Investment

U-M Innovation Partnership targets diseases with funding

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April 1, 2009

The University of Michigan's Innovation Partnership is off to a fast start, raising $2 million of its $10 million goal and investing $680,000 into four promising projects.The university announced the partnership last year as a way of breathing life into promising healthcare research at U-M's Life Sciences Institute. Many of these discoveries never make it out of the ivory tower due to the lack of seed funding at the onset before commercialization.That's called the Valley of Death by researchers and venture capitalists. Often there isn’t enough venture capital or angel investors to go around for all of the discoveries made by U-M's top-shelf researchers. It hopes to bridge this valley with precious start-up funds.The partnership is funded with philanthropic sources. The partnership also pairs up researchers with mentors and advisors to help them bring their discoveries to commercialization and help create more jobs locally.Source: University of MichiganWriter: Jon Zemke

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RiskMetrics moves to accommodate up to 20 new jobs in Ann Arbor

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Economic Development

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April 1, 2009

Given its history of success it's a pretty safe bet that RiskMetrics will continue to grow and add jobs to its Ann Arbor office.The New York City-based firm opened its office in Ann Arbor with six people nine years ago. There were only 70 people in the company then. Today it employs 1,200 people, including 18 staff and five summer interns in Ann Arbor.This growth has caused RiskMetrics to outgrow its downtown office. It just signed a six-year lease in local developer Peter Allen's building on North Main Street just north of downtown. The move will allow RiskMetrics to accommodate up to 20 new jobs."I expect to continue at our current pace of 2-3 people per year," says Paul Schmitter, manager of the Ann Arbor office for RiskMetrics. RiskMetrics creates software that determines and tests financial risk. Often this means it runs simulations on investment portfolios. The Ann Arbor office creates much of that software. It's looking to add another person right now and expects to hire another 2-3 people this year.They will all end up in Allen's Limestone building that is adjacent to the railroad bridge and overlooks the Huron River. RiskMetrics will occupy about half of the two-story structure.Source: Paul Schmitter, manager of the Ann Arbor office for RiskMetricsWriter: Jon Zemke

ForeSee Results moves into new headquarters in Ann Arbor

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Development News

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April 1, 2009

ForeSee Results has gotten big so it got another set of britches. The company recently moved into its new headquarters on the northeast side of Ann Arbor. It's expanded digs clock in at nearly 40,000 square feet, 2.5 times larger than its old home. It houses close to 100 employees for the 7-year-old start-up, which employs 140 people. ForeSee plans to hire another 30-60 people this year."We think this will accommodate about five years of growth," says Larry Freed, CEO of ForeSee Results.The new home is at 2500 Green Road near the intersection of Plymouth Road. Freed and his co-workers choose that section of town because it is denser and closer to the city center than the office parks on the city's far south side. They decided to stay in Ann Arbor for a number of other reasons."The Ann Arbor community provides us a number of great things," Freed says. "There are a lot of emerging companies here. The workforce is great and there is the university. It's a great environment."ForeSee Results captures "voice of customer" feedback and uses it to measure customer satisfaction for the likes of as Kohler, Citibank and Ameriprise. It uses uses the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index to find out the satisfaction of website visitors and pinpoint opportunities to improve the site.Source: Larry Freed, CEO of ForeSee ResultsWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor’s North Coast Tech Investors hits $100M in VC

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Economic Development

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March 25, 2009

Twenty years ago venture capitalist Hugo Braun left California and came back to Michigan, taking a job at Access Ventures. Ten years later he and another partner turned it into North Coast Technology Ventures with $10 million under its management. Today that number has reached $100 million and is still expanding.The downtown Ann Arbor-based firm is getting ready to close on another investment vehicle (fund) this summer. It will be another large chunk of change that will allow North Coast Technology Ventures to make investments for at least the next few years."We feel this is an excellent time to make investments," Braun says. "Even though it's a depressing time there are a lot of excellent ideas out there."North Coast Technology Ventures is made up of Braun, one other partner and one more employee. The company will also have interns during the summer months, occasional venture partners and entrepreneurs in residence. It also uses its offices to help incubate companies in which it has made investments. Most of those companies are local."The nearer they are to us the more attractive they are," Braun says. "Our investments are in the Midwest and most of them are in Michigan."North Coast Technology Investors invests in a wide range of start-ups. They include the likes of software firm Arbortext and life sciences company Avidimer Therapeutics. Source: Hugo Braun, principal of North Coast Technology InvestorsWriter: Jon Zemke

Arbor Photonics gets VC boost from The Wolverine Fund

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Economic Development

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March 11, 2009

The venture capital continues to pour into Ann Arbor's Arbor Photonics. The latest bucket of cash to fall into the lap of the laser firm comes from The Wolverine Venture Fund, the venture capital firm run by University of Michigan business students.The amount invested has not been made public, but Arbor Photonics has accepted millions of dollars in investments from the Michigan Pre-Seed Fund and the Michigan 21st Century Job Fund since last fall.The money is expected to help build the prototype of the company's first product and hire staff to develop it. Arbor Photonics just hired a new Vice-President of Engineering last month and expects hire more later this year.The University of Michigan spin-off is developing a 3C optical fiber laser for the manufacturing sector. U-M Prof. Almantas Galvanauskas invented the technology that is expected to dramatically improve fiber lasers. The technology is an optical fiber structure called Chirally-Coupled Core Fiber or 3C fiber. The 3C fiber significantly improves the performance of fiber lasers in industrial manufacturing, a $2 billion market that grows about 14 percent annually on average. The company plans to make the product available by 2010 and hopes to hit $50 million in sales within the next six years.The Wolverine Fund is part of the University of Michigan's Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies in the Ross Business School. The fund, the first to be run by students, is worth $3.5 million and has invested in more than 18 companies in industries like information technology, life sciences and alternative energy.Source: University of Michigan and Phillip Amaya, CEO of Arbor PhotonicsWriter: Jon Zemke

ICON Creative Tech buys Ann Arbor Art Center annex

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Development News

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March 4, 2009

Creative people have inhabited 220 Felch for years but the type of creatives are changing now that ICON Creative Technologies Group has bought the building from the Ann Arbor Art Center.The single story structure, a block west of Main Street just north of downtown, served as an annex for the Ann Arbor Art Center, which has its headquarters in the heart of downtown. ICON plans to slowly yet steadily renovate and move into the space. The idea is to establish a bigger home for the 14-year-old Internet firm, which is about to burst at the beams at its current office. The company has 20 people at its 3,500-square-foot office on State Street in downtown. It expects to grow its staff to 60 people within five years. The 11,000 square feet of 220 Felch gives the company more than enough room for that growth."As we continue to grow, we don't want to be confronted with space issues every few years," says Rob Cleveland, CEO of ICON Creative Technologies Group. "With this footprint, we can easily accommodate our 5 year growth plans and open up other opportunities for services that we previously were not able to provide to our customers."ICON will occupy 6,000 square feet of the space this year, allowing a few of the building's tenants to stay on for the time being. Some of the space will also be leased back to the Ann Arbor Art Center so it can finish its classes through June.Purchasing 220 Felch gives ICON a bit of a port in the financial storm these days. Rents in downtown Ann Arbor have been steadily increasing and the other costs have swung violently. The addition of 220 Felch gives ICON a dependable and controllable overhead cost while giving the company enough space to expand.Source: Sara Johns, project manager for ICON Creative Technologies GroupWriter: Jon Zemke

Huron Ophthalmology moves into new green building in Ypsilanti

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Development News

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March 4, 2009

The doctors at Huron Ophthalmology in Ypsilanti are so committed to environmentally-friendly practices that one of them even rides his bike to work everyday - rain, sleet, snow or shine.So it makes sense that the medical practice is moving into one of the greenest buildings on the St. Joseph Mercy Health System campus. The new 21,200-square-foot building features a bevy of environmentally friendly features, such as a geothermal heating and cooling system, thermal glass, skylights, flooring made of recycling materials, motion-sensor lights and, yes, even a bike garage.More of the practice's physicians are expected to start cycling to the 5477 Clark office later this year when the weather begins to warm up. Huron Ophthalmology currently has four doctors, two optometrists, one physician's assistant and 36 support staff. Another doctor (and potential bicyclist) is expected to join the practice in August.Huron Ophthalmology will be able to treat up to 250 patients each day once it starts going full speed later this year. It will be able to do this while capturing significant savings in utilities overhead."The geothermal system is not only the right thing to do for the environment but it will save us money down the road," says Dr. Gregory Katz, a partner of Huron Ophthalmology.Source: Dr. Gregory Katz, partner of Huron Ophthalmology and Sharon Watson, office administrator for Huron OphthalmologyWriter: Jon Zemke

Detroit Renaissance Venture Capital Fund makes 2nd investment

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Economic Development

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February 25, 2009

Detroit Renaissance started the Renaissance Venture Capital Fund partly as a way of helping bridge the gap between Detroit and Ann Arbor. The fund is reaching out across borders again, making its second major investment out of state.The Detroit Renaissance Venture Capital Fund has invested $3 million the TGap Venture Capital Fund II, which is based in Kalamazoo. That's not long after Renaissance, which has offices in downtown Detroit and Ann Arbor, invested $5 million into in Ann Arbor-based Arboretum Venture Capital Fund.The TGap makes early stage investments into information technology, medical devices and services and specialty manufacturing companies. Jack Ahrens and Pete Farner formed the fund in 2002 and have since invested in several successful Midwestern-based companies, such as Afmedica (which was recently acquired by another firm) and Brill Street.The Renaissance VC Fund is a new venture capital fund-of-funds created by some of Michigan’s largest organizations late last year.Source: Chris Rizik, CEO of Renaissance Venture Capital FundWriter: Jon Zemke

Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund taps Ann Arbor’s Biotectix

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Economic Development

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February 25, 2009

Another Ann Arbor-based start-up is getting a small shot in the arm from the state of Michigan. This time the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund is investing in Biotectix. The bio-tech firm worked with Ann Arbor SPARK to win the investment and already has received investment dollars from Allied Minds. Biotectix, a University of Michigan spin-off, works with biomedical device manufacturers to develop and implement customized materials that improve the safety, longevity, reliability, biological interaction, and energy-efficiency of their devices. The company hopes to take a piece of the $2 billion biomaterials and active coatings pie.The Michigan Pre-Seed Fund money will be used to expand its business development activities. It will also accelerate research in the cardiac, neural and cochlear markets.Source: Biotectix and Ann Arbor SPARKWriter: Jon Zemke

Arboretum Ventures raises $73 million for latest fund

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Economic Development

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February 25, 2009

Ann Arbor is becoming, more and more, Michigan's venture capital capitol, proof of which is clearly visibly at Arboretum Ventures.The Ann Arbor-based firm recently closed out its latest investment fund worth $73 million. This fund is triple the size of Arboretum's first, which was worth $24 million. Managing Directors Jan Garfinkle and Tim Petersen will manage the money with the help of five other employees.Garfinkle and Petersen were able to recruit some high-profile investors, including Chris Rizik. The co-founder of Ardesta is now the CEO of the Detroit Renaissance Venture Capital Fund, which invested $5 million into Arboretum's latest fund."Arboretum Ventures is one of the brightest young venture capital firms in the nation, and one that has shown that great investment and company-building opportunities exist in the Midwest," Rizik says.The difference between Arboretum and Renaissance is that Arboretum invests in early stage private companies in the healthcare and life science industries. Reniassance (which has offices in both downtown Detroit and Ann Arbor) is a fund for venture capital funds.Arboretum focuses on medical device, diagnostic and healthcare information technology companies. Although most of these companies are in the Midwest, Arboretum does make investments across the nation. It has made 17 investments so far. Some of its success stories include Ann Arbor's HealthMedia, which was acquired for a hefty sum by corporate behemoth Johnson & Johnson last year. Another is Detroit-based Asterand, which is traded on the London Stock Exchange. Source: Arboretum VenturesWriter: Jon Zemke