Missouri Technology Corp. (MTC) has committed funding to five St. Louis-based startups in its latest cohort of venture capital investments.
MTC earlier this month said it has awarded $2.3 million in funding to seven Missouri startups, five of which are based in St. Louis. The investments mark the second round of capital MTC has awarded from the $95 million it has been allocated through the U.S. Treasury Department’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). The federal funding has helped MTC, a public-private partnership, significantly increase its venture capital activity and begin providing funding on a quarterly basis to Missouri startups.
Created by the Missouri General Assembly, MTC is designed to promote entrepreneurship and provide investment to startups and entrepreneur support organizations. Through its venture capital program, Idea Fund, MTC has provided about $47 million in financing to 145-plus startups located throughout Missouri. Those businesses have raised $1.3 billion from other investors, according to MTC.
The local startups receiving capital through MTC’s latest round of investment include:
- Advocado, which has developed a data management technology platform used by brands, media companies and advertising agencies and designed to boost advertising performance
- Aegis Digital Health, which is focused on creating digital health technology focused on virtual care and remote patient monitoring. It has launched a product focused on remote monitoring of diabetes patients.
- Echelon Med Tech LLC, which is focused on creating medical technologies for the military that can also be used commercialized for wider medical use.
- Amptify, which has developed software to provide rehabilitation for those with hearing loss
- InUnison, which has developed technology that allows people to "social sync (sing, pray or cheer together) online.”
The other two companies receiving funding from MTC include Columbia, Missouri-based Kremenak NanoTech and Marma Nutrition of Kansas City. MTC did not disclose the specific investment amount it has provided for each company.
MTC in January doled out the first awards from its SSBCI funding, committing capital to eight Missouri startups, including five based in St. Louis. MTC Executive Director Jack 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 in 2023 so far awarded more than $4 million to startups.
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.
The application deadline for MTC’s next quarterly investments closes Wednesday at 11:59 p.m.
