Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

Roadrunner Venture Consortium:

Roadrunner Venture Studios (RRVS) and the New Mexico State Investment Council (NMSIC) have announced the launch of the Roadrunner Venture Consortium (RVC), a new membership initiative giving venture capital firms direct access to early stage deep tech companies and scientists in New Mexico and across the country. Representing more than $25 billion in assets under management, founding RVC participants include Playground Global, Lux Capital, Khosla Ventures, Crosslink Capital, At One Venture, and America’s Frontier Fund (AFF).

The consortium will identify start-ups across technology areas such as advanced computing, semiconductors, robotics, new materials, and artificial intelligence. Members will gain access to a pipeline of early stage technologies and leading research coming out of Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, and other laboratories and research entities connected to these labs and the state. Other consortium benefits include investor summits, curated networking opportunities, and industry intelligence.

”New Mexico has long been home to the nation’s most cutting-edge science and institutions, but too often, these transformative ideas don’t make it beyond the lab,” said Jon Clark, State Investment Officer for the NMSIC. “The Roadrunner Venture Consortium creates a new channel—one that puts world-class scientists together with world-class investors. We are proud to support this new effort, which is sure to create a model for building new companies and opportunities in New Mexico and beyond.”

Atland Ventures:

Atland Ventures, a venture capital firm fully owned and managed by University of Minnesota undergraduate students, has raised more than $1 million for its second fund, expanding its legacy of being the first student-owned venture capital firm in the United States.

The firm, based out of the Carlson School of Management, focuses on investing in start-ups and digitally native companies that reflect the Gen Z experience.

“Being digitally native, technology has shaped how we live, and that’s unique for our generation,” says Savannah Guiang, a Carlson School Senior and Co-Managing Partner. “So, at Atland, we look at companies that are solving problems we’ve felt as Gen Z.”

Launched in 2018, Atland Ventures’ first fund closed at more than $1 million in 2019, with backing from University of Minnesota alumni, entrepreneurs, and Midwest-focused angel investors. Fund II began raising money in 2022 and surpassed the $1 million mark during the 2024–25 school year, bringing total assets under management to more than $2 million.

Harper Court Ventures Fund I:

MFV Partners, a leading deep technology venture capital firm, announced last week the launch of Harper Court Ventures Fund I, a new $25 million early stage fund dedicated to identifying, investing in, and scaling transformative start-ups from the University of Chicago (UChicago) ecosystem.

Harper Court Ventures Fund I will focus on pre-seed and seed-stage companies leveraging breakthrough research and innovation originating from the UChicago labs, the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation’s comprehensive programs, faculty and student ventures, and the extensive UChicago alumni network.

The fund, independently managed by MFV Partners, has a formal, exclusive cooperation agreement with the university and aims to bring MFV Partners’ proven investment approaches and portfolio support to these early-stage ventures. The fund will target companies in high-impact sectors, including quantum computing, life sciences, energy, and artificial intelligence.

Denver Ventures:

Denver Ventures, a cornerstone of Colorado’s start-up ecosystem, has announced its launch with the successful close of its first dedicated seed fund, Denver Ventures Seed Fund I, oversubscribing the target raise with more than $20 million in capital commitments. The new investment platform builds on the foundation established by Denver Angels, the original investment group, that currently manages over $60 million in assets across multiple investment vehicles.

With the launch of Denver Ventures Seed Fund, the organization will invest $250,000 to $800,000 in pre-seed and seed-stage companies with breakthrough innovations and high-impact potential. Denver Ventures’ growth vehicles will continue to invest $1 million to $3 million in later-stage companies.

Central to Denver Ventures’ investment approach is its focus on entrepreneurs with what it describes as distinctive “Founder DNA” — a rare combination of traits that sets extraordinary entrepreneurs apart. The firm targets founders who embody seemingly contradictory qualities: simultaneously bold yet pragmatic, audacious yet humble, and laser-focused on execution yet highly adaptable.

Energize Capital:

Energize Capital, a leading multi-stage investor in climate solutions, has announced the close of its Ventures Fund III, totaling $430 million in capital commitments to the fund and its related vehicles.

The firm’s fifth institutional fund and third of its Ventures strategy, Ventures III will deploy into earlier stage companies focused on scaling energy and industrial transformation through digital and software-enabled solutions. This latest raise brings Energize’s total assets under management to more than $1.8 billion and will empower the specialist firm to continue leveraging its team’s decades of expertise in climate technology to support entrepreneurs through both financial capital and extensive operational and commercialization support.

Energize’s Ventures Fund III is backed by Limited Partners (LPs) that represent leading institutional, corporate strategic, family office, and impact investors. New LPs in the fund include Första AP-Fonden (AP1), Capricorn, Reference Capital, Keeling Capital, Keysight Technologies, WEX Venture Capital, and several other international pensions. Among returning investors are GE Vernova, CDPQ, Builders Vision, UBS, WEC, and others.

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