The Maryland Venture Fund closed on $25M to invest in tech companies

The Maryland Venture Fund has fresh capital to make investments.
The TEDCO-run investment arm closed on $25 million for the Maryland Innovation Opportunity Fund I, according to a press release. The money comes from Maryland’s State Retirement and Pension Fund.
The state-backed fund, which focuses on tech, healthcare and life sciences, was transferred under leadership of TEDCO in 2015. It was then retooled as a new team was hired. It now includes Andy Jones as Managing Director, as well as Parag Sheth, Phil Jung and Moss Amer. The new capital will be “sector and stage agnostic,” meaning it won’t be limited to a particular category of tech company or stage.
“This new fund is an important milestone in the turnaround and re-invention of the Maryland
Venture Fund,” Jones said in a statement. “We have built a new team of experienced operators and investors. Now the job in front of us is to deliver top-quartile returns to the Pension System and in the process, build the next generation of great businesses in the State of Maryland.”
MVF companies also now have access to a group of executives through a recently launched Operating Partner Network. These execs can assist companies who receive funding with “strategy, technology, finance, sales and marketing,” the MVF states.
MVF’s portfolio includes Harpoon Medical, Graybug Vision, Personal Genome Diagnostics, Fugue and D.C.–based Optoro.
The moves come as Maryland Venture Fund is taking on added importance within “TEDCO 2.0.” Recently-hired CEO George Davis said the MVF team is now overseeing TEDCO’s seed investments, as well. It’s a move focused on bringing a venture mentality to the program that seeks out winning companies, Davis said.