Tech giant Intel has announced the creation of a $125 million venture capital fund called The Diversity Fund aimed at investing in women and minority-led tech start-ups. The new fund, investing its resources over the course of 5 years, will cover a “broad spectrum of innovative industries” and will be led by Silicon Valley veteran Lisa Lambert who has previously served as managing director and VP at Intel Capital.
In a press release for the new company, Lambert stated that “Intel Capital is committed to investing in the best talent from a myriad of backgrounds to cultivate innovations that serve the needs of a diverse public.” Currently, less than 1% of venture-backed start-ups are led by women or underrepresented minorities such as African-Americans or Latinos.
While The Diversity Fund will look to invest in companies with women or minority CEOs. Other qualifications could include at least 3 minorities in senior management positions. Already the venture has invested in four companies – Brit + Co, CareCloud, Mark One, and Venafi.
Intel, which is quickly solidifying its reputation as the leading Silicon Valley tech giant committed to a diverse workforce has also committed to providing, in addition to funding, access to Intel’s business development resources, technology expertise and global network.
At a recent tech conference David Lopez of Manos Accelerator, recipient of Google venture funding, remarked that with regards to the number of Latino-led tech start-ups receiving venture capital funding, “you could count them on one hand.”
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