Portland Seed fund was selected by the state to manage the latest Commercialization Gap Fund, an investment vehicle to back science and research-based startups.
The $4 million fund is being branded the Intrepid Oregon Fund by PSF. The group has brought Portland technologist Shashi Jain on as a Venture Partner to work on the fund. PSF expects to make about 15 investments out of this fund. Initial check sizes should range from $100,000 to $250,000, according to PSF. There is opportunity for follow-on funding as companies scale, said PSF managing director Angela Jackson.
Jain, who spent more than 20 years at Intel over two stints, is well known in Portland’s startup community. He organized Startup Weekend events and the Portland 3D Printing Lab community. He works with the E-nable organization, which 3D prints prosthetic hands for children. He is the TiE Young Entrepreneurs global education director. His last role at Intel was senior innovation manager.
“The Intrepid Oregon Fund represents an important inflection point for startups developing deep technology companies in Oregon,” Jain said. “I'm excited to apply my own frontier technology and startup advisory experience to companies building in sectors such as robotics, advanced materials, cleantech, and more.”
This is the third Commercialization Gap Fund that the state has funded through Business Oregon. The first two funds were managed by Portland investment fund Elevate Capital. The Commercialization Gap Fund backs early stage startups that typically require heavy investment due to prototyping or other commercialization development.
In the past many companies that have received investment are based on technology developed at the state’s universities or research centers. The capital intensity of these kinds of startups can make finding angel and early-stage investment difficult, especially if investors can put money into a software startup and see a return on much shorter timelines.
PSF’s first two investments from the new Intrepid Oregon Fund are in Bold Reuse and Solid Carbon.
Bold Reuse is a company that removes single-use plastic by helping customers wash and reuse items. The startup has programs with the Moda Center, Providence Park and Oregon Convention Center. Solid Carbon works in the area of carbon sequestration in concrete. The startup has done projects with Remy Wine in Dayton, Oregon, the caretaker of the Burnside Skatepark, and the Tacoma/Pierce Habitat for Humanity.
The fund targets companies in climate tech, health and advanced manufacturing sectors.
“It’s a great honor for PSF to be selected to seed the next generation of Oregon companies in deeper science and technology sectors,” said Jackson, in a written statement. “We will bring our wisdom and experience from serially investing early in these sector to IOF.”
Jackson co-founded PSF in 2010. The fund has invested in more than 200 companies. She noted that many of PSF’s best performing investments have been in the sectors IOF will focus on.
