Business Oregon is taking applications for a fund manager to run the next biennium of its Commercialization Gap Fund.
The first Gap Fund was created in the 2019-2021 biennium budget and was managed by Portland-based investor Elevate Capital. This next fund will cover 2021-2023 and total $4.5 million. The fund manager must be based in Oregon.
The program is designed to invest in early-stage, science-based startups many of which are coming out of the state’s research universities. The fund is designed to help get those Oregon-based startups to a point where they are attractive to other private capital for further investment.
The first fund had $2.5 million to invest and backed 15 startups, said Jordana Barclay, innovation strategist for Business Oregon. Past recipients include Rewire Neuroscience, which is developing artificial intelligence software aimed at biomedical image analysis. The software removes a time-consuming element of research.
Initially the first fund was set to launch at $5 million in Spring of 2020, but once the pandemic hit and money was moved to other emergency programs, the first fund ended up at $2.5 million, Barclay said.
“That was unfortunate, but, that was the reality of situation. Elevate handled it well,” she said, adding that once systems were in place the program ran well.
The state is looking for a fund manager that will work closely with existing programs such as the three Signature Research Centers: Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI), Oregon Translational Research and Development Institute (OTRADI) and VertueLab as well as the universities.
Fund manager applications are due Nov. 8. Barclay expects the manager will be announced in January.
Business Oregon is the state’s economic development agency. The Gap Fund is designed to not only foster new companies but also generate a return for the state’s equity investment.
