CincyTech Fund IV raises over $30 million to spark growth in Cincinnati's startup economy

CincyTech, which invests in local technology and science startups, just closed its fourth and largest fund at $30.75 million, more than its three previous funds combined.
 
Investors in the fund span Cincinnati’s science, philanthropy and business communities and are buttressed by a $10 million two-to-one matching loan from Ohio Third Frontier, the state initiative investing in startups to stimulate growth in Ohio’s economy. CincyTech, which aims to spark development and growth in the local economy by investing in high-potential startups, was a natural fit for the program.
 
CincyTech will use Fund IV to invest in approximately 25 companies over the next three years. Going by CincyTech’s track record, however, the fund’s benefits likely will exceed $30.75 million by attracting other funds and investors to promising Cincinnati companies, which in turn will generate economic growth and new high-paying jobs across the city.
Bob Coy 
“We invest in companies that we believe will become attractive to sustainable investment,” CincyTech President and CEO Bob Coy says. “Most of the companies we invest in at first may employ two to four people. They’re starting from scratch.”
 
With the help of CincyTech investment, many of those companies are able to expand and employ more people, often in the annual salary range of $75,000 to $80,000. CincyTech has created more than 800 jobs by investing in success stories like Ahalogy, Roadtrippers, LISNR and Assurex Health, and Coy points to this track record as one of the reasons the organization was able to raise such a large sum for its fourth fund.
 
“The first three funds have been performing well, and I think the investors in Fund IV based their decisions on that performance,” he says.
 
CincyTech is looking to continue that trend with the new companies it supports over the next three years. Most will likely come from the software/technology and bioscience sectors, which Coy says have a great deal of potential and innovation right now.