# Maria Salamanca

> Maria Salamanca is a General Partner at Ulu Ventures, the largest Latina-led venture capital firm in the United States with over $400M AUM. Born in Bogotá, Colombia and raised in Orlando, Florida, she became the first Latina named to Forbes 30 Under 30 for Venture Capital in 2018. She co-founded SomosVC to increase Latinx representation in VC and was elected as the youngest and first LGBTQ+ school board member of Orange County Public Schools (Florida's 8th-largest district) in 2022. Her investing approach is rooted in data-driven decision-making, and she champions diverse founder teams at the seed stage.

- **Role:** General Partner at Ulu Ventures
- **Organizations:** Ulu Ventures, SomosVC, Swing Left, Orange County Public Schools Board, Higher Ground Labs
- **From:** Bogotá, Colombia
- **Nationality:** Colombian-American
- **Education:** BA in Political Science and Legal Studies, Minor in Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley
- **Known for:** First Latina named Forbes 30 Under 30 for Venture Capital (2018), Business Insider's Under 30 Rising Stars (2018), California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Shark of the Year (2017)

## Career timeline

- **pre-2015** — Student at UC Berkeley; debate captain and student body president in high school
- **2014-2015** — Cold-emailed FWD.us while still a student; helped with donor engagement and fundraising
- **2015** — Graduated UC Berkeley; joined Unshackled Ventures as an early hire alongside founders Manan Mehta and Nitin Pachisia
- **2016** — Co-founded Swing Left as founding COO; joined as board member
- **2017** — Named California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Shark of Year; met Miriam Rivera (Ulu Ventures co-founder) who became a key mentor
- **2018** — Became the first Latina named Forbes 30 Under 30 for Venture Capital; also named Business Insider 30 Rising Venture Capitalists; co-authored SomosVC annual Latinx VC diversity report
- **2019** — Named HBCUs 31 Under 31 in Venture Capital
- **2021** — Named to Fast Company Queer 50 list
- **2022** — Joined Ulu Ventures as Partner; elected youngest and first LGBTQ+ school board member of Orange County Public Schools District 2; named NVCA Venture Forward Rising Stars to Watch
- **2024** — Named Business Insider Seed40 best women early-stage investors; Ulu Ventures closes Fund IV at $208M
- **2025** — Named Business Insider Seed40 for second consecutive year; featured in The Impact Agenda podcast

## Achievements

- First Latina named Forbes 30 Under 30 for Venture Capital (2018)
- Business Insider's Under 30 Rising Stars (2018)
- California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Shark of the Year (2017)
- NVCA Venture Forward Rising Stars to Watch (2022)
- Fast Company Queer 50 (2021)
- HBCUs 31 Under 31 in Venture Capital (2019)
- Business Insider Seed40 best women early-stage investors (2024 and 2025)
- Co-founded SomosVC, first nonprofit producing annual report on Latinx diversity in VC
- Elected youngest and first LGBTQ+ school board member of Orange County Public Schools (8th largest US district) in 2022
- Helped evaluate 8,000+ deals and made 75+ investments at Unshackled Ventures
- Part of team that closed Ulu Ventures Fund IV at $208M (50% increase from Fund III)

## Latest updates

- **2025-02** — Ulu Ventures closes Fund IV at $208M, bringing total AUM over $400M with Maria as General Partner
- **2025-01** — Named to Business Insider Seed40 list for second consecutive year as top women early-stage investor
- **2024-12** — Featured on The Impact Agenda podcast discussing tech, policy, and venture capital
- **2024-05** — Co-authored third annual SomosVC State of Latino/a in VC report; featured at SomosVC Emerging Managers Showcase

## Links

- Website: https://www.salamancamaria.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-salamanca-b5a67247
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/MariaSalamancaM

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/maria-salamanca
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-18