Fresh off completing the Tulsa Techstars Accelerator and NXSTAGE fintech competition in Wichita, a busy Kansas City startup just announced a $100,000 investment from Northwestern Mutual.
Foresight — an artificial intelligence platform from serial entrepreneur and investor Jannae Gammage — earned a spot in Northwestern Mutual’s Black Founder Accelerator program alongside four other Black-owned tech startups.
“My strategy has always been predicated on building solid partnerships instead of just seeking out customers and/or investors,” said Gammage. “We’ve been sitting on this news for so long and I’m so excited to be able to shout from the rooftops how amazing it has been to find partners we can depend on.”
Jannae Gammage, Foresight, far right, speaks on a “Finding Capital for New Ventures” panel hosted by Startland News at The University of Kansas School of Business; photo courtesy of Ryan Rains, KU School of Business
The program, in partnership with venture capital fund and accelerator gener8tor, includes funding and inclusion in a 12-week intensive program with access to individualized coaching and mentorship from industry-leading professionals.
The effort is part of Northwestern Mutual’s Sustained Action for Racial Equity (SARE) initiative, which was created to advance bold, sustainable change that accelerates the company’s commitment to fight racism, prejudice and social injustice, with a focus on the Black and African American community.
“Programs like these are essential in fostering a more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem,” said Abim Kolawole, chief audit executive at Northwestern Mutual and executive sponsor of the company’s SARE initiative, noting that research shows Black founders traditionally receive less than 2 percent of total venture capital funding. “We hope that the success of these founders will inspire future generations of Black entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams.”
Jannae Gammage, Foresight, center, stands among fellow founders at the NXTSTAGE FinTech Innovation Showcase in Wichita; photo courtesy of NXTUS
Kansas City-based Foresight leverages natural language processing and machine learning algorithms to assess credit risk, fraud and bias, which allows traditional banking services to safely open doors for underserved consumers and drive impact at scale.
The startup recently was among eight fintech finalists in the NXTSTAGE Financial Technology Pilot Competition and its 2023 Innovation Showcase event in Wichita.
RELATED: Kansas City startup among leading fintech finalists in NXTSTAGE competition
INTRUST Bank announced plans at the competition’s conclusion to work with Foresight on a pilot.
“We see fostering innovation as a key to serving our customers and communities well,” said Steve Castro-Miller, managing director of technology for INTRUST Bank. “The NXTSTAGE program continues to bring great ideas and new approaches to Kansas, and we are pleased to help these entrepreneurs get the exposure to decision makers that they need to continue to improve their products and approaches.”
Led by Pipeline entrepreneur Gammage, alongside Alaia Martin, CFO, and Austin-based Joel Ward, CTO, the startup already has backing from Techstars, raised a $500,000 friends and family round, and is positioned to target the CDFI (Community Development Financial Institutions) lending market.
The announcement this week of Foresight’s funding comes as Northwestern Mutual commits $20 million from its Future Ventures fund to promote Black founders across the U.S.
