California-based business law firm Gunderson Dettmer will open an office in Ann Arbor to support venture capital and emerging growth company markets in the Midwest.
"As the level of venture capital and emerging growth company activity has continued to grow, we felt it was the right time to open a Midwest office," says Robert Gunderson Jr., a founding partner and chairman of Gunderson Dettmer. "The region has long had a number of incredibly strong universities, medical centers, and research institutions, and we believe that the region is finally attracting the attention from venture capitalists and other early stage investors that the area merits."
The office, at 201 South Main St., will be led by corporate partner Marcia Hatch, who is relocating from the firm's Silicon Valley office. Hatch is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School.
"Marcia has a wide range of experience with technology and life science startups and representation of venture capital and other early stage investors as well as significant mergers and acquisitions and public offering experience," Gunderson says.
Gunderson Dettmer has more than 200 attorneys working in offices in locations such as Boston, New York, San Diego, and Beijing.
Michigan companies securing venture capital funding in recent months include Plymouth Township-based Delphinus Medical Technologies Inc. Which received a $40 million financing round, one of the largest amounts for a medical device company in the state, for its advanced whole breast ultrasound system. Plymouth Township-based Algal Scientific Corp., a manufacturer or algae-based chemicals, also closed on a $7 million funding round in March. Formation 8, a venture capital firm based out of San Francisco, led the investment.
This month, Ann Arbor-based Renaissance Venture Capital Fund announced it made a series of five new investments in venture capital funds, totaling more than $20 million, to support the state's emerging technology and health care startup companies.
