The Renaissance Venture Capital Fund is making its first investments in its second investment vehicle, worth $60 million, over the last year.
The downtown Ann Arbor-based venture capital firm also has an office in downtown Detroit, has invested $3 million of it second fund so far. The first recipient is
Allos Ventures, a venture capital firm with offices in Indianapolis and Cincinnati.
"They have been pretty active in looking for deals in Michigan," says Chris Rizik, CEO of
Renaissance Venture Capital Fund.
Renaissance Venture Capital Fund is a
fund of funds, which is primarily used to invest in other venture capital funds that will in turn invest in individual companies. The Renaissance Venture Capital Fund invests in VCs that are looking to invest in Michigan-based start-ups. The 5-year-old fund of funds, which has derived its capital from private sources, launched with a $50 million fund. It closed on a $60 million fund last year.
When the Renaissance Venture Capital Fund launched it deployed its capital relatively quickly to meet pent up demand. Rizik expects the deal flow to even out a little more in coming years with his company making $15 million to $20 million investments
"Now it's sort of a steady flow," Rizik says. "There is no backlog. We will invest this in a steady fashion."
Source: Chris Rizik, CEO of Renaissance Venture Capital Fund
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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