NPR

$350 million for WeWork co-founder shows how broken and biased venture capital is

A reported $350 million investment into a new, yet-to-be-launched real estate venture founded by WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann reveals just how biased the venture capital industry is, experts say.
From top left, clockwise: Entrepreneurs Rebekah Bastian, Lizelle van Vuuren, Amy Nelson, Jaclyn Fu and Katica Roy.

A reported $350 million investment into a new, yet-to-be-launched real estate venture founded by a controversial businessman has drawn criticism from women entrepreneurs.

The investment, which was made and publicly shared by venture capital powerhouse Andreessen Horowitz, is in Flow, the new company of WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann.

Given Neumann's questionable business dealings and his abrupt exit from WeWork amid a fraught initial public offering in 2019, this new investment typifies the immense gap that exists in comparison with how much money venture-funded companies founded solely by women garner, experts say.

The investment is a prime example of how venture capital (VC) ecosystems "have always been inequitable," Rebekah Bastian, the CEO and co-founder of , a startup

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