Ann Arbor-based renewable energy O&M solutions startup SkySpecs has just announced an $80 million strategic capital raise led by the Sustainable Investing business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management with additional participation from a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources and other existing SkySpecs investors including Statkraft Ventures, Equinor Ventures, Evergy Ventures, UL Ventures and Huron River Ventures. This is one of the biggest startup raises in Michigan history.
Evergreen Climate Innovation’s 501vc Investment Fund now invests $200k – $300k in early-stage climate tech startups in the Greater Midwest. This climate tech-focused investment fund is looking to support climate startups specifically in the tech space that are headquartered in places like Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and the surrounding states, a location that is historically under-funded for climate tech.
Ann Arbor-based renewable energy O&M solutions startup SkySpecs has just announced an $80 million strategic capital raise led by the Sustainable Investing business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management with additional participation from a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources and other existing SkySpecs investors including Statkraft Ventures, Equinor Ventures, Evergy Ventures, UL Ventures and Huron River Ventures. This is one of the biggest startup raises in Michigan history.
Evergreen Climate Innovation’s 501vc Investment Fund now invests $200k – $300k in early-stage climate tech startups in the Greater Midwest. This climate tech-focused investment fund is looking to support climate startups specifically in the tech space that are headquartered in places like Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and the surrounding states, a location that is historically under-funded for climate tech.
The Washtenaw Community College Entrepreneurship Center’s premier event of the year, Pitch @ WCC, is taking place this year in hybrid format, with virtual sessions leading to private in-person pitches on WCC’s Ypsilanti campus in May 2022. If you have a new business you’d like to pitch, check out the info below to get involved. Hurry, the deadline is approaching!
Did you know that Michigan business incubator and support organization SPARK helps with guiding regional entrepreneurs through the startup process as well as helping them secure funding? Ann Arbor SPARK focuses mostly on tech businesses, but even if you’re not in the tech space (and even if you’re not in Michigan), you can find information about how to navigate the startup funding process on their website where they lay out the process of finding funding by growth stage. This handy and short guide can help you find local programs where you might find funding to tide you over until your business reaches growth stage.
The Clean Energy Business Network has created a database of funding opportunities for cleantech businesses. This helps pair eligible businesses with funding for climate technologies based on stage of the company or technology and by industry. As businesses become more aware of their climate impact and look for ways to green their business processes or technology, we wanted to highlight some ways to connect with people who can provide technology or help cleantech entrepreneurs grow their business anywhere in the U.S.
Genomenon, Ann Arbor’s AI-driven genomics company, recently announced closing a $20 million Series B financing round. The funds will help expand the company’s commercial operations and the development of its genomic data hub. The Genomenon data hub works with genetic testing labs, hospitals, and biopharma companies by using artificial intelligence to organize genomic data and make it available to clinicians to diagnose patients with rare genetic diseases and cancer. The goal is to use genomics data to create precision medicine that target molecular drivers of disease.
MediView XR, a Midwest-based medtech startup out of Cleveland, just announced they have raised a $9.9 million round of funding. This round of SAFE financing was syndicated by Inside View Investments, LLC, a private investment firm.
Cleveland’s North Coast Ventures has raised another $38 million to invest in Midwest startup companies, after investing $60 million in 57 regional companies in the last few years. This VC fund focuses on scalable SaaS companies, so we thought we would profile a few of them for you to show you what firms like NCV are looking for in a software startup.
The world’s fastest growing tech hub is now Toronto. The Waterloo Corridor around Toronto has finally achieved its goal of creating a tech hub growing even past planned metrics, with $2.8 billion invested into local startups in the last year, more than the last 10 years combined. This according to The Record, which reports that Toronto is now the world’s fastest growing tech hub.
May Mobility, one of Ann Arbor’s top mobility startups that created a self-driving shuttle, just closed an $83 million Series C round of funding led by Mirai Creation Fund II, a SPARX Group Co., Ltd. managed fund that focuses its support on high-growth, high-tech companies. New investors include Tokio Marine and Toyota Tsusho, with returning investors Toyota Ventures, Millennium Technology Value Partners, Cyrus Capital Partners, 1843 Capital, BMW i Ventures, and Bay Lake Ventures.
