JobsOhio's venture capital fund created in spring 2021 has already invested $76 million in 59 Ohio tech companies and realized three acquisitions, CFO Brian Faust said.
The economic development organization allocated $50 million for JobsOhio Growth Capital in March 2021, building off emergency innovation grants the organization made in 2020 in response to the pandemic.
It's upped that commitment: As of March 31, JobsOhio had committed $97.2 million to the fund, according to financial reports.
For every dollar deployed by JobsOhio, the startups attracted $6 in outside private investment from Ohio and out-of-state firms, Faust said, for a combined $490 million. The fund is solely a "sidecar" to outside lead investors.
"That's a lot of activity," Faust said.
The investments, not individually disclosed, ranged from $300,000 to more than $3 million, mainly to early stage companies. The larger single investments were for growing companies at risk of leaving the state, he said.
Not only must the investment carry a potential for return, Faust said, but should lead to a company establishing or expanding a presence in the state.
"I think of our fund as having a double bottom line," he said. "There has to be some economic development purpose or nexus with the state of Ohio for us to participate.
"We wouldn't invest in a company just for a return even if the return was phenomenal."
Before the organization, Faust spent a decade in private equity working on mergers and acquisitions.
Three of its portfolio companies were acquired: Dublin-based Updox, Athens-based Stirling Ultracold and Cleveland-based Monarch Teaching Technologies. Individual investors' shares of returns aren't disclosed.
New investments this year include Westerville-based Nicola Labs Inc., and Columbus-based Share Mobility.
JobsOhio is a private nonprofit that owns the rights to the state liquor franchise, using profits from liquor sales to fund loans, grants and now investments for business attraction and expansion. It recently reported record commitments to job and payroll creation by companies it assisted in 2021.
