After stepping out on the wrong foot during the GamerGate fiasco, Intel is seeking to make amends with their new $125M Intel Capital Diversity Fund. This comes after an announcement back in January of the creation of $300M Diversity in Technology initiative aimed at promoting diversity in the tech industry. This new venture fund is partially funded by initiative and aimed at increasing the representation of women and minorities in technology firms.
Intel Capital Diversity Fund will provide later stage funding for startups with a woman or minority founder or CEO or three top women or minority executives. Firms will still be selected based on Intel Capital criteria and only firms that otherwise qualify for Intel Capital will be considered. In that sense, the $125M fund is just money earmarked for firms run by women of minorities. Right now, only 1% of Silicon Valley venture firms are founded by latinos or blacks which is woefully low.
Diversity in tech firms has become a major topic recently after GamerGate and interim CEO of reddit Ellen Pao’s gender discrimination lawsuit. The tech industry has long lagged behind in diversity and increasing it can help bring new perspectives. As technology encroaches ever more on mainstream society, it’s important for the firms to reflect the customers they are serving. Intel has already invested in four firms with more to come.
