Aniyia Williams

Aniyia Williams is a systempreneur, creator, inventor, and technology leader whose career spans music, nonprofit work, Silicon Valley startups, and responsible technology investment. Williams has a background in the arts, with a decade of training as an opera singer, and began her career in major gifts fundraising for Wolf Trap Foundation and Levine School of Music before transitioning to the technology industry. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in music, with minors in business and Italian from Penn State University, where she was a Bunton-Waller Fellow, graduated with honors in Italian and musicology, and received the Josephine Rhea Award for Excellence in Italian studies.

Williams founded and led the fashion technology company Tinsel, which developed an audio necklace—earphones that double as jewelry—designed to address the lack of electronics developed for women. She invented and patented this product, and the company received media coverage from outlets including Ebony Magazine, TechCrunch, BBC News, and NPR. Williams was recognized by Penn State with the Alumni Achievement Award, presented to prominent alumni age 35 and younger.

In addition to her work with Tinsel, Williams has focused on reshaping the technology ecosystem for underrepresented founders. She founded Black & Brown Founders, a nonprofit organization supporting Black and Latinx entrepreneurs in launching technology businesses, and continues to serve as board chair. Williams is also co-founder of Zebras Unite, an entrepreneur-led movement focused on building a more ethical and sustainable startup ecosystem through capital, culture, and community; convener of the Black Innovation Alliance, an ecosystem of organizations supporting and funding Black innovators; and co-founder of the Firefly Alliance, a community equipping women with collaborative leadership skills to address racism and sexism.

Williams serves as director at Omidyar Network and lead for its incubated initiative, "The Tech We Want," where she supports emergent technology ecosystems that prioritize responsible innovation and promote a more equitable and sustainable technology industry. A two-time TEDx speaker, her work in venture capital and technology has been recognized by Forbes, Inc.com, The Huffington Post, and Entrepreneur.com. Williams is a prominent voice on innovation, diversity, ethical technology, and entrepreneurship.