University of Michigan graduate and serial entrepreneur Adrian Fortinio will lead a new office for the Houston-based Mercury Fund–a venture capital firm–according to a report in Crain’s Detroit Business.
Fortino co-founded FlockTag and was a vice president at Invest Detroit before being tapped to lead Mercury’s new Ann Arbor office. The firm, which raised more than $100 million for its newest fund, chose Ann Arbor over Chicago for its Midwest office thanks to the city’s depth of engineering, computer science and machine-learning talent.
The Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s Michigan Venture Fund II committed more than $10 million to Mercury’s current fundraising efforts and a fund associated with Business Leaders for Michigan also pitched in $5 million. According to Crain’s, more than 20 percent of Mercury’s previous fund–a $70 million pool–in Michigan companies.
The fund’s office is located in the Headwaters space in Kerrytown.
via Report: Houston venture capital firm opens Ann Arbor office | MLive.com.
