Four venture capital firms were added to list of qualified venture firms that can access funding from the N.J Innovation Evergreen Fund, the N.J. Economic Development Authority Board announced Thursday.
These QVFs, as well as the three approved in May, are eligible to access up to $12.5 million annually per investor from the NJIEF to co-invest in innovative, high-growth New Jersey-based businesses. They are:
· Edison Partners (Princeton)
· Newark Venture Accelerator (Newark)
· Covenant Venture Capital (New York City)
· RV 3 Management (Philadelphia)
Established under the New Jersey Economic Recovery Act of 2020, signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy in 2021, the NJIEF allows the state to become an equity investor in innovative early-stage businesses based in New Jersey, investing up to $300 million in New Jersey companies alongside approved QVFs for a total of $600 million.
The capital raised from the sale of tax credits auctioned off to eight corporations in December 2022 is expected to result in the funding of initial investments into high-growth businesses in New Jersey.
“The NJIEF is a unique tool that will propel New Jersey’s innovation economy forward by leveraging public and private dollars to invest in high-growth startups, entrepreneurs, and our innovation ecosystem,” EDA CEO Tim Sullivan said.
“Through the NJIEF, the NJEDA is supporting Gov. Murphy’s strategic vision to invest in New Jersey entrepreneurs by providing access to necessary capital, which in turn, will allow companies of the future to grow and scale.”
EDA Chief Economic Transformation Officer Kathleen Coviello agreed.
“The QVFs approved yesterday all have a proven track record of investing for the growth of emerging companies throughout the country,” she said. “This is a robust roster of qualified venture firms and enhancing their capital to invest in New Jersey businesses couldn’t come at a more critical time when the capital markets have slowed making investments. We look forward to partnering with all our QVFs in the months and years ahead on strategic investments that will spur opportunities for New Jersey entrepreneurs and their businesses.”
Applications for venture firms to qualify as a QVF can be found here.
Applications are open to venture capital firms worldwide and are being accepted on a rolling basis. The roster of seven firms approved to date includes diversity of investment strategy, industry, and stage. There continues to be strong momentum from interested managers and we anticipate continuing to make announcements around several more QVFs in the coming months. Coviello noted that the application for approved QVFs to apply for Qualified Investments into high-growth, innovative businesses based in New Jersey is also now open. The total unallocated capital available for new investments stands at over $46 million.
