Black founders raise the most funding in a quarter since 2022, but there’s a catch

According to Crunchbase’s latest data on Black founders, $643 million has poured into Black-founded startups in the U.S. since the start of the year, the most since 2022, when Black founders raised $653 million in funding.

For context, Black founders raised $942 million of all venture funding last year (or 0.32% of the $290 billion total, according to Crunchbase estimates). That means in just a few months, Black founders have already raised nearly 70% of the funding they raised in all of last year.

This funding is being driven by a handful of deals (34 to be exact, according to Crunchbase), the most notable being AI hardware company SambaNova’s $350 million Series E, followed by sports prediction startup Noviq (which raised $75 million in Series B) and YC-backed AI insurance platform Harper (which raised $47 million). Still, Crunchbase points out that while the $643 million raised to date is a record amount compared to the past few years, it’s still significantly smaller than the $252 billion raised by U.S. startups overall during the same period, so it doesn’t really suggest much progress has been made.

Gené Teare, head of research at Crunchbase, told TechCrunch that factors that appear to be holding back many Black founders include “access to networks, relationships, and early introductions,” and that “the AI-centric funding market in 2026 is becoming increasingly concentrated.”

“While we are in the eighth to ninth quarter of a downturn in venture funding, data from Crunchbase shows that funding to Black-founded companies continues to decline, outpacing the overall decline in startup funding,” she continued.

For now, what will happen next remains unclear. There could be 34 more big deals this quarter, or literally none. In some ways, this reflects a market that has been described as barbell-like or polarized, with certain groups, such as some venture funds, struggling to raise capital.

“You have to wonder if the hyper-cautiousness currently prevalent in the industry is preventing investors from taking a chance on first-time founders who are more likely to be diverse,” Thayer said.