University of Michigan students and faculty have just launched a student-run investment fund focused on supporting early-stage climate tech companies.

PitchBook's "a flurry of mobility startups going public through IPOs and SPACs through last year." $54 billion invested despite headwinds of the pandemic. First half of 2021 even better $49.4 billion raised, over 100% over last year, putting us on track for a record year of investment for mobility. Michigan leads across the spectrum from EVs to autonomous startups (May Mobility, Refraction AI) to those disrupting services like FixMyCar and startups focused on shared mobility. $104 million so far this year invested in Michigan-based mobility startups, which has affected Michigan's startup valuations. "What we've seen is overall valuations have seen an uptick in 2021, but especially this has been driven by valuation for later stage companies... up 244% compared to last year." Angel and seed is flat year over year, and early stage are up 13%. Although Michigan-based mobility startups have a lower valuation than their Silicon Valley-based counterparts, they're showing a similar trend.

Ann Arbor SPARK's a2tech360 FastTrack Awards were held tonight to celebrate the fastest growing startups coming out of Washtenaw and Livingston counties in Southeast Michigan. These "gazelles" are startups with rapid year over year growth defined as 20% increased average revenue for 3 years starting from a base of $100,000. These awards do not include metro Detroit or other areas of Michigan, so this is not a comprehensive list of the fastest growing companies in Michigan overall.