CincyTech has just closed a $4.4 million investment round for a seed fund that will invest in 10-12 Southwest Ohio high-tech startups.
CincyTech Fund II follows Fund I, which launched in 2007 with $6 million from the
Ohio Third Frontier
program and $4.4 million from local corporations, foundations and
institutions. Fund I has been fully committed or reserved. The initial
CincyTech Fund led to investments in 24 local companies.
As
with the first fund, Fund II is comprised of a mix of public and
private dollars. CincyTech matched $2 million announced earlier this
year from Ohio Third Frontier with $2.4 million raised from Southwest
Ohio partners.
That $2 million state award is
part of the $25 million invested statewide through Ohio Third Frontier's
Pre-Seed Fund Capitalization Program and Entrepreneurial Signature
Program Continuity Initiative. Third Frontier is a target economic
develop and job creation program approved by voters.
The
10-year, $1.6 billion state initiative aims to grow Ohio's economy by
investing in advanced and alternative energy, biomedical, advanced
materials, instruments, controls, electronics and advanced propulsion.
The effort launched in 2002. In May 2010 voters overwhelmingly approved a
$700 million bond issue renewal.
There are plans to announce new CincyTech investments in the next few weeks.
"The
timing of the Fund II's closing is crucial because we have such an
active pipeline of potential investments," says CincyTech president Bob
Coy.
Like CincyTech Fund I LLC, Fund II will
invest in companies focused on information technology, bioscience and
advanced manufacturing and that are based in or willing to move to
Southwest Ohio.
In addition to financial
investments, CincyTech also offers business support services like
management assistance, business plan development and
Imaging Grants
which help cover the costs of fleshing out an idea and making it a
potential business. Grants can cover technology validation studies,
market analysis and other work.
By Feoshia Henderson
You can follow Feoshia on Twitter @feoshiawrites
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