Grand Valley received a $1.6 million state grant to launch an emerging evergreen fund to support high-tech startups and early stage businesses in the Grand Rapids area.
The grant came from the newly- created Michigan Innovation Fund and will be administered by Grand Valley Research Corp.
Proceeds from its investments will be reinvested to fund additional startups. (Grand Valley Research Corp. is a subsidiary of GVSU created to manage licenses and intellectual property.)
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the grant recipients on July 14 after the fund won bipartisan support and a $60 million appropriation from the state legislature earlier this year.
As a reinvesting, perpetual capital source, the fund will focus high-tech and competitive edge industries while fueling public good through innovation at the university’s new tech hub in downtown Grand Rapids, GVSU Blue Dot.
“As key partners in West Michigan’s tech growth strategy, GVSU is well-positioned to focus on Michigan startups that are engaged in high-tech industries,” said Grand Valley State University President Philomena V. Mantella. “The evergreen fund will function as a key financial engine for our Blue Dot Lab, which will serve as a central node for innovation commercialization, and founder support and student engagement, allowing us to scale investment reach and advance Michigan’s innovation economy.”
The new evergreen fund at GVSU is one of three emerging evergreen funds being launched as part of the Michigan Innovation Fund. The others are InvestUP, which will focus on business in the Upper Peninsula and 20Fathoms, a fund focused on supporting entrepreneurs in the Traverse City area.
GVSU and the other emerging funds join a statewide network of 8 evergreen venture funds, including five existing funds affiliated with the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Western Michigan University.
“Michigan is a state of makers and doers, and we established the bipartisan Michigan Innovation Fund to unleash their entrepreneurial energy and keep growing our economy,” Whitmer said. “Today’s awardees will harness these new resources to continue pursuing their big ideas in Michigan, leading to more jobs, more companies, and more investments in our communities. Just last week, we were named a top 10 state for business for the third year in a row, achieving our highest ranking ever. We will build on this momentum by continuing to empower Michigan innovators and make our state the best place to have an idea and build something real.”
Additional information about the fund will be made available via the Grand Valley Research Corporation later this year.
