Ann Arbor lands office for Texas-based VC firm, Mercury Fund

Mercury Fund, a Houston-based venture capital firm, is opening its Midwestern office in Ann Arbor and is taking aim at making investments in Michigan-based startups. To solidify its plans it has brought on Adrian Fortino as a partner to run the Ann Arbor office. Fortino had been running the Invest Detroit fund (he will remain an advisor) and will utilize his local expertise to make more investments in local startups. "We are deeply interested in exploring the research and industrial background here," says Adrian Fortino, partner with Mercury Fund. "I see an immense opportunity in the industrial and research corridors." Mercury Fund is in the midst of raising a $100-million investment vehicle, which Fortino expects to close before the end of the year. Mercury Fund has made investments in two local startups, DeepField and Swift Biosciences, and is currently looking at other potential investments. The Ann Arbor office of Mercury Fund is located in the Headwaters space in Kerrytown. Headwaters is a small community of startups and early stage investors led by Ann Arbor-based Huron River Ventures. "There is an incredible value to being around other investors in town," Fortino says. Source: Adrian Fortino, partner with Mercury Fund Writer: Jon Zemke