The Michigan Accelerator Fund I launched today with $10 million for early stage life science and technology companies in West Michigan.
The Charter Group, a Grand Rapids, Michigan, mergers and acquisitions adviser, and the Michigan Strategic Economic Investment & Commercialization Board said it’s their community’s first venture capital fund focused solely on life science and technology.
The accelerator fund was developed to leverage hundreds of millions of dollars already invested in West Michigan’s science and research infrastructure by filling the region’s early stage funding gap and creating jobs.
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“This fund reflects the collaborative spirit and forward-looking leadership that has typified West Michigan over the years,” said John Kerschen, Charter Group principal who will manage the fund with co-principal Dale Grogan, in a press release.
“We have an opportunity to accelerate the development of high-growth industries and the creation of knowledge-based jobs — both of which are necessary for long-term economic success across our region,” Kerschen said.
While more than 20 percent of the nation’s research expenditures and patents originate in seven Midwest states, less than 6 percent of venture capital investments are made in this region.
“We cannot simply wait and hope this situation changes,” Kerschen said. “This fund will help us more effectively chart our own economic path in the years ahead.”
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Managers hope the fund becomes a pathway to funding and partnerships that commercialize the region’s life sciences and technology innovations. The fund also provides university and research institution stakeholders, including Grand Valley State University and Van Andel Research Institute with another source for technology transfer money.
The fund, which also will invest in advanced manufacturing, alternative energy and homeland security technologies, was formed with a $6 million award from the 21st Century Jobs Fund, a program of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. that is focused on jump-starting investments in high-growth industries around the state.
Additional investments by regional partners are expected to bring the fund to $10 million by early 2011. Investments could begin around that time. The fund also expects to offer programs, such as mentors-in-residence and student internships, to support the state’s emerging companies.
