Cove Fund, a family of seed-stage venture capital funds that invests in companies affiliated with University of California (UC) System, has raised more than $12m for its second fund.
The figure represents a first close for Cove Fund II, with a regulatory filing indicating a $15m target size. Limited partners have not been named, though Cove’s business model relies heavily on private investors – such as entrepreneurs and executives – sourcing deals.
Cove Fund was launched in 2015 by UCI Applied Innovation, a commercialisation arm of UC Irvine that also aims to cultivate a local ecosystem. The first fund achieved a $6m close and currently counts 16 portfolio companies.
The firm, which operates out of UCI Applied Innovation’s Cove facility, invests in companies affiliated with UC system and startups based in South California. It focuses on early-stage technology and life science companies and typically leads rounds of $1m to $3m in size.
Cove Fund II is co-managed by Mike Benvenuti, Howard Mirowitz and Paul Voois. They are currently evaluating potential first investments.
Benvenuti said: “On behalf of the Cove Fund family and UCI Applied Innovation, we are thrilled to launch Cove Fund II. The support that we have received from the local community has exceeded all our expectations, and we are excited to start investing in the next generation of great technology companies.”
