On Friday’s The Daily Stack, we spoke out against the recent attacks and the racism perpetrated on Asian-Americans, which have sharply increased as a result of the pandemic. Last week’s tragic deaths of six Asian Americans, resulting from mass shootings that occurred in three spas in Atlanta, serve as a rude awakening of the consequences resulting from a history of silencing, stereotyping, and microaggression towards the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities.

As it is with the funding of minorities, funding for Asian-led startups is often overlooked. According to PrivCo’s report on Funding Diversity in 2020, minority-led startups raised only 1.2% of the total funding raised in 2020. The companies who participated cover only 1.4% of the total number of companies and within this small percentage is an even small percentage that are AAPI-led. 

To give our support and show solidarity, we spotlight some Asian-founded startups and urge our readers to give support to AAPI communities as well as other minority-led organizations. 

Spotlight Companies

🛒 Weee is a grocery delivery service focused on Asian and Hispanic groceries. It just received mega-round funding of $315MM to scale its service amidst the boom of online grocery delivery. The company was founded by Larry Liu.

🧬 Verge Genomics is a biotechnology startup that aims to develop next-generation medication from human genomics to prevent neurodegenerative diseases. The startup was founded by Alice Zhang and Jason Chen. 

🏛 FiscalNote is a software company that provides solutions for government affairs to help manage key issues and track legislation. The company was founded by Gerald Yao, Jonathan Chen, and Tim Hwang

💻 Run the World is a virtual events startup that encompasses everything from ticketing, video conferencing, interactivity, and networking. The company was founded by Xiaoyin Qu and Xuan Jiang.

🧥 M.M. LaFleur is a fashion company that focuses on wardrobe solutions for professional women. It was founded by Miyako Nakamura, Narie Foster, and Sarah LaFleur. 

👟 GOAT Group is a marketplace focused on selling authentic sneakers, apparel, and accessories. The company was founded by Daishin Sugano and Edward Lu.

🛒 Boxed is an e-commerce food delivery company focused on bulk and wholesale products. It was founded by Chieh Huang.

🔍 Amplitude is a SaaS startup that offers a behavior analysis tool for companies to understand their customer behavior and include their digital product experience. The company was founded by Spenser Skates, Curtis Liu, and Jeffrey Wang. 

📩 Iterable is a SaaS startup that helps companies market and engages with their customers through an omnichannel marketing platform. It was founded by Andrew Boni and Justin Zhu.