LANSING – The Michigan Strategic Fund Board officially established the Michigan Innovation Fund on Tuesday, allocating $60 million toward evergreen venture capital funds.
The board’s vote was necessary to finalize the implementation of the fund after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a package of bills spurring its creation in January.
The Michigan Innovation Fund is the largest funding proposal for the Michigan entrepreneurship ecosystem since the passage of the 21st Century Jobs Fund in 2005, Jennifer Hayes, senior vice president for operations and policy at Invest Detroit, previously told Crain’s. It’s also Michigan’s first-ever contribution to evergreen structured investment funds.
Michigan has long lagged other states in support for early entrepreneurship, spending $23.75 on innovation and entrepreneurship programs per $1 million in state gross domestic product, outpacing only Illinois ($16.09). It allots less than half what Ohio ($67.9) and Indiana ($65.89) allocate, according to a 2024 report.
Full story: Michigan Innovation Fund Gives $60 Million To Help State’s Startups – MITechNews
