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Leveraging AI or Blockchain to address some of our most pressing questions
The UNICEF Venture Fund is looking to invest in Open Source frontier technology solutions that have the potential to create radical change for children. We are offering up to US$100K in equity-free funding for early-stage, for-profit technology start-ups that can improve the lives of children. If your company is leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), or blockchain, we want to hear from you!
We are specifically seeking companies registered in one of UNICEF’s programme countries that have impressive working prototypes and a commitment to Open Source licensing and practices.
UNICEF’s Venture Fund is closely monitoring digital trends, particularly around connectivity, data integrity, and social media’s impact on misinformation. The Fund aims to invest in tools, platforms, and games that help youth identify misinformation and build media literacy.
We focus on the positive potential of technologies like AI, machine learning, and big data to validate information and develop solutions that enhance digital trust. We’re also exploring blockchain to secure data integrity and reduce intermediaries.
Currently, the Fund seeks companies that are leveraging AI or Blockchain software solutions to address some of our most pressing questions, which include but are not limited to:
Area 1
Are you creating tools, platforms or games leveraging new technologies to verify information and combat misinformation and/or disinformation? Or are you delivering behavioral interventions to consistently inform young people about misinformation and/or disinformation? We are particularly interested in approaches that address mis/disinformation in multiple languages and formats (e.g. audio, video, image) and encourage platforms accessible to persons with disabilities. Potential application could explore solutions such as:
Area 2
Are you using novel approaches to compile and validate large amounts of training data? Or creating new data through field data collection, crowdsourcing, or social network platforms? This could include use cases such as:
Area 3
Are you leveraging existing and new technologies to build digital trust? Or are you generating insights to assess and mitigate the threats and harms for children in digital environments? We are seeking startups that are building new tools, for instance:
We are not limited to the areas mentioned. We are actively seeking companies that push the boundaries with frontier technologies in innovative and scalable ways with global relevance.
The UNICEF Venture Fund has been specifically designed to finance early-stage, Open Source technology that can benefit children. The core motivation of the Venture Fund is to identify “clusters” or portfolios of initiatives around emerging technology so that UNICEF can both shape markets and learn about and guide these technologies for children. We invest in solutions clustered around $100 billion industries in frontier technology spaces such as blockchain, virtual and augmented reality, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.
Read more about the eligibility criteria and scoring: Request for Expressions of Interest (ROEI)
Previously founded projects: https://www.unicefventurefund.org/portfolio
Read more about the startup selection process
What happens after you receive an investment: Portfolio Management Experience
For any questions regarding the application process, please write to venturefund@unicef.org