Fearless Fund Launches Global Initiative One Year After Settling Landmark DEI Lawsuit

Fearless Fund’s Global Expansion In spite of Hostile Local Climate

The Atlanta-based venture capital firm, led by Founding Partner and CEO Arian Simone, recently hosted its first major event since the settlement. Simone’s solution is what she called demographic equity.

At the event on Sept. 22, Simone described the concept as ensuring that the demographics of contracts, investments, and funding allocations reflect the demographics of the population.

“This is (as) good for the white Kentucky coal miner as it is for the Latino California farmworker,” Simone said. “Demographic equity means delivering the resources, the financial support at a scale that reflects the population. This is something we can all get behind.”

Simone presented a new vision on how to move forward in a climate hostile to DEI. She brought together global leaders to discuss key topics such as power dynamics, economic inclusion, and strategies for advancing diversity work.

About 100 guests convened at the event in New York, held the day before world leaders gathered at the United Nations General Assembly. Among the dignitaries present were U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), Liberian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sara Beysolow Nyanti, CNN anchor Abby Phillip and civil rights attorney Ben Crump.

A Difficult Litigation Period

The Fearless Fund shuttered its Fearless Strivers Grant contest in 2024. This decision came after the fund became one of the first targets in a series of lawsuits filed against corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.

A conservative group sued Fearless Fund over its $20,000 small business grant designed for Black women entrepreneurs. The lawsuit alleged that the program discriminated against non-Black applicants, with the group characterizing it as “explicit racial exclusion.”

The lawsuit quickly garnered national attention, putting Simone and her firm at the forefront of the escalating legal backlash against DEI. The litigation not only paused the Strivers Grant program but also sparked broader questions about the future of race-conscious initiatives in business.

Eventually, Fearless Fund and AAER settled, with the firm ending the contested program. However, Simone vowed at the time that she would not step back from her mission to expand economic opportunities for women of color entrepreneurs. Soon after, they announced a new investment in Zimi.

The e-commerce startup was founded in 2023 by Stanford University alumni Audrey Djiya (CEO) and Peter Nsaka (chief technology officer). Zimi helps businesses in developing markets sell globally through logistics, order management, and fulfillment.

They backed the firm with a seven-figure commitment from their second fund with support from Bank of America, Costco, and MasterCard. Since launching, the company has generated $1 million in revenue as of October 2024.

Fearless Fund’s Impact in Minority Communities

There’s a stark disparity in funding for Black and minority entrepreneurs compared to their peers. In 2024, Black-founded startups received a mere 0.4% of venture capital invested in American startups, per Crunchbase.

Meanwhile, female founders of color secured just 0.39% of venture capital investments in 2022, per the Fearless Fund. This is particularly striking given that Black women comprise around 7% of the population and 1% of business owners, based on an AJC analysis of LendingTree data.

Through its first venture fund, Fearless Fund invested $26 million into dozens of startups led by Black, Latina, and Asian women. Some of the portfolio companies include Femly, The Folklore, Goalsetter, Capway, The Cru, Ground, Labz etc.