Elevate Ventures touts record investment in 2022
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Indianapolis-based Elevate Ventures set a new record for annual investments with 128 transactions in 2022, the venture capital firm said in its annual report. The transactions totaled $22.8 million in venture investments, development investments and grants, which helped the firm complete its sixth consecutive year as the most active VC firm in the Great Lakes Region, according to global research firm Pitchbook.
“In a year where the economy took a dip, we were able to really see which companies in the portfolio were able to excel,” said Elevate CEO Christopher Day.
Day, who was named CEO in July, discussed the record year in an interview with Inside INdiana Business.
“There was definitely a contraction of venture capital in the marketplace; so, venture capital [firms] wanted to focus much more on reinvesting in their existing portfolio rather than plant new seeds,” he said. “So, there were more great companies that had less places to go.”
Day said the companies that already had a strong foundation from which to grow were able to attract capital and retain or grow their workforce even in a tough economic environment.
“Some of the world’s greatest companies of all time were founded or had the early growth years in times of recession and depression. So when a time of uncertainty happens like it did last year – and quite honestly, we’re still in that time period – some of the greatest ideas and greatest companies that are efficient in the way they operate, they’re very intentional with their growth and very intentional with the deployment of capital, those companies most oftentimes become our next generation of greatest companies of all time.”
The annual report said Elevate invested in its 500th Indiana startup in 2022. Since its founding in 2011, the firm has invested $152 million in 507 startups throughout the state, which leveraged an additional $2 billion from private capital co-investors.
Click here to view the full report.
The report said companies funded by Elevate Ventures employ more than 3,300 people with an average annual wage of nearly $81,000.
Day said he expects 2023 to be another record year for Elevate Ventures, largely due to the momentum and collaboration Indiana is seeing as a whole across all industries.
“I have never seen the collaboration of cross-sector and disparate stakeholders throughout the state of Indiana more intentionally coming together and trying to help each other than I’ve seen in the last probably several years,” he said. “I’ve never seen it this robust, and I think probably COVID [and] the market correction that’s happening may be a kind of accelerator to force some of that behavior.”
He added that type of cross-sector collaboration is unique to Indiana. He says Indiana is having what he calls a “1979 moment.”
“In 1979, some folks got together and started the nation’s first sports commission. Fast forward 43 years later, we’re indeed known as the amateur sports capital world, along with many other monikers like racing capital world, orthopedics capital of the world, RV manufacturing capital world, and others. Well, what can we be in next the next 50 years? There’s there’s no question we can be the innovation capital world.”