BofA Is Anchor Investor for Mendoza Fund in Diversity Effort

Bank of America Corp. was an anchor investor for a new $100 million fund managed by Mendoza Ventures, which backs companies with founders from minority and other diverse backgrounds in the financial-technology, artificial-intelligence and cybersecurity industries.

The investment “underscores our ongoing efforts to address the persistent gap in access to growth capital for minority and women-led businesses,” Renee Nalbandyan, a director of global corporate strategy at Bank of America, said in an emailed statement.

Grasshopper Bank also backed the fund, which has held a first close and is targeting a gross return of more than 36%, or a multiple ...