Diversity fund Ada Ventures raises 50 million dollars

Promoting founders with different experiences and backgrounds: With this promise, Ada Ventures has raised more money than expected.

The British-European VC fund Ada Ventures, which focuses on diversity, has raised 50 million US dollars in capital, exceeding its self-imposed target, as co-founder Francesca Warner announced on Wednesday. "We weren't even sure we would raise 30 million US dollars," she said. In fact, however, the original cap of 35 million was easily reached.

The fund, named after the British mathematician Ada Lovelace, wants to use the money to support underrepresented founders in the UK and Europe. To this end, Ada Ventures relies on a scout network that includes the Muslamic Makers initiative, which supports Muslims in the tech industry.

In the current year, the VC firm has invested in eight companies, four of which have a woman as CEO. In the coming year, Ada also wants to focus on LGBTQ+ founders and entrepreneurs with disabilities. Founder Matt Penneycard told Techcrunch that many investors would support Ada not only because of the diversity promise, but also because of the expected return on investment. "Some of our investors believe we will generate better returns than other funds because they know where we are looking," he said. This allows Ada to seize investment opportunities that other funds would overlook, he said.