In March, Rev1 Ventures unveiled a new $10 million investment fund targeted at bolstering the Columbus and Central Ohio tech startup scene. The fund is the largest pre-seed stage fund in the history of the city, created in partnership with The Ohio State University and Ohio Third Frontier.
“We’ve proven the tremendous opportunity to build and scale high-tech, high-growth startups in Central Ohio; however, the capital gap for entrepreneurs is real,” stated Rev1 Ventures CEO Tom Walker. “Quality entrepreneurs must be met with capital and services to build great companies.”
The new fund is meant to address a gap in the pre-seed funding phase and help local companies that may otherwise have to seek assistance from larger cities where more venture capital funding is more readily available. The Future Value Fund is designed to help companies validate products with target customers and make important hiring decisions more possible.
Rev1 expects to distribute the fund in up to 15 companies with a specific industry focus on digital health, healthcare IT, HR technology, fintech, insurtech, data analytics, and enterprise Software-as-a-Service. Spinouts from The Ohio State University are so eligible to benefit with focuses on advanced materials, alternative energy, sensors and hardware, and ag and food tech.
To date, Rev1 has managed over $100 million in capital, generating over $4 billion in capital creation since 2014. In 2020, Rev1 was one of the most active investors in the country, funding 25 companies.
For more information, visit www.rev1ventures.com.
