New MO regional chamber fund creates $5 million in seed capital for startups 

The St. Louis Regional Chamber is partnering with local venture capital firms and banks to offer $5 million in seed capital for startups to spur economic development. Joe Reagan, the chamber’s president and CEO, announced the new Spirit of St. Louis Fund I at the chamber’s annual event Thursday night at Chaifetz Arena. Reagan said […]

Firebrand Ventures partners with UMKC to cultivate entrepreneurs

Firebrand Ventures has partnered with the University of Missouri-Kansas City to help local startup entrepreneurs. As part of the agreement, the Kansas City-based fund will offer graduates of UMKC’s E-Scholars program an opportunity to receive an investment from Firebrand starting in 2017. Housed under UMKC’s Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (RIEI), E-Scholars offers students […]

OSF HealthCare launches $75M fund to invest in health technology 

The Peoria-based health system is the parent of Rockford’s OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center. In February, the health system activated OSF Ventures, a $75 million fund that invests in companies intent on developing medical technologies and applications to improve patient outcomes or reduce health care costs. Pulse Therapeutics, the St. Louis company, has developed a […]

UM curators approve fund to help Missouri startups pass through ‘valley of death’

The University of Missouri System wants to invest in entrepreneurs and startups, and it wants to cultivate that venture capital in Missouri. On Thursday, the UM System Board of Curators voted to allocate money from the university’s general pool — with a $5 million cap — to the Accelerator Fund, run by the Missouri Innovation Center […]

St.Louis University’s First Spinout, Antegrin Therapeutics, Gets Investment From BioGenerator

BioGenerator, the local nonprofit venture development group, announced Tuesday it will invest in Antegrin Therapeutics, a startup company that develops compounds to treat lung disease. Antegrin was founded based on science developed by researchers at St. Louis University and the Center for World Health & Medicine, the university’s center dedicated to the treatment of often […]

REDI, a University of Missouri-partnered initiative, eyes new seed fund

A “huge issue,” MacLellan said, is establishing a seed fund to help startups. Often, entrepreneurs with ideas need a small amount of capital to test the viability of their idea before they can take it to the bank for a loan or raise investment capital. MacLellan said a fund that could provide seed money in […]