Freada Kapor Klein

Why you should listen

Freada Kapor Klein is an investor and philanthropist who has worked for decades to make the tech world a more equitable place. As a prominent feminist researcher and writer in the 1970s, she was one of the earliest activists to deliver a wake-up call on the prevalence of workplace sexual harassment. Today, through the Kapor Center, she uses research, philanthropy and investment to dismantle barriers and create a more inclusive technology sector.

Since cofounding her social impact venture capital firm Kapor Capital in 2011, Kapor Klein has invested in more than 200 portfolio companies founded by underrepresented entrepreneurs. In 2016, Kapor Capital was the first investment firm to implement a founders' commitment to diversity and inclusion, now a core requirement for its portfolio startups. She was a founding funder of My Brother’s Keeper, the initiative launched by President Obama to address persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color, and the DAIR Institute, a space for independent, community-rooted AI research.