$45.9M Innovate NY fund fully vested

The $45.9 million Innovate NY venture capital fund has been fully invested, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. Since the fund’s launch in 2012, 81 companies have received more than $370 million in investment capital, leading to the creation or retention of 2,250 jobs.

A majority of investments were made in upstate companies. The Innovate NY fund is managed by New York Ventures, the venture capital investment arm of Empire State Development, and supports the state’s entrepreneurial culture of new and innovative startups.

Innovate NY operates through a “fund-of-funds” structure in which third-party investment managers are competitively selected to manage the investment activity on a statewide basis. ESD selected seven venture capital funds to invest in seed-stage, startup companies, which usually have not yet established commercial operations, throughout the state.

Innovate NY invests in these seed-stage businesses to support innovation, job creation and high-growth entrepreneurship throughout New York. Investments can be used to continue research and development, develop and test products, market research or build management teams. The fund required a ratio of 2:1 private-public investment.