Mendoza Ventures, a female and Latinx-founded Fintech, AI, and Cybersecurity Venture Capital firm, has achieved a first close on its third fund. The $100M fund will invest in early growth stage startups with a focus on diverse teams. The initial close was led by Bank of America, including Grasshopper Bank and other investors.
“As a female and Latinx founded and led venture fund, we are uniquely positioned to fund the series A to B for diverse or female led founders,” says Adrian Mendoza, General Partner of Mendoza Ventures. “This is one of the very few diverse-led VC funds that are funding at this stage especially in a market where capital is shrinking for diverse founders.”
Fund II’s capital allocation of 80% to underrepresented founders (defined as female, immigrant, person of color, or LBGTQ) underscores how these commitments have ripple effects from diverse founders to impacting diverse communities through fintech. Fund III breaks the $100M glass ceiling for female and diverse GPs in Venture Capital and fill in the early growth capital gap for diverse and female-led startups.
“Bank of America’s investment into Mendoza Ventures underscores our ongoing efforts to address the persistent gap in access to growth capital for minority- and women-led businesses,” says Renee Nalbandyan, Director in Global Corporate Strategy at Bank of America. “Mendoza Ventures is at the forefront of supporting innovation and driving diversity not only within Venture Capital, but also across the fintech industry, and our investment is a step towards creating positive change and more economic opportunities across the country.”
The anchor funding comes from Bank of America as part of their commitment to advancing racial equality and economic opportunity, of which over $400 million is allocated to investments in mission-focused venture funds.