Capital flows in for Oakland University tech growth fund

An Ann Arbor-based venture capital firm has begun raising money for a $30 million technology growth fund to be based at Oakland University.

While two existing VC firms in Oakland County specialize in specific niches, the new fund would be the first general-purpose VC fund in Oakland County.

Plymouth Venture Partners expects to complete an initial closing of its Plymouth Ventures II fund by September and says it's already developing candidates for possible investment. The new fund is to be based at the OU INCubator and will be managed onsite by Jeff Barry, Plymouth's senior vice president.

"We've had a good reception (from potential investors) particularly given a couple things," said Ian Bund, Plymouth's chairman. "One, we would be the only general-purpose venture capital firm based in Oakland County.

"Secondly, we've had a good deal of interest from folks who see the important role of Oakland University in Southeast Michigan and in the county in general, and a number of successful Oakland University alumni have really liked the idea because if they had had access to venture capital it might have allowed them to enhance the success of their own businesses."

The fund will target growth-stage companies that need capital to complement access to bank capital, Bund said. It will be made available to companies across Southeast Michigan and the Great Lakes region, and it would be able to co-invest with the roughly $20 million Plymouth Ventures I fund.

"We're interested in a wide variety of applied technology including medical technology," he said.

The OU INCubator is working with eight companies, including four that are using the incubator space, said David Spencer, the center's executive director. An additional five or six are in the pipeline awaiting approval.

The university looked at investment capital needs for a year and a half before being introduced to Plymouth, he said.

"Part of the reason I think that the university has been so supportive of this project is it does allow us to engage more fully faculty at the university who are interested in spinning out new businesses and commercializing intellectual property," Spencer said.

The presence of the fund could also help engage more student interns in potential careers in new technology companies, he said.

Bund said he expects to commit to five to eight companies for investment by year's end.

"We would want to collaborate with those two existing VC firms and in fact others, but the idea of that there's this major county with national presence not having a VC firm is surprising," Bund said.

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Capital flows in for Oakland University tech growth fund