Venture Capital Program

Venture Capital Program

The IDEA Fund program is a state-sponsored venture capital initiative that utilizes public funding (both state and federal) to drive economic development within the state. The primary focus of this program is to foster innovation and support technology-driven entrepreneurial endeavors that contribute to the state’s overall economic development growth.

MTC’s Venture Capital Program was created to accelerate private venture capital investment in Missouri-based start-up companies and to increase the overall investment impact of third-party investments. The Venture Capital Program supports technology startups through matching equity or convertible debt investments up to $2,000,000 for the purpose of scaling the business to attract additional venture capital.

Since 2010, MTC has invested over $49 million in more than 150 early-stage Missouri-based high-growth technology-focused companies. Since 2018, our portfolio companies have gone on to raise over $1.6 billion in additional private capital.

In order to qualify for a Venture Capital Program investment, a company must:

  • Be based in Missouri;
  • Have a proprietary or protectable intellectual property;
  • Be in the Series A or later financing stage and raising $5 million – $20 million;
  • Have, at the time of closing, an actual third party dollar-for-dollar matching investment for MTC funds;
  • Fit into at least one of MTC’s seven focus areas – Biomedical & Life Sciences, Healthcare Technology & Services, Financial Technology & Services, Software & Data, Energy, Manufacturing, Supply Chain & Logistics;
  • At the time of application, have identified a potential lead investor which has domain expertise in the applicable industry sector of the applicant and/or has performed a significant level of due diligence in the discretion of the MTC; the lead investor requirement is waived for MTC portfolio companies who have 25% of their round identified and are in good standing with MTC data collection; and
  • Complete the application process.

Investment Process:

  1. The application process opens, and applicants are invited to fill out the application (link below).
  2. MTC staff reviews all applications received on a quarterly basis.
  3. Applicants are notified whether they are invited to present to the MTC investment Committee approximately one (1) month after applications close. Those who are not selected to move forward are welcome to set up a time to discuss their application with the MTC staff.
  4. The MTC Investment Committee meets and following presentations by the selected applicants, the Investment Committee will make funding recommendations to MTC’s Executive Committee and Board of Directors.
  5. The MTC Board of Directors will meet to review and approve the recommendations.
  6. When a company awarded an investment allocation has raised the required matching funds, MTC will initiate its due diligence.

Additional Materials
As a state-sponsored venture capital program, MTC requires every company approved for an investment to enter into a Participation Agreement prior to closing its investment.

Questions?
See the MTC IDEA Fund FAQ for more details on the process and qualifications. Please email Julia Campbell with additional questions.