Raising $75 million as a Black-owned venture capital fund is no small feat.
Yesterday, Collab Capital announced they closed their second fund with exactly that amount, bringing their total assets under management to $125 million. For context, Black fund managers receive less than 1% of total venture capital allocated annually, making this milestone particularly significant.
“Fund I showed us what’s possible when you back the right people with the right support,” said Jewel Burks Solomon, co-founder and managing partner. “Fund II is about scaling that belief and deepening our conviction that proximity is power and that founders closest to the problem are best positioned to solve it. We’re investing in the infrastructure of an inclusive economy, where real solutions generate real returns for our communities and for our investors.”
From day one, the Atlanta-based firm has rejected the typical VC playbook, which honestly is what has made them stand out. Founded in 2019 by Burks Solomon and her co-founder Barry Givens, Collab understands what founders actually need, because they’ve been in their shoes. Burks Solomon previously founded Partpic, a startup acquired by Amazon in 2016. Givens launched the hardware tech company Monsieur in 2012, which debuted on TechCrunch’s Disrupt Battlefield stage.
Needless to say, the resumes speak for themselves (and that’s not even the half of it). Now, they’re betting on founders who actually know the problems they’re solving because they’ve experienced them firsthand.
Fund II will focus exclusively on Seed and Series A investments in companies addressing what Collab calls “the building blocks of shared prosperity,” which are work, healthcare, and community infrastructure. Through the new fund, Collab plans to deploy $1 to $2 million into approximately 30 companies over five years, with 40% reserved for follow-on investments in their best performers. It’s a strategy that acknowledges both the importance of getting in early and the value of doubling down on what works.
Givens sees this as an opportunity where others may hesitate. “We believe this is the time to lean in, not pull back,” he said.
“Our investment partners understand that alpha lives where others aren’t looking. Fund II is designed to be a flywheel—where early investment, deep founder support, and long-term partnership build momentum and multiply outcomes. Jewel and I built Collab to be the firm we wish we had when we were starting out. The impact extends far beyond the companies themselves. It creates jobs, economic mobility, and generational wealth.”