Black founders raise highest amount of quarterly funding since 2022, but there’s a catch
Black founders raise highest amount of quarterly funding since 2022, but there’s a catch
黑人创始人季度融资额创2022年以来新高，但背后仍有隐忧
According to Crunchbase’s latest data around black founders, $643 million has poured into US Black-founded startups since the beginning of the year — an amount not seen since 2022, when Black founders raised $653 million in funding. 根据 Crunchbase 关于黑人创始人的最新数据，自今年年初以来，已有 6.43 亿美元资金注入美国黑人创立的初创公司——这一数额是 2022 年以来未曾见过的，当时黑人创始人共筹集了 6.53 亿美元资金。
For context, Black founders raised $942 million of all venture dollars last year (that’s 0.32% of the $290 billion total, per Crunchbase estimates). That means in just a few months, Black founders have already raised almost 70% of what was they raised in all of last year. 作为背景，去年黑人创始人筹集的风险投资总额为 9.42 亿美元（据 Crunchbase 估计，仅占 2900 亿美元总额的 0.32%）。这意味着在短短几个月内，黑人创始人筹集的资金已接近去年全年总额的 70%。
Driving this funding are just a handful of deals (34, to be exact, per Crunchbase), most notably the $350 million Series E raised by AI hardware company SambaNova, followed by the sports prediction startup Noviq (which raised a $75 million Series B) and the YC-backed AI insurance platform Harper (which raised $47 million). 推动这一融资额的仅有少数几笔交易（据 Crunchbase 数据，确切为 34 笔），其中最引人注目的是人工智能硬件公司 SambaNova 筹集的 3.5 亿美元 E 轮融资，其次是体育预测初创公司 Noviq（筹集了 7500 万美元 B 轮融资）以及 YC 支持的 AI 保险平台 Harper（筹集了 4700 万美元）。
Still, though the $643 million raised so far is a record sum compared to the past few years, Crunchbase makes note that it’s still quite small compared to the $252 billion U.S startups have raised overall in the same period, and doesn’t really suggest that significant progress is being made. 尽管迄今为止筹集的 6.43 亿美元与过去几年相比创下了纪录，但 Crunchbase 指出，与同期美国初创公司总共筹集的 2520 亿美元相比，这一数字仍然非常小，并不能真正说明取得了重大进展。
Speaking to TechCrunch, Crunchbase’s head of research Gené Teare said the factors that appear to be holding back many Black founders include “access to networks, relationships, and early introductions,” she said, even in the “increasingly concentrated, AI-centric funding market of 2026.” Crunchbase 研究主管 Gené Teare 在接受 TechCrunch 采访时表示，阻碍许多黑人创始人的因素包括“获取人脉、关系和早期引荐的机会”，即使在“2026 年日益集中且以人工智能为中心的融资市场”中，这些因素依然存在。
“We are eight to nine quarters into a venture funding downturn, but Crunchbase data has shown a persistent decline in funding to Black-founded companies that outpaces the overall decline in startup funding,” she continued. 她继续说道：“我们正处于风险投资低迷期的第八到第九个季度，但 Crunchbase 的数据显示，对黑人创立公司的资金投入持续下降，其速度超过了初创公司融资的整体下滑速度。”
For now, it remains unclear what might happen next — there could be 34 more big deals this quarter, or there could literally be nothing. In some ways, it’s a reflection of the market, which has been described as barbell and or bifurcated for the way in which certain groups, like even some venture funds, have struggled to raise capital. 目前，未来走势尚不明朗——本季度可能会再出现 34 笔大额交易，也可能一笔都没有。在某种程度上，这反映了市场现状，即市场呈现出“杠铃式”或“两极分化”的特征，因为某些群体（甚至包括一些风险投资基金）在筹集资金时都面临困难。
“One has to wonder if the abundance of caution that’s now prevalent in the industry has prevented investors from taking chances on first-time founders who are more likely to be diverse,” Teare said. Teare 表示：“人们不禁要问，行业内目前普遍存在的过度谨慎情绪，是否阻碍了投资者去冒险支持那些更有可能是多元化背景的首次创业者。”