The MIT-affiliated Engine Fund has achieved a final close of more than $205m, above its initial target of $150m.
The Engine Fund, a tough tech-focused VC vehicle associated with Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Engine incubator, has reached a final oversubscribed close of $205m, according to the MIT 2018 Treasurer’s Report.
The capital, which surpassed MIT’s original $150m target, includes a $25m commitment from the university originally reported by GUV in April 2017, in addition to money from VC funds and family offices.
The fund will support early-stage businesses in sectors where commercialisation is particularly difficult, such as in robotics, manufacturing, biotech or energy.
The vehicle has so far backed 13 companies and is expected to add another 10 to 12 businesses to its portfolio in 2019.
The portfolio includes MIT energy storage spinout Form Energy, which received almost $2m from the Engine Fund in 2017 to deliver a lithium-sulphur battery for grid storage purposes.
The fund has also invested an undisclosed sum in Suono Bio, a drug delivery technology developer based on MIT research recently backed by diversified imaging medical group Fujifilm earlier in September 2018.
