Fundr, an investment marketplace that puts the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and portfolio diversification in every startup investor’s hands, announced the release of its first portfolio of companies recently. 

Fifteen companies were selected from more than 450 global startup applications, representing 10 diversified industries. Fundr is raising an inaugural $1.5 million to invest $100,000 in each startup via convertible notes and prove its thesis that startup investing is ready for change. Fundr now has more than $1.4 million in interested capital on the site, as well as 480 startups and 150 investors, and is still accepting accredited investors on its platform to invest in the portfolio. The portfolio close deadline is December 11, 2020.

“Startup investing is long overdue for disruption,” said Lauren Washington, co-founder of Fundr. “The process is long, inefficient, and biased. It takes investors about three to five years to build a diverse portfolio of startups. Who gets funding is still determined by warm introductions, pattern matching, and bias. And it’s not working - 90 percent of angel investors’ portfolios fail.”

Fundr’s proprietary technology enables startup founders to share in-depth quantitative data about their market, traction, team, and background. Each startup then receives a Fundr Score™ which determines eligibility to use the platform and how much they’re able to raise. Accredited investors using the Fundr platform can then easily diversify their funding into a portfolio of vetted startups. Investors also benefit from key features like standardized term sheets, automatic money transfers, and productive communications tools that enable relationship-building with investees. 

“Fundr’s algorithm collects 90 pieces of data on every startup on our platform,” says Boris Moyston, co-founder of Fundr. “Achieving that level of due diligence is difficult for any investor, so a lot of startups get funding because they are able to tap into a network of existing relationships. We want to remove that subjectivity from the process and help investors find and invest in strong startups they may have never heard of otherwise.”      

Fundr’s first portfolio exemplifies that diversity. 10 different industries are represented in the portfolio, including clean energy, AI, blockchain and fintech. 75 percent of founders are located outside of tech hubs like Silicon Valley and New York City. 56 percent of founders identify as underrepresented people of color, and 44 percent of founders identify as female. The average Fundr Score™ of the companies in the Fundr portfolio is 85, out of 100. 

“Technology can be a great equalizer,” says Jean-Philippe Desmontils, Chief Technology Officer of Fundr. “Investors and founders alike can use quantitative analysis to their advantage. Founders can quickly see gaps and opportunities in their businesses, and investors can use the data to make smart decisions.” 

While there are over 13.6 million accredited investor households in the United States, only three percent are active angel investors. The barriers to investing are primarily time, education and access to credible startups. At the same time, research from AngelList shows that broad indexing at seed stage outperforms individual investor selection by 90 to 95 percent over 10 years. 

“Fundr was developed to help investors vet and invest in a diversified portfolio - and it works,” says Washington. “We tested our algorithm at the Black Women Talk Tech international pitch competition this year. Over six hours, a seasoned team of investors deliberated which startup should win the $15,000 in award money. Fundr’s algorithm predicted the winner automatically. Put simply, Fundr is the future of investing.” 

Companies in Fundr’s first portfolio: 

• At Ease Rentals Corporation connects military personnel and federal employees with housing 

• CoCaptain is a virtual coaching platform that makes coaching affordable and accessible for all

• CoCensus provides real-time qualitative data and reports on economically distressed communities for municipalities, real estate firms, and community stakeholders

• ConferenceCast is a premier knowledge platform, aggregating on-demand video content from conferences for professionals looking to upskill themselves

• Edifius enables any small business to have an AI-powered customer service department via its voicebot - without adding payroll

• Evrmore is the first for-benefit social technology built for judgement-free social and emotional wellness powered by Empathy AI™

• FairFare is a direct booking ride hail platform that allows you to choose your ride

• Healthy Hip Hop delivers the Sesame Street of the 21st Century

• HVACIntel helps contractors and homeowners detect and predict HVAC failures before they happen

• LAMIK  is a tech-enabled clean beauty brand for women of color

• Noonean Inc integrates Voice AI Assistants with cognitive search to provide next generation information access

• Optimal Technology Corporation is an award-winning, venture-backed, minority-owned, energy solutions provider lowering electricity bills by 70 percent using ML-enabled monitoring solutions and efficient energy technologies 

• RoundlyX is Mint.com for digital assets, enabling customers to invest spare change in cryptocurrency

• Steamchain Corp is a FinTech company that simplifies international B2B payments

• teleCalm is a stress-free phone service for seniors, stopping problem calls for families living with Alzheimer’s and dementia, including late-night calls, repeated calls and 911 abuse