Beringea, along with Credit Suisse, is launching the second investment fund for
Michigan Growth Capital Partners.
Michigan Growth Capital Partners II is a $180 million fund focused on providing investment capital for start-ups based in the Great Lakes State. The fund, which is expected to be deployed over the next 4-5 years, looks to focus on companies in the following sectors: advanced materials and manufacturing, health care and life sciences, media and communications, specialized consumer goods, homeland security, IT and clean technology.
"There has been a tremendous increase in the level of innovation that has been taking place across the state," says Charlie Rothstein, founder & senior managing director of Farmington Hills-based
Beringea.
Ann Arbor-based firms have been the beneficiary of a significant chunk of change in the first fund, which was launched in 2008. Some of the local big names include
ReCellular (the largest cell phone recycler in the U.S.) and
Sakti3, a University of Michigan spin-out working on battery-storage technology for electric vehicles. Both are based in Ann Arbor.
The biggest prize is
Accuri Cytometers, an Ann Arbor-based bio-tech start-up that was recently acquired for nearly $300 million. There is no guarantee any of the money from the second fund will end up with any Ann Arbor-are start-ups this time around. But considering the robustness of the venture capital industry and the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Washtenaw County it looks like there is amply opportunity for a significant amount of the the $180 million in the Michigan Growth Capital Partners II to land in Ann Arbor.
Source: Charlie Rothstein, founder & senior managing director of Beringea
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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