The Artemis Fund, a venture capital firm, recently finalized its second funding round, securing $36 million to support entrepreneurs addressing key societal issues. This reinforces investor faith in the power of social entrepreneurship. Artemis Fund will use this capital to cultivate new startups addressing social concerns with innovative solutions.
This funding attracted diverse investors, reflecting growing interest in ventures that blend social responsibility with traditional business models. The funds will allow Artemis Fund to support transformative ideas, helping entrepreneurs shape societal issues more efficiently and swiftly.
The Fund, operating out of Houston and New York, was founded by Stephanie Campbell, Diana Murakhovskaya, and Leslie Goldman Tepper. They lead seed funding rounds for diverse projects across sectors including fintech, commerce, and care. Their investment activities have mostly been focused on Houston and New York metropolitans, but are not strictly confined to just these regions.
Artemis Fund holds a portfolio of over 20 companies, each having at least one woman in a leadership role. Over 60% of these companies have diverse leadership including individuals from Black, Latinx communities, or immigrants. The second fund attracted support from esteemed establishments like the Bank of America, Bank of Montreal, and Amazon among others.
Diana Murakhovskaya, one of the founders, reiterated the company’s commitment to nurturing shared values with its Limited Partners (LPs) and supporting diverse founders. Their strategic goal goes beyond providing capital, incorporating support systems and platforms that empower diverse founders to achieve success.
Yet, the grim reality is that investments in Black and female-founded businesses have been on a decline since 2021. Funding for projects led by women has remained at a dismal 2% of yearly funding over the past two years. From the total $136 billion in funds raised last year, Black entrepreneurs could only muster $661 million. There, however, is a silver lining as women acting as investors at top VC firms has slightly increased to 17.4%.
Artemis Fund, which started its investment operations with a fund of $15 million in 2019, has not yet announced any exits. But 60% of companies supported by the first fund have already secured an additional $250 million. The firm’s mission is to support tech solutions catering to marginalized businesses, communities, and families across America. Artemis Fund hopes to be the herald of a promising future for marginalized sectors.
