Ann Arbor’s Renaissance Venture Capital announced it has helped attract $2.3 billion in investments for 78 Michigan companies through its portfolio and capital attraction activities.
The 55 companies in its portfolio have raised a total of $2.17 billion to date, or more than $13 for every dollar invested by Renaissance. This is more than 50 percent higher than the rate of local investment targeted by Renaissance when it was formed in 2008.
“The stats from our UnDemo Day activity are especially rewarding because we are bringing in new money to the state’s most innovative companies,” says Chris Rizik, CEO and fund manager at Renaissance. “With this money comes local economic growth and jobs for the Great Lakes State. People are noticing the power of Michigan.”
In addition, Renaissance has worked to raise capital from unaffiliated venture funds around the country into Michigan, tracking an additional $145 million in investment in 23 Michigan companies. Many of these introductions were made at UnDemo Day, it’s signature semi-annual capital attraction event.
UnDemo Day is designed to attract capital from all over the nation into Michigan startups. The gathering brings together hundreds of venture capitalists and connects them with 50 to 60 of the most promising Michigan startups. At each UnDemo Day, Renaissance arranges more than 500 one-on-one meetings between venture capitalists and Michigan startups. Last year alone, 15 local startups received venture funding from these introductions.
For example, earlier this month, Genomenon Inc. in Ann Arbor announced a $20 million Series B funding from Beringea in Farmington Hills, an introduction made through the UnDemo Day process.
“As an entrepreneur, I appreciate all the work Renaissance Venture Capital puts into the introductions they make,” says Mike Klein, CEO of Genomenon. “The connection they made for us truly made a difference in our future. While we had several term sheets on the table, the Midwest connection at UnDemo Day with Beringea put them in the top position to lead our deal.”
On April 27, Renaissance will initiate its first DEI UnDemo Day designed exclusively to attract national venture capital to diverse founders. The virtual event will highlight companies from the Midwest and Central U.S. led by women, people of color, and other diverse communities. More than 125 diverse startups have applied to participate.
The traditional in-person UnDemo Day will be conducted in the fall of 2022 at Ford Field in Detroit.
