Ulu Ventures sticks to its diversity strategy, raises $208M

While large corporations like Google and Meta are curbing their DEI programs, Ulu Ventures, which just raised a fourth fund at $208 million, doesn’t plan to change its strategy of investing in diverse founders, the firm told The Wall Street Journal.

Co-founded by Miriam Rivera, a Latina and former vice president and deputy general counsel at Google, Ulu uses a data-driven investment approach to filter out biases.  

The 17-year-old firm, which invests in seed startups, is mindful that continuing diversity efforts may raise risks under the new administration. “If you are going to be standing strong on DEI today, you have to be incredibly buttoned-up,” one of the firm’s partners told WSJ, implying that investing based on data doesn’t mean the firm favors specific founder demographics.

Ulu’s limited partners seem to be onboard with its approach to diversity. The firm’s fourth fund is 50% larger than its $138 million third fund raised in 2021.