Justice Tech
Building, sustaining, and expanding the Justice Tech ecosystem in the US to reduce inequities and create opportunities for justice-impacted people and communities to thrive.
What is Justice Tech?
Justice Tech [ juh·stuhs tek ] noun.
Technology-enabled innovation that supports people and communities impacted by the criminal and civil justice system*.
The United States’ high incarceration rates are plagued by systemic issues — such as deeply-embedded biases, over-policing and over-surveillance, and expensive and extortionary cash bails — disproportionately impacting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and low-income communities.
Join Us to Create an Equitable Justice System for All
Further, due to the significant justice gap in the United States, 92% of civil legal needs were not met in the past year due to insufficient access to justice, leaving millions of Americans without safe housing, access to health care, child custody, and protection from abuse.
Since 2020, in partnership with American Family Institute for Corporate and Social Impact (AmFam), and Dream.Org, Village Capital has been pioneering a Justice Tech ecosystem to support solutions for justice-impacted people and communities to thrive.
Community & Resource Map
This map identifies and facilitates connections for the Justice Tech ecosystem. Zoom and click into different locations to learn about justice tech companies, investors, community service providers, nonprofits, advocates, partnerships opportunities, and learning opportunities. Please note: the map will be updated periodically throughout the year.
Get Involved
While the Justice Tech ecosystem has come a long way, there is much work to do. Please consider supporting this movement in the following way(s):
Participate in our 2023 Justice Tech Community Convenings series.
Learn about and connect with other ecosystem partners in this space. Watch the recorded convenings from June with Dream.org, July with Gener8tor, August with American Family Insurance Institute, September with Justice Tech Association, and October with Jobs for the Future.
Subscribe to VilCap’s US regional newsletter.
Receive up-to-date insights and advancements in Justice Tech. Sign up for the US newsletter here.
Support our Justice Tech work through a future partnership.
Share your ideas for ways to expand and advance this work together. Learn more today. Contact Kelly.Bryan@vilcap.com or get in touch here.
The Verticals
Justice tech startups fall across a variety of tech verticals, or the areas in which they’re working. These six verticals emerged from our Justice Tech summit and the 2020 “Justice Tech for All” Market Assessment. Expand each one below to explore in more detail.
01
Financial Health02
Future Of Work03
GovTech04
Healthcare05
LegalTech06
Communications TechnologyJustice Tech Investor Network
Village Capital and American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact have created a community of investors to mobilize investment capital towards Justice Tech.
The Justice Tech Investor Framework was informed and inspired by three Investor Convenings, as well as more than 30 hours of research and interviews with Investor Network members.
Thank you to the Investor Network for their time and insight.
Chris Bentley
Managing Principal, The De-Carceration Fund
Taj Eldridge
General Partner, Include Venture Partners
Rashmi Pendse
Senior Vice President & Principal, Citi Impact Fund
Melissa O'Dell
Executive Director, Defy Ventures Illinois
McKenzie Smith
Independent
Jasmine Rashid
Director of Impact, Candide Group
Elani Buchan
Independent
Brian Howe
Venture Partner, Stand Together Ventures Lab
Supporting the Justice Tech Ecosystem
Latest News
Village Capital Partners with Justice Tech Association
Learn more about our partnership with the Justice Tech Association, the nonprofit trade association representing justice technology startups, to build and grow the justice tech ecosystem.
Watch the Community Convening: Insuring Climate Justice for People and Communities Impacted by the Criminal System with Jobs for the Future
Watch the October session from the Plugging Into the Justice Tech Ecosystem: Community Convenings Series.
Watch the Community Convening: Leveraging Community to Increase Access to Justice with Justice Tech Association
Watch the September session from the Plugging Into the Justice Tech Ecosystem: Community Convenings Series.
*It is important for us to recognize that Justice Tech is a larger domain of entrepreneurship that can encompass racial, environmental, LGBTQIA+, and economic justice among others. The area we will be exploring with this partnership is the ways in which Justice Tech intersects with the US criminal and civil justice system. We would like to echo calls from intersectional leaders that it is important to not narrow the conversation of justice solely to criminal and civil justice to the detriment of a holistic perspective including other systems.