Nearly half of American adults are low- and middle-wage workers with limited access to the education, training, and career pathways that drive economic mobility.
AI is fundamentally reshaping which jobs exist and what skills they require, with the potential to widen existing disparities. Without intentional investment, that disruption could fall disproportionately on low- and middle-wage workers.
JFFVentures invests in early-stage technology companies building solutions for workers and learners who have been left out of economic opportunity and face the greatest risk from the changing nature of work.
We back founders who have lived these gaps in access and opportunity firsthand because we believe the people closest to the problem are best positioned to solve it.
JFFVentures is strategically aligned with Jobs for the Future, a national nonprofit with 40 years of experience at the intersection of education, workforce development, and economic mobility.
Companies in our portfolio gain access to JFF's deep networks across employers, educational institutions, policymakers, and practitioners — connections that can open doors, validate solutions, and accelerate growth in ways that capital alone cannot.
Our Corporate Innovation Council (CIC), a community of leaders from F1000 companies, puts that network directly to work for portfolio companies, offering real-world insight, strategic feedback, and opportunities to pilot new products.
Beyond portfolio support, that same network and knowledge informs how we evaluate companies and make investment decisions, grounded in decades of on-the-ground experience inside the systems our founders are working to change.
History
The JFFVentures Pilot Fund was an early, catalytic capital investment vehicle that tested and refined our thesis by backing mission-aligned startups advancing economic mobility, laying the foundation for Economic Mobility Fund I.
-
2017
A coalition of foundations seeds the Employment Technology Fund (ETF), a $4M proof-of-concept fund, with Yigal Kerszenbaum as founding partner.
-
2019
ETF joins Jobs for the Future, operating as ETF@JFFLabs, expanding to approximately $25M AUM.
-
2024
JFFVentures launches Economic Mobility Fund I (EMF I) as an independently operating venture fund, strategically aligned with JFF.
-
2026
EMF I reaches final close.
The companies below offer a snapshot of the range of solutions we backed in the Pilot Fund.
