The Missouri Technology Corp. (MTC) has made its first investments from an influx of federal funds expected to increase its venture capital activity in the coming years.
MTC said it has awarded more than $2 million in funding to eight Missouri startups, with five of the companies based in St. Louis. MTC said the investment marks the first capital it is providing from the $95 million it has been allocated through the U.S. Treasury Department’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). That funding is expected to help MTC significantly ramp up its venture capital program.
Created by the Missouri General Assembly, MTC is a public-private partnership designed to promote entrepreneurship and provide investment to startups and entrepreneur support organizations. Through its venture capital program, Idea Fund, MTC has provided about $46 million in financing to roughly 140 startups located throughout Missouri.
“This is the first round of investments to be funded through the federal SSBCI program, which will allow MTC to award quarterly investment allocations for the next eight years or so,” said Jack Scatizzi, MTC’s executive director. “Applications were received from several of the state’s entrepreneurial ecosystems and MTC is excited to continue to deploy capital alongside our co-investors into high-growth potential early-stage companies throughout the state.”
The local startups receiving capital through MTC’s first round of investment include:
- Edison Agrosciences, which focuses on boosting natural rubber created by the sunflower
- Navigate Oncology Solutions, a provider of software for cancer clinics
- NuPeak Therapeutics, a drug development startup focused on airway disease
- Readout Health, which has developed a hand-held metabolism-tracking device
- Solis Agrosciences, a business-to-business company that provides technology and research services for agriculture companies and researchers
The other three companies receiving funding from MTC include Columbia-based digital therapeutics company Healium, Kansas City-based consumer electronics firm Bryght Labs and medical hardware startup Allumin8. MTC did not disclose the specific investment amount it has provided for each company.
Scatizzi previously told St. Louis Inno that the SSBCI program will allow MTC to quadruple its pace of investment into early stage startups. In recent years, MTC has done one application cycle annually for its venture capital program, investing roughly $1 million to $2 million per year. With the SSBCI funding, MTC will dole out investments quarterly.
MTC is required to match every SSBCI dollar it invests with $10 from the private sector. Its Idea Fund is already structured as a co-investment program, meaning startups that seek capital from MTC must match it with private funding.
