According to Crunchbase’s latest data around Black founders, $643 million has poured into U.S. Black-founded startups since the beginning of the year — an amount not seen since 2022, when Black founders raised $653 million in funding.

For context, Black founders raised $942 million in 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 they raised in all of last year. 

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). 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. 

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,” even in the “increasingly concentrated, AI-centric funding market of 2026.”

“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.

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. 

“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.

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