the firm’s thoughtful approach to impactful, consumer-focused investments.

Dua emphasized that “underrepresented groups span not just gender but also race, age, and income,” underscoring BBG’s commitment to backing founders historically overlooked by mainstream venture capital. 

Feature Image Credit: Alec Kugler