HacWare CEO Tiffany Ricks [Composite photo; original: HacWare]
Google announced that Tiffany Ricks, founder and CEO of Frisco-based Hackware, is the only Texas recipient among 20 recipients of the 2024 Google for Startups Founders Fund, which is targeted at Black and Latino entrepreneurs.
HacWare is a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based AI-powered cybersecurity awareness platform designed to empower small security teams to fight phishing attacks. The company was founded in Dallas in 2019 and has offices in Dallas.
“This funding from the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund furthers our mission to make the digital world a safer place,” Ricks said in a statement. “Cybersecurity isn’t just about protecting data, it’s about empowering people, and we’re committed to helping our customers navigate the online world with confidence and security.”
Lean security emphasizes the need to optimize security practices by focusing on what matters most to your business while avoiding unnecessary complexity and additional costs.
Google said this year will be its first cohort made up entirely of AI-focused startups, advancing Google’s efforts to get into AI and helping diverse founders access capital. Each founder will receive a non-dilutive cash bonus of $150,000 and $100,000 in Google Cloud credits to help scale their business.
“Google’s support will enable us to expand our team and strengthen our channel partnerships with more than 3,000 IT solution providers across North America, EMEA and APAC markets,” Ricks said.
According to Google, founders will have access to mental health resources and can receive guidance from Google’s AI and sales experts.
According to the company, 2024 Black and Latino Founders Fund recipients are using AI to solve important business and societal challenges, from preventing wildfires to diverting fast fashion from landfills to helping millions of community college learners transfer to four-year universities and complete their degrees.
Maya Kulicki, vice president of strategy and operations at Google Research, highlighted the need for capital to help startups realize their potential with AI: “AI enables startups to develop innovative products and solve complex challenges,” she said in a statement.
Kulicki highlighted Google’s commitment to investing in promising Black and Latino founders leveraging AI technology, saying the company’s efforts address “some of today’s most pressing problems” and that he was impressed by “the groundbreaking work of these founders and their potential to shape the future of AI.”
Google said it believes racial equality leads to economic opportunity.
The company created Founders Funds to provide a level playing field for Black and Latinx entrepreneurs, who are routinely shut out of access to early stage capital. Since 2020, Google has invested more than $50 million in Black and Latinx founders around the world, who have raised more than $590 million in follow-on funding.
As the innovative founder and “Chief Hacker” of HacWare, Rick has been featured at Dallas Innovates for his unique approach to tackling the human element of cybersecurity. For example, in 2019, Rick realized that companies were most at risk due to human error and lack of employee knowledge. This led him to develop Mystery, an autonomous application that sets up phishing campaigns and detects who is most at risk of attack.
Ricks’ influence has also been recognized in the Dallas Innovates Future 50 list, which showcases the region’s most influential innovators and disruptors. 
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