Gov. Holcomb announces at Global Economic Summit new venture fund designed to help entrepreneurs scale in Indiana
MAY 24, 2024
INDIANAPOLIS – Governor Eric J. Holcomb, Indiana Secretary of Commerce David Rosenberg and CEO of Elevate Ventures Christopher Day today announced a new $100M fund focused on cross-sector innovation-driven growth stage companies with a $500M total addressable market (TAM) or greater. The fund will be anchored by a $25M commitment from the returns achieved by Elevate Ventures investments and Elevate plans to raise an additional $75M through the private market to continue fueling Indiana’s venture capital. The new growth fund will be called the Elevate Ventures Growth fund.
“Today’s launch of Indiana’s first Growth Stage fund adds to an already powerful toolkit putting the world’s capital to work including the $250M Next Level Fund we created in 2017,” Gov. Holcomb said. “This new $100M fund anchored by a $25M initial investment from Elevate Ventures will provide even more opportunities to invest and grow innovative businesses at the later stages of their development. I want to thank Toph Day and for his drive and vision to reach this point as well as Secretary Rosenberg and the IEDC board for putting it originally into motion.”
Indiana surpassed the $1 billion mark for venture activity in 2021 and 2022, with Elevate Ventures ranking no. 1 in the Great Lakes Region, no. 8 in the United States and no. 17 globally as the most active venture capital investor per Pitchbook 2024 Q1 League Tables. Investing state dollars from the 21st Century Research & Technology Fund and federal dollars from the State Small Business Credit Initiative, Elevate Ventures committed $21.7 million in capital to Indiana startups in 2023.
“We are the state that innovates. Our long relationship with the IEDC is an incredible example of one of the nation’s most successful public-private partnerships. Having a growth equity fund headquartered here in Indiana, to participate with investors from across the globe, will help our innovation-driven companies scale more efficiently and move from being acquirees to acquirors, helping to drive a more robust entrepreneurial ecosystem with high paying jobs. Indiana has the critical ingredients including infrastructure, talent, mission critical industries, technology, cost of living, lifestyle and regulatory environment to power the productivity boom,” said Christopher Day, CEO of Elevate Ventures Christopher Day.
Elevate Ventures is planning to commence fund formation in late Q2 and targeting to make first investments in 2025. In August of this year, innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors from across the world will gather in Indiana for the 2nd annual Rally, a global cross sector innovation festival and $5M pitch competition, one of the world’s largest. More details can be found here.
“In 2024, Forbes ranked Indiana as the second-best state to start a business. We have incredible momentum in Indiana with multiple billion-dollar investment announcements and a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem,” said Secretary of Commerce David Rosenberg who also leads the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. “The IEDC is constantly seeking the input of our innovation ecosystem and how we can better support entrepreneurship to drive more high paying jobs and prepare our workforce for the modern economy.”
