Morgan Stanley Chooses 9 Startup Companies for 4th Cohort of Innovation Lab

Morgan Stanley Selects 9 Startups for its fourth year of Innovation Lab that targets 

Fremont, CA: Morgan Stanley revealed the fourth cohort of the Multicultural Innovation Lab. It is an accelerator program for technology-enabled startups in the post-seed to Series B funding rounds and technology itself. The program is successful in its fourth year and, with 32 total participating companies, targets start-ups with a multicultural or woman founder. A co-founder, CTO, or other C-suite members who are also developing innovative solutions across sectors are also accepted. After three fruitful years, the company was keenly involved in acquisitions, funding rounds, and other aspects of the process. The lab will make investments in the early stages during a high growth period of the companies and also support the founders’ growth and development through its ecosystem of internal and external partners. 

“We are proud to kick off our fourth Lab cohort having witnessed firsthand the success of the program in bringing these businesses to scale,” said Carla Harris, Vice Chairman of Morgan Stanley and Head of the Multicultural Client Strategy Group. ”We launched the Multicultural Client Strategy Group five years ago with the mission to address a $4 trillion market inefficiency by raising awareness of the funding gap with the investment community to accelerate growth in companies with diverse founders.”

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The lab is built to solely help drive positive economic growth for the entrepreneurs of color and women. It provides content, visibility, technical support, and connectivity with the involvement of stakeholders who are of utmost necessity. The stakeholders will be essential in accelerating the best in class, as well as access to an ecosystem of best in global class partners, providing a variety of resources.

“This year’s program has fully kicked off virtually and been running seamlessly,” said Alice Vilma, Co-Head of the Multicultural Innovation Lab. “In addition to our pre-established curriculum, the lab is supporting and advising the cohort around management and operational decisions amid COVID-19, sharing resources from the Firm and beyond. This has generated a great sense of community among the participating entrepreneurs as they work to evolve their impressive businesses during a single time.”

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