VentureSouth surpasses $50 million invested
September 9, 2020
VentureSouth announced a major milestone, as the early-stage investment group has now invested more than $50 million in early-stage companies in the Southeast.
Recently announced investments in Threatswitch and Altis Biosystems, along with several other new and existing portfolio companies this summer, pushed VentureSouth past $50 million in capital deployed into 76 early-stage companies since its inception with the Upstate Carolina Angel Network in 2008.
VentureSouth’s portfolio includes companies across the Carolinas and from Virginia to Florida, spanning a broad range of industries from software to healthcare to industrial technologies, and ranging from pre-revenue startups to billion-dollar-valuation “unicorns” led by a diverse cross-section of entrepreneurs.
High profile investments made by the group include Proterra, the electric bus manufacturing company based in Greenville, SC and Burlingame, CA; Target Pharma, the clinical trial data management company based in Chapel Hill, NC that was acquired in 2016; and Avadim Health, the dermatology products company that employs several hundred people in Asheville, NC.
Other investments include earlier-stage and lower-profile, but nonetheless highly impactful companies. A few examples include Sharpen Health in Spartanburg, which provides mental health resiliency resources; Emrgy in Atlanta, which is reinventing distributed hydropower; and Atlas Organics, which provides food and organic waste collection and composting projects across the Southeast.
In total, VentureSouth companies have raised over a billion dollars in follow-on capital and employ over 2,000 people – and have also generated significant investment returns for VentureSouth members.
Matt Dunbar, VentureSouth Co-Founder and Managing Director, commented: “Investing $50 million in early stage companies in the Southeast is an important milestone for us. We work hard to help fill the capital gap for entrepreneurs in our region, and we are grateful for our investors who have supported these companies that are making a real impact in communities across the Southeast – and beyond. We look forward to continuing our efforts to “Make Money. Have Fun. Do Good” as we prepare to deploy our next $50 million.”
To learn more about VentureSouth, which was named a top 10 Angel Group in North America last year, please visit www.venturesouth.vc.
