The Vertical

The Vertical The Vertical is the voice of international, immigrant, and minority entrepreneurship.

D.I.D.I. is an offline AI tutor that gives students access to curriculum-aligned learning resources without WiFi. It is...
07/07/2026

D.I.D.I. is an offline AI tutor that gives students access to curriculum-aligned learning resources without WiFi. It is now used in schools in South Sudan and Malawi and is expanding to Pakistan, Bangladesh and Tanzania.

Mateo Acosta-Rubio, founder of LetAllGirls, the nonprofit behind DIDI, said the project began with one girl’s determination to educate women in her country.

“Her name was Didi,” Mateo said. “We met at a pitch event at Babson College. She wanted to help women in her native South Sudan, where more than half of girls marry before 18 and are often denied the right to learn. Didi was the first girl in her community to study abroad – fearless and brilliant. Even with a thick accent, she used words I had to Google.”

To learn more, read The Vertical:
https://thevertical.la/life/her-name-was-didi-how-ai-is-turning-one-girls-dream-of-education-into-reality/

This summer, as we celebrate the Fourth of July and America's spirit of innovation, we're also thinking about the entrep...
07/04/2026

This summer, as we celebrate the Fourth of July and America's spirit of innovation, we're also thinking about the entrepreneurs who choose to build their futures here.

Many of the country's most successful companies were founded by immigrants or the children of immigrants.

Today, however, international founders face growing uncertainty as visa delays and increased scrutiny make it harder to launch and scale startups in the U.S.

America's greatest competitive advantage has always been its ability to attract ambitious people from around the world. Protecting that spirit of innovation matters, not just on Independence Day, but every day.

Happy Fourth of July. 🇺🇸

This summer, millions of young people around the world are stepping into an uncertain future shaped by AI. The question ...
07/02/2026

This summer, millions of young people around the world are stepping into an uncertain future shaped by AI.

The question is no longer whether AI will change education and work. It's whether everyone will have the opportunity to learn it.

Looking back at our on 's AI education boom, where founders, investors, and ecosystem leaders discussed how AI is expanding access to learning across the continent.

From AI labs in rural schools to multilingual educational tools, the conversation was a reminder that investing in AI education means investing in opportunity.

The future belongs to those who can build it, and that starts with access.

06/29/2026

Networking took an unexpected turn at We Make Future (WMF) when we became friends with a talking robot from Romania. 🤖🇷🇴

The Vertical was the information partner for WMF's largest edition to date, held in Bologna, Italy, from June 24–26.

This year, the festival brought together more than 800 exhibitors, 3,000 startups, 20+ international pavilions, and 50 trade delegations from across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the U.S., making Bologna a global meeting point for innovation.

Three days of conversations, discoveries, and one very memorable robotic friendship. See you at the next WMF!

P.S. Check link in bio for more information.

Two young founders, Emma L. and Sunrit Panda, didn’t set out to build a climate company. A backpacking trip in India cha...
12/19/2025

Two young founders, Emma L. and Sunrit Panda, didn’t set out to build a climate company. A backpacking trip in India changed everything. Seeing smoke from stubble burning pushed them to rethink how rural communities could fight pollution differently.

What followed became Nirvana Carbon Solutions — a simple idea rooted in their heritage: turn farm waste into biochar, right where farmers need it. No big factories. No complicated tech. Just community-level action that works.

They started small — five villages in West Bengal and Odisha. But once farmers saw healthier soil and cleaner air, the model spread. Today, it’s 25 villages and growing, powered by women earning equal pay and young people finding new jobs.

Every batch of biochar is tested, tracked, and verified. Field managers monitor farms. Satellites confirm results. And together, these rural communities have already begun locking away hundreds of tons of carbon.

But the story didn’t end in India. The team is now planting native trees in Kazakhstan’s Aral Sea region, fighting desertification one root at a time.

Link 🔗 in bio to continue reading.

It’s funny how often the biggest shifts in tech come from people who simply wanted to solve a personal problem. And when...
12/19/2025

It’s funny how often the biggest shifts in tech come from people who simply wanted to solve a personal problem. And when you look at the AI space today, you’ll notice a pattern — immigrants are behind some of the most interesting ideas.

Take Wei Chen (Archer) Chiang, for example. Studying abroad, missing home, struggling with the “what do I send?” question — that experience became Giftpack, a platform that uses AI to recommend thoughtful gifts across borders.

Or Ivan Crewkov, who built BuddyAI an AI tutor for kids, because his daughter had a tough time learning English when they moved to the U.S. That’s literally a father turning a family challenge into a global solution.

Then there's Bernardo Garcia, one of the brains behind Félix — helping immigrant families send money home using a simple AI chatbot. If you’ve ever navigated remittances, you know how big that is.

And Raj Koneru, founder of koreai, talks about how being an immigrant pushed him to think differently — a mindset that helped him build one of the leading enterprise AI platforms today.

None of these stories feel random. Immigrants now make up almost two-thirds of top AI founders in the U.S. — and the common thread is clear: lived experience shapes innovation.

Did you know?”70% of U.S. and UK unicorns have underdog founders — women, people of color, and founders who didn’t start...
12/19/2025

Did you know?”

70% of U.S. and UK unicorns have underdog founders — women, people of color, and founders who didn’t start with all the advantages.

Even more striking?
First- or second-generation immigrants built 62% of these startups.

That stat alone should change how we think about innovation.

Because so often, the people driving the biggest ideas are those who had to adapt early, start from scratch, and learn to build in unfamiliar systems. Immigrant founders don’t just chase opportunity — they create it.

For example, Zoom, the video-conferencing giant was founded by Eric Yuan, a Chinese immigrant who faced multiple visa rejections before finally moving to the U.S. Today, Zoom is a household name and a multi-billion-dollar company.

This is exactly the kind of data point that reminds us why diverse backgrounds aren’t a “nice to have” in tech and business. They’re a competitive edge.

Worth sitting with. Worth investing in. Worth paying attention to.

It’s finally here. After weeks of planning, conversations, and excitement in the community, today we host “AI in Private...
12/11/2025

It’s finally here.

After weeks of planning, conversations, and excitement in the community, today we host “AI in Private Equity: Redefining Risk, Speed & Strategy”

If you’ve been following the buzz around how generative AI is reshaping private markets — from deal-sourcing and due diligence to portfolio management — today’s room is where all those ideas come together.

We’re bringing operators, fund managers, founders, and investors into one space for real, practical conversations on what’s actually working… and what’s just noise.

On the agenda:
• A sharp, no-fluff panel on AI-driven diligence & exit planning
• How teams are turning AI pilots into real, scalable infrastructure
• Lots of learning, lots of networking, and probably a few “aha” moments

Our lineup is stacked:
• Gelila Zenebe Bekele — Aone Partners
• Mason Lender — CEO, Vantager
• Nikita Sharkov — LongArc Capital
• Moderator: Ilona Limonta-Volkova

Huge shout out to CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen) for backing this.

Let’s make today a good one.

We’re excited to host “AI in Private Equity: Redefining Risk, Speed & Strategy” — a high-impact conversation on how gene...
12/04/2025

We’re excited to host “AI in Private Equity: Redefining Risk, Speed & Strategy” — a high-impact conversation on how generative AI is transforming the future of private markets.

From deal-sourcing to due diligence, portfolio management to infrastructure investment, AI is changing how capital moves. If you’re a PE investor, fund manager, founder, or digital-transformation leader, this room is for you.

📅 What’s happening:
• A top-tier panel on AI-driven diligence & exit planning
• Real talk on turning AI pilots into profit-driving infrastructure
• Networking with operators, investors & tech founders

🎙️ Our speakers:
• Gelila Zenebe Bekele, Director, Aone Partners — ex-BlackRock, SaaS acquisitions, HBR-published
• Mason Lender, CEO & Co-Founder, Vantager — powering diligence for LPs with $100B+ AUM
• Nikita Sharkov, VP, Long Arc Capital — scaling advanced AI across portfolios
• Moderated by: Ilona Limonta-Volkova, Principal at Bright Ventures & host of NPR’s Money Memories

Big thanks to our sponsor CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen) for supporting this event.

See flyer for event details.

Link in bio to register.

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