Santa Fe-based Cottonwood Technology Fund on Wednesday announced it closed an investment fund of more than $75 million, paving the way for investments in more startups in the southwest and Europe.
The latest fund is Cottonwood's third fund and contributors included the state government, which had invested in the past, as well as 40 new partners from the U.S., Germany, Switzerland and the Benelux union between Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, according to Cottonwood.
And some of the money has already gone to firms that are headquartered or have a presence in Albuquerque, including mPower Technology and BayoTech, according to Cottonwood. Currently, out of six investments, three are for companies in New Mexico, Cottonwood managing director Dave Blivin told Business First.
The strategy for the new fund will be the same as the last two, but the venture capital firm will have more money to spend this time around. The last two were worth about $25 million and $40 million, according to Blivin, making this its largest investment fund yet.
Cottonwood was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Santa Fe with an additional office in the Netherlands. Likewise, the firm's focus areas are the southwestern U.S. and Northern Europe. It invests in advanced technology and science firms in the areas of microelectronics, nanoelectronics, nanotechnology, advanced materials and manufacturing, sustainable energy, photonics, medical tech and robotics.
Other local portfolio investments include Armonica Technologies, which announced a $2 million Series B round last year, as well as BennuBio.
Last year saw some other investment firms prepare for future investments. In New Mexico, Dorian Rader's OneTen° Capital is one of them, as is Scott Goodman's GOS Capital LLC.
Out of state, in Virginia, Scout Ventures partnered with the state, Auctus Investment Group and others on a $55 million fund focused on ventures from veterans of the military, the intelligence community and government research labs, Business First reported in September.
To read about some of the largest funding rounds for New Mexico Tech companies in 2021, click here.
