Linkage Ventures will identify, evaluate and invest in early stage technologies. Linkage itself will be a source of dealflow and run the Ventures unit while CincyTech has access to public and private funding.
Linkage, a non-profit organisation made up of 600 senior living communities in 39 US states, and Ohio state-backed CincyTech have set up a quasi-corporate venturing group to back technology start-ups for older people.
Linkage Ventures will identify, evaluate and invest in early stage technologies. Linkage itself will be a source of dealflow and run the Ventures unit while CincyTech has access to public and private funding.
Linkage has hired investment banker and former technology company executive John Hopper as managing director of Linkage Ventures.
Scott Collins, chief executive of Linkage Ventures, said: "We have got the domain expertise internally, and we can do quick beta testing that marries well with the CincyTech network and expertise."
CincyTech is a public-private seed-stage investor that has invested since 2007 in 35 startup companies in information technology and bioscience. Mike Venerable, CincyTech’s managing director of digital software and health tech, said: "We can quickly validate the economics of a product or idea through their population."
