Investment Deals in The Corridor
APPLIED GENETIC TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
Company:
Located in Gainesville, Florida, Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation (AGTC)
uses cutting-edge gene therapy techniques to develop cures for rare eye diseases.
Investment:
AGTC announced a collaboration and license agreement with Biogen in August 2015. Biogen will
make an initial payment of $124 million to AGTC, which includes a $30 million equity investment.
Sector:
Life Sciences/Medical Technologies
SONOBI
“One of the biggest funding gaps in our region is lack of seed
Company:
Headquartered in Winter Park, Florida, Sonobi provides publishers and advertisers
with better advertising results by collecting and analyzing marketing data.
Investment:
$10.4 million (Q3 2015)
Sector:
Information Technology
capital,” said Pollack. “A startup might be able to get past angelSOLICORE
funding stages, but as soon as entrepreneurs need to raise between
$100,000 and $500,000, they often get stuck. Venture capitalists
won’t touch companies until they’re making more than $1 million
in revenue, so many startups have to look elsewhere for this seed
funding.”
Pollack was one of the few who didn’t need to raise substantial capital, as
Code School was acquired earlier this year for $36 million. However, most
local startups are forced to look out-of-state for the capital needed to help
them grow. And occasionally, that outside support can cause a company
to relocate altogether.
But organizations in the Florida High Tech Corridor are leading the charge
in changing the landscape of venture capital funding in Florida. And
the region is already making strides to bridge the funding gap and retain
fast-growing companies. In fact, according to a recent MoneyTree report,
Florida companies secured a combined $863 million in venture capital
investments in 2014. That number put Florida at seventh in the nation, or 1.8
percent of total U.S. venture capital investment in 2014, up from 1.4 percent
in 2013.
Another funding initiative seeing success is
the FireSpring Seed Fund, which stemmed
from the U.S. Economic Development
Administration’s i6 Challenge. The Orlandobased evergreen seed fund has set a goal of
raising $1 million by the end of 2015, and it’s
already well on its way. As of August, the fund
had raised more than $200,000, which includes
a $100,000 contribution from Orange County.
In addition to seed-fund initiatives, there has
Company:
Located in Tampa, Florida, CareSync is a software company that provides concierge
services to help consumers aggregate and manage their personal health records.
Investment:
$4.25 million (Q4 2014)
Sector:
Information Technology
FATTMERCHANT
$750,000 (Q2 2015)
Sector:
Financial Services
“We have great potential to give highnet worth Floridians the opportunity
to invest in startups,” said Amir Rubin,
is the University of South Florida’s (USF) Seed Capital Accelerator Program
“We need to build up angel networks to
and economic development at USF. “The program also provides
CARESYNC MEDICAL GROUP
Investment:
specializes in 3-D scanning and mapping.
Dr. Paul Sanberg, senior vice president for research, innovation
Microelectronics/Nanotechnology
investors in the state.
including seed funds and accelerators. One example of a local accelerator
critical development milestones and get to market quicker,” said
$6 million (Q1 2015)
Sector:
due to the growing number of sophisticated
Gainesville-based tech company that
reach specific goals in a year or less, allowing startups to reach
Investment:
Based in Orlando, Florida, Fattmerchant is a subscription-based payment
processor that provides unlimited credit card processing services.
And now, more of that capital is starting to come from local sources,
“The objective of the Seed Cap program is to help companies
Based in Lakeland, Florida, Solicore produces ultra-thin,
flexible lithium polymer batteries for a variety of technologies.
Company:
also been a push to boost angel investing
co-founder and CEO of Paracosm, a
(Seed Cap).
Company:
support early-stage tech startups, and
when these companies achieve sufficient
traction, they will be able to attract
venture capital.”
“Our main goal is to showcase qualified
As funding sources continue to develop throughout The Corridor, tech
investment opportunities in front of
leaders and entrepreneurs agree that the region is ripe for venture capital
accredited local investors,” said Blaire
investments.
Martin, director of Florida Angel Nexus.
“We also connect companies to
community resources, like accelerator
programs, so that we can invest in them
at a later stage. Essentially, we serve in a
concierge role, if you will. We’re almost
The Florida Angel Nexus, a statewide
acting as a dating service, connecting
organization that connects angel investors
fast-growing companies to local investors
experiential learning, internship and employment opportunities for
with prospective companies, is working to do
and building angel communities all over
USF students and creates a positive economic impact for Florida.”
just that.
the state.”
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s p ec ia l se c tio n
“I am very optimistic about the future,” said Jamie Grooms,
CEO of the Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public
Research. “The amount of venture capital funding is currently
inadequate, but investors are starting to see Florida for what it
really is—a state with a high growth rate of technology startups
and a lot of potential.”
florida.HIGH.TECH 2015
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