Apple is helping fund biotech firm SweetBio and VC outfit VamosVentures via its racial equity initiative

News
By
published
Apple Sweetbio
Apple Sweetbio (Image credit: Apple)

What you need to know

  • Apple has announced an investment in biotech firm SweetBio.
  • Money has been made available to VC firm VamosVentures.
  • Both investments are part of the Racial Equity and Justice Initiative.

Apple has announced that it is investing in two firms as part of its ongoing Racial Equity and Justice Initiative. Biotech firm SweetBio and VC outfit VamosVentures are the latest to benefit from funding coming out of Apple.

Apple continues to invest in Black- and Latinx-owned businesses as part of the growing Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, with SweetBio and VamosVentures just the latest to be on the receiving end of Apple's fund.

As part of Apple's recently launched Racial Equity and Justice Initiative (REJI), the company has invested a collective $50 million into a number of firms that focus on Black- and Latinx-owned businesses, including VamosVentures.

In terms of the biotech company, Apple says SweetBio was founded by a company that originated from Puerto Rico and specializes on the power of honey.

SweetBio was founded by sister and brother team Kayla Rodriguez Graff and Isaac Rodriguez, whose family is from Puerto Rico. Their goal is advanced wound care for all, and to achieve this, they've harnessed the power of a surprising source: honey. Specifically, Manuka honey, which is derived from bees pollinating the Manuka tree and has been shown to have antibacterial and healing properties, according to some studies.

VamosVenures also happens to be a VC outfit that has helped fund SweetBio in the past, too.

Apple Reji Investment Header

Apple Reji Investment Header (Image credit: Apple)

SweetBio is one of a number of Latinx-founded companies that has received funding from VamosVentures, a venture capital impact fund that invests in diverse, technology-enabled companies across the country.

You can read more about the new announcement, and SweetBio in particular, in Apple's Newsroom announcement..

Apple's REJI program focuses on education, criminal justice reform, and economic equality and you can read much more about Apple's work on the REJI webpage, too. That's also where you'll find more information about the particular work Apple is doing in various fields relating to its initiative.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.