Belle Michigan and State Garden and the student-led fund invest $725,000.
Michigan University’s student-led Zell Lurie Commercialisation Fund is investing in AdAdapted. The total $725,000 investment is made by the fund, as well as investment funds Belle Michigan and State Garden.
AdAdapted will use the seed capital to scale up its mobile advertising platform and expand its team. It currently employs six people, and is looking at hiring a software developer and sales professional. The rest of the money will be used for marketing.
The startup’s platform connects advertisers with developers to create customised native ads in mobile apps. AdAdaptive’s product thus allows advertisers to forego intrusive banners.
The Zell Lurie Commercialisation Fund is a student-led, pre-seed investment fund established to identify and accelerate the commercialisation of ideas generated within the university community and the surrounding area. The fund is managed by 25 graduate students. They are organised into four investment teams: health care, technology, consumer and cleantech. Each team may invest up to $100,000, in multiple instalments, per investment. The fund is part of a trifecta of student-led venture funds offered at the school, the other two being Wolverine Venture Fund and Social Venture Fund.
Stewart Thornhill, executive director of the Zell Lurie Institute and director of its fund, said: “The Zell Lurie Commercialisation Fund is as close to a real-world investing experience as any MBA student could possibly receive.”