Only 15 percent of venture capital-funded companies in the US have a woman on the executive team, and Intel aims to change this
Running parallel to their efforts at instilling gender and minority equality in their own workforce, Intel Capital--the company’s global investment arm--announced a $125 million fund aimed at startups that are led by women and underrepresented minorities.
In a study revealed in a Babson College Report on the subject, it was revealed that only 15 percent of venture capital-funded companies in the US have a woman on the executive team, while companies with a woman CEO reportedly receive only 3 percent of total venture capital spend.
Underscoring the situation, industry surveys indicate less than 1 percent of founders in Silicon Valley are African American or Latino--virtually every one of them are either white or Asian.
Leading the charge, Lisa M. Lambert, Managing Director and Vice President of Intel Capital says, “With this new fund, Intel Capital is committed to investing in the best talent from a myriad of backgrounds to cultivate brilliant innovations that serve the needs of a diverse public.”
At kick-off, the fund announced investments in four companies. The companies will also have access to Intel Capital’s business development programs and technology expertise including development platforms like Intel’s own Galileo development board and Intel Curie hardware modules for IoT applications.
These companies include:
Brit+Co: Based in San Francisco, this e-commerce platform aims to educate, inspire and support women and girls by way of their online classes and all-in-one kits that can be used to created products ranging from calligraphy kits to autonomous gadgets.
CareCloud: This Miami-based company operates within the healthcare space, providing cloud-based medical practice management, electronic health records (EHR) and medical billing software and services for relevant companies.
Mark One: This company uses Intel’s Curie hardware module to create a smart mug that is able to identify the beverage in it, displaying information such as nutritional content along with consumption habits, all of which can be synced to the user’s smartphone.
Venafi: This security-based company protects cryptographic keys and digital certificates so they cannot be misused. The service identifies these digital keys, protecting the ones that are valid while fixing or blocking those that are erroneous.
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