Renaissance Venture Capital Fund, a US-based venture capital fund of funds, closed its third fund at $81m yesterday with commitments from several unnamed universities.
The limited partners also included utility DTE Energy, which supplied $10m, insurance providers AAA Michigan, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Burns & Wilcox, as well as furniture company La-Z-Boy and retail chain Meijer.
They were joined by unnamed foundations and pension funds. All of the corporates are headquartered in Michigan, the key focus area of Renaissance.
Renaissance Fund III will continue to pursue the existing strategy of investing in venture capital funds across the US with the express aim of attracting them to Michigan and supporting the state’s ecosystem.
It follows a first fund closed at $45m and a second vehicle closed at $79m, with backing from Michigan State University, bringing Renaissance’s total assets under management to $205m since it was founded in 2008.
Renaissance claimed that every $1 invested in a company has leveraged an additional $17, for a total $1.3bn of investment in Michigan-based businesses. It has helped support 39 local startups, which between them employ 1,300 staff.
Chris Rizik, CEO and fund manager at Renaissance, said: “Through our Renaissance Funds, we have created a unique vision for how financial capital could grow a new economy in Michigan, and how our expanding network can increase connectivity in that new economy.
“Renaissance’s strong financial returns have substantially beaten national benchmarks for performance, while it has also been a national leader on impact on its community.”
