Across Q1 and Q2, Ben Franklin Tech Partners is investing nearly $3M into 12 Philly-area startups

It’s a busy start to the year for Ben Franklin Technology Partners‘ (BFTP) Southeastern Pennsylvania branch.

The state-backed firm recently announced it’s slated to make investments in seven local startup companies. The investments were deployed in Q1 or approved for Q2, and are focused in two verticals: healthcare and technology companies. The funding includes a sum of $700,000 for healthcare startups and $2.25 million for tech startups.

The healthcare companies include 2014-founded inclusive intimates collection AnaOno, launched by CEO Dana Donofree following her battle with breast cancer. The founder raised $1 million in seed funding in 2022 to expand the company’s offerings. Also included in the $700,000 investment was ChromaTan, a platform that supports manufacturing in the cell and gene therapy space.

In the tech vertical, BFTP invested $950,000 into tech companies in Q1. Across six deals, the org deployed the capital to collectors app CollX, talent coaching startup GoCoach, data and automation platform GrowFlux, software social enterprise ImpactableX, charitable giving platform Philanthropi, and learning platform Yellowdig.

In Q2 of this year, $1.3 million is slated to go to five startups. Accencio, which serves the drug discovery space; GoWell, a Montgomery County-based insurance benefits startup; LUXTECH, which develops LED modules for light fixture manufacturers; PolicyMap, which helps orgs bridge the gap between data and action; and Red Vector, a Chester County-based risk analysis solution.

Last year, BFTP invested $11 million into 48 companies in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties. Accencio, CollX, GoWell, Yellowdig, and ChromaTan were all a part of the org’s 2022 portfolio of investments, too.

The investing news comes on the heels of another move for the startup-boosting organization: the announcement that BFTP will soon be raising a $25 million fund for “growth stage” investments.

BFTP spokesperson Jason Bannon confirmed to Technical.ly that the proposed $25 million fund will be the second fund of its kind, after the $25 million GO Philly Fund launched in 2019. Though no external partner has yet been identified for this second fund, the first round was in partnership with Newtown-headquartered EPAM and included investments in companies such as performance marketing firm Sidecar and marketing platform Clutch.