Black Female Founder Raises $7 Million For Tech Startup
A black woman has raised seven million dollars for her tech startup.
In a report from Tech CrunchJessica O. Matthews, who is the CEO of renewable energy tech startup Uncharted Play, recently closed in a seven million dollar investment. Through the new injection of funding the tech startup plans to build out the team, and better equip itself to support the partners the company is bringing on in the coming months. Uncharted Play's mission is to spread awareness about global energy and clean power through technology and play.
So far Uncharted Play has a couple of ideas that will help with their mission. Their first project is SOCCKET, is a soccer ball that doubles as a power generator. The SOCCKET uses the rotational energy that gets generated every time the ball rolls to produce three hours of light for every hour of play.
The second product is the PULSE, a jump rope that doubles as a light. Both the SOCCKET and PULSE are powered by MORE (motion based, off grid, renewable energy), Uncharted Play's proprietary technology for micro generator systems.
Those systems can integrate into anything that moves, which is what transforms the product, like a soccer ball or a jump rope, into a source of off grid power. Uncharted Play's goal is to better utilize kinetic energy in order to complement or even replace other energy systems.
Ultimately, by producing energy through these devices you can use them to charge other items that require energy.
"We not only aim to disrupt how energy is generated, but how it is consumed," Matthews said. "We envision a world where people shift from a 'hoard & save' energy mentality to a 'continuous and on demand' energy experience."
It's cool to see Matthew's being so innovative and using her funding towards that innovation. In the tech ecosystem black female founders receive basically zero venture capital. The seven million dollar investment in Uncharted Play makes Matthews the 13th black female founder who has raised more than $1 million in outside investment.
