Iddris Sandu is the programmer and engineer responsible for writing and selling an algorithm to Instagram that filtered key sites or activities by user location to identify their possible interests, but the program has since been revised. He also coded for Snapchat, Twitter, and developed an interface that detects where a driver’s hands were in a car for Uber collisions. He is also the kind behind the late and great Nipsey Hussle’s tech-smart The Marathon Store. Early in 2023, it was reported that his company Spatial Labs (sLABS) acquired $10 Million seed in funding. He was quoted as saying this to Ebony magazine:
“With the brutal killing of George Floyd, there was roughly around $1.2 billion in funding that was available for founders of color and ever since then, it’s dropped by 30% every year,. We’re at a stage now where $120,000,000 has been allocated within the last year. If that is the case, then Spatial Labs raised 10% of total funding that was allocated to Black founders—that’s a problem. The reality is that although raising a total of $14 million puts us in a position that no founder under 30, even being a person of color under 30, my concern with that is we should technically be able to raise more because we’ve been held back so much. There is so much gatekeeping of information that can actually create much more equity across various industries. With the continued mission of Spatial Labs and an investment of this magnitude, we’re paving the way for younger people to know that they can be in these spaces as well.” Props to Iddris Sandu and his many contributions in this space.