Elevate Ventures highlights VC activity in annual report
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Indianapolis-based Elevate Ventures on Friday released its annual report for 2023. CEO Christopher Day said that while investment numbers were down compared to the previous year, 2023 was a year of “tremendous growth” for the venture studio.
The report shows that Elevate Ventures made $21.7 million in commitments last year through 112 deals. That’s down from $31 million across 132 deals in 2022.
However, the deals leveraged nearly $166 million in additional capital investments, Elevate said, with 74% of companies that Elevate invests in receiving follow-up funding.
“Our successes in 2023 continued to lay the foundation for exciting updates that will continue to roll out in 2024,” Day said in a statemen to Inside INdiana Business. “I am honored to lead this team as we fuel innovation-driven enterprises throughout Indiana. We are grateful to our partners at the IEDC and stakeholders across the state. Together, we will continue to showcase Indiana as a national and global leader on our way to becoming known as The Innovation Capital of the World.”
The report says since its founding in 2011, Elevate Ventures has supported the creation of more than 52,000 direct and indirect jobs with average annual payroll tax revenue of over $21.5 million.
In 2023, the average wage of Elevate’s portfolio companies was $92,000, well above Indiana’s average wage of $55,500.
Additionally, the report shows that Elevate has invested more than $171 million since 2011, the majority of which ($115.6 million) was in central Indiana, followed by $16.6 million in west central Indiana, $11.7 million in northern Indiana, and $9.2 million in northeast Indiana.
Elevate Ventures also touted the success of its inaugural Rally Innovation Conference last year. The event drew more than 3,100 people to downtown Indianapolis, and Elevate cited post-event survey results, which showed the conference led to over 21,000 creative collisions.
Ray Fraser, CEO of South Bend-based medical IoT company Vital View Technologies, said he was introduced at Rally to representatives from Mishawaka-based investment firm RedRock Equity Group, which quickly led to a $5.5 million funding round.
“If it weren’t for Rally, I’m not sure if I’d be here with a happy face right now. That experience
came up huge for us,” Fraser said in the report. “We got to meet them in person and get to know
each other. Once it was time for a formal pitch and due diligence, things moved quickly.”
You can connect to the full report by clicking here.