Mitch Kapor, one of the co-founders of Lotus Notes, and his wife, Freada Kapor Klein, have been a force in recent years in the effort to diversify the tech industry.
Today, as part of the first White House Demo Day, the couple announced they will spend $40 million over the next three years on three family initiatives that tackle what they see as structural inequities that make it hard for African-Americans and other groups to become and thrive as tech entrepreneurs.
Chief among the initiatives is that Kapor Capital, the family s venture firm, will invest $25 million in technology startups. At least half of the companies will have founders from historically underrepresented communities, Mitch Kapor said in an interview.
In addition, tech entrepreneurs who are part of the fund will have to create a diversity plan, he said. Kapor Capital is hiring a portfolio services director to help companies. Currently, Kapor Capital, which focuses on the seed level of investment, has about 60 companies in its portfolio, all of which had to have a social impact plan as part of their business plan.
The move comes as other prominent fund have made similar commitments. Intel Capital has started its own diversity fund to invest in diverse companies, mostly later stage ones, as I reported. Comcast Ventures has its own $25 million Catalyst Fund, which focuses on seed-stage startups.
As part of the White House Demo Day, other organizations and firms have announced plans to tackle diversity. The National Venture Capital Association made a diversity pledge, according to USA Today. Forty firms, including Kleiner Perkins, have agreed to an annual industry-wide survey.
Box, Amazon and other companies also are making their own announcements at the event, says Wired.
In addition to the venture commitment, the Kapors also said the Level Playing Field Institute, one of their organizations, would spend $6 million to expand its summer STEM program that works with African-American, Latino and other teens who are underrepresented in tech. And the Kapor Center for Social Impact will spend $3 million to promoting a more diverse tech ecosystem where our team lives and works, the Bay Area. The organization has been working on a new building in Oakland, which is expected to open in early 2016.
Kapor said his commitment to helping create opportunities for underrepresented minorities comes from his own childhood experiences of being bullied.
My personal experiences gave me a way to connect with those who have been systematically excluded by race, gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation, he said.
(Photo of Mitch Kapor talking to SMASH student Breanna Thomas at Stanford in 2011 by LiPo Ching)
