Early-stage startup founders take note! Governor Kathy Hochul has announced the launch of a $30 million fund which will co-invest alongside private investors and provide early-stage start-up companies with $50,000 to $250,000 in investment dollars from the State of New York. 

To receive the matching investment, there must be at least $1 of qualified private sector investment for every $1 that NY Ventures invests. The program also promises to offer tools and key introductions to "help companies reach the next level". The program will be administered by NY Ventures, the State's venture capital arm.  

The fund targets pre-seed and seed-stage across all technology markets, but with a focus on: Advanced Manufacturing, Agricultural Tech, Climate Tech, Consumer Products, Data/SaaS/AI, Fintech, Healthcare, Life Sciences and BioTech and Medical Devices.  

Key requirements: 

• Eligible companies have raised $2M or less of dilutive funding prior to its current round.
• Focus on expanding access to venture capital to underserved geographies and historically marginalized individuals and companies.
• Are preferably structured as a C-Corp, have headquarters and at least one C-suite employee in NYS.
• Must register to do business in NYS and be in good standing.  
• The investment can be in the form of convertible debt, SAFE or equity financing.  
• Among other items, applicants will need to complete a Sources and Uses spreadsheet, a template of which is provided by NYS.

Find out more:

Pre-Seed and Seed Matching Program

Overview of the Pre-Seed and Seed Matching Fund