South Carolina Research Authority is a public-private organization dedicated to advancing applied research, product development and commercialization in South Carolina, with the goal of strengthening the state's knowledge economy and creating high-wage jobs. It connects researchers and entrepreneurs to business, academic and economic development resources through its SC Launch network and collaborates with Clemson University, the University of South Carolina, and the Medical University of South Carolina. Through SC Launch, the authority supports technology startups by providing access to capital, mentoring and partnerships across technology, advanced manufacturing, information technology, life sciences, clean tech, sustainability and resilience sectors.

VentureSouth is an angel investment group and early-stage venture organization based in Greenville, South Carolina, operating across the Southeastern United States. It develops and manages multiple angel investment groups and funds, drawing more than 550 investors across about a dozen groups, and has deployed over $80 million in more than 100 companies since its inception in 2008 (initially as the Upstate Carolina Angel Network). The organization focuses on startup and early-stage opportunities, particularly in manufacturing, logistics and healthcare sectors, and aims to connect entrepreneurs with capital and strategic support to accelerate growth.

Good Growth Capital is a venture capital firm founded in 2015 and based in Charleston, South Carolina. It is a majority women-owned firm that invests in early-stage life sciences, green tech, hard sciences, and data science companies. The firm emphasizes technology commercialization, seeking to fund and grow defensible technologies that address pressing societal needs. It supports early-stage ventures across sectors including pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, software, energy, and materials, aiming to deliver meaningful returns while advancing scientific and technological progress.

Founderville is a venture capital firm located in Greenville, South Carolina that focuses on pre‑seed investments in B2B SaaS startups. The firm is supported by 45 local limited partners who provide both capital and mentorship to emerging founders in the region.

Intersouth Partners is a venture capital firm based in Durham, North Carolina, founded in 1985. It concentrates on seed and early-stage investments in technology and life sciences across the Southeast United States, including software, information technology, semiconductors, digital media, digital health, medical devices, biopharmaceuticals, agricultural biotechnology, and manufacturing. The firm aims to take leadership roles in its portfolio companies, often serving on boards, and focuses on opportunities in the Southeast corridor from Baltimore to Florida, including Washington, DC, the Research Triangle region, and Atlanta.

Capital A Partners is a venture capital and private equity firm founded in 2013 with offices in Charleston, New York, Silicon Valley, Stockholm, and Berlin. It provides growth capital, acceleration equity, and debt funding to early-stage post-revenue ventures and small profitable operating companies, focusing on technology, consumer products, healthcare, materials technologies, and cleantech. The firm backs companies across the United States and Nordic regions, pursuing opportunities in the technology sector and related fields.

Healthcare Venture Partners is a venture capital firm focused on healthcare and life sciences, based in Charleston, South Carolina, founded in 2019. It seeks to invest in healthcare, digital health, health technology, information technology and life science sectors.

IAG Capital Partners is a private equity and venture capital firm based in Charleston, South Carolina. The firm focuses on early-stage investments, recapitalizations, and growth capital, and can provide a range of financing structures including common equity, preferred equity, convertible debt, mezzanine debt, structured facilities, and senior secured facilities. It targets investments across seed to Series C rounds and collaborates with other debt and equity investors to finance rounds.

Wilmington Investor Network is an angel investment network based in Wilmington, North Carolina. It mobilizes individual investors to fund early-stage technology, biotechnology, and medical device companies located in eastern North Carolina and nearby South Carolina. Investments typically range from roughly $0.2 million to $0.5 million per round.

Munich Re is a global reinsurance company that offers reinsurance and related risk solutions, including agricultural reinsurance, life and health reinsurance, corporate risk solutions, and cyber risk coverage, as well as consulting services. It underwrites reinsurance for property, casualty, life, health, and cyber risks and supports primary insurers and other clients through risk transfer, risk assessment, and analytics to help manage exposure and capital.

Autotech Ventures is a Menlo Park-based venture capital firm founded in 2013 that makes seed- to growth-stage investments in mobility, transportation, and related deep-tech sectors. The firm focuses on ground transportation innovations such as connected, autonomous, shared and electrified vehicles, and supporting services across manufacturing, logistics, and infrastructure. It offers portfolio companies capital to execute plans, access to a broad network of industry contacts and corporate investors, market intelligence on the transportation landscape, assistance with recruiting talent, and fundraising support to attract additional capital. By connecting startups with established mobility players, Autotech Ventures aims to accelerate the deployment of a new transportation ecosystem and deliver financial returns through early involvement in disruptive mobility technologies.

8VC is a technology and life sciences investment firm based in San Francisco that partners with founders to develop transformational technologies. The firm aims to create long-term economic and societal value through its investments, spanning healthcare, energy, consumer goods, financial services, infrastructure, information technology, manufacturing, enterprise, logistics, defense, and other sectors. By backing ambitious teams and providing strategic support, 8VC seeks to enable industry transformation and global innovation.

Refactor Capital is a Burlingame, California-based venture capital firm focusing on seed- and early-stage investments in hard technology, biotechnology, health, climate, and related sectors. The firm is led by Zal Bilimoria, a former partner at Andreessen Horowitz and a veteran product and engineering executive with experience at Google, Netflix, and LinkedIn, who typically leads seed rounds with checks in the 1–2 million range.

BIP Capital is a venture capital firm based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded to back startups across seed, early, and growth stages, it invests in a broad range of sectors including software, business services, consumer products and services, healthcare, financial services, information technology and telecom, with a focus on the Southeast and neighboring regions in the United States. The firm provides capital along with operational support, governance guidance, and access to a network to help portfolio companies scale. It operates through BIP Ventures, its venture capital division focused on North American opportunities in B2B software and tech-enabled services, delivering value through infrastructure, expertise, and talent to portfolio founders.

Evok Innovations is a venture capital firm based in Vancouver, Canada, focused on cleantech and energy-transition technologies. It backs early-stage companies developing decarbonization solutions across North America, including carbon management, clean fuels, electrification, and critical minerals, with investments spanning sectors such as cleantech, energy and infrastructure to accelerate deployment of critical energy transition technologies.

Ulu Ventures is a Palo Alto, California-based seed- and early-stage venture capital firm focused on technology-driven startups across IT, software, internet-enabled services, EdTech, FinTech, IoT, digital media, and related sectors in the United States, with a Bay Area emphasis. Founded in 2008, the firm backs diverse entrepreneurial teams and frequently co-invests with other angels or venture funds in early rounds. Ulu is noted as the first Latina-led venture fund in Silicon Valley and is among the largest in the country by assets under management, with over $200M.

Morningside is a Boston-based investment firm founded in 1986 as a family office for the Chan family. It makes venture capital investments in companies with novel science and technology, with deep expertise in life sciences, digital health, artificial intelligence, materials, and technology. The firm takes a long-term approach to building companies and emphasizes ethical conduct. In addition to its investment activities, Morningside supports charitable initiatives in education, research and healthcare, including collaborations with Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, UMass Chan Medical School, and the MIT Morningside Academy for Design.

Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania is a non-profit organization founded in 1982 that supports the region's technology ecosystem. Based in Philadelphia, it acts as a capital provider and catalyst for early-stage and growing technology companies across information technology, health, and physical sciences by offering seed-stage funding and related resources to accelerate commercialization. The organization facilitates university–industry partnerships and regional initiatives that connect scientific research with market opportunities, with the aim of creating jobs and strengthening entrepreneurial communities in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Through its programs and partnerships, it supports adoption of new technologies and helps build a robust regional innovation ecosystem.

SeedFunders is a Florida-based venture capital firm and angel investor network focused on early-stage technology startups. Based in Saint Petersburg with activity in Orlando, it supports pre-seed and seed companies through capital, mentorship, and strategic guidance to develop products and scale operations. The firm engages across sectors including business software, financial services, healthcare IT, cloud technology and other technology-enabled industries, offering ongoing support such as regular steering meetings with founders and key stakeholders, technical assistance, and advice on building a minimum viable product.

Tao Capital Partners is a venture capital firm based in San Francisco, California, founded in 2002. The firm focuses on investing in sectors such as technology, transportation, healthcare, education, and sustainable food, with an emphasis on businesses that create a positive social and environmental impact. Tao Capital Partners actively supports companies throughout various stages of their development, aiming to foster growth and innovation in its portfolio. The firm also explores opportunities in alternative energy, agriculture, consumer products, real estate, and hospitality, demonstrating a broad approach to investment in sustainable and impactful industries.

Topmark Partners is a Tampa, Florida-based venture capital firm that spun out from Stonehenge Capital Company. It focuses on technology-enabled companies and previously operated as Stonehenge Growth Equity Partners before adopting the Topmark Partners name.

Grayhawk Capital is a Scottsdale-based investment firm focused on technology and healthcare companies in the United States. Founded around 1999, it funds early and growth-stage ventures, typically taking minority positions and often co-investing with other funds. The firm targets software as a service, cloud, cybersecurity, enterprise software, fintech, business intelligence, health tech, and information technology sectors, with a regional emphasis on the Southwest United States. Investments are generally managed for three to seven years and pursue exits through strategic acquisitions or public offerings. The firm seeks management teams with track records and aims to back companies with scalable, disruptive products.

Harbert Growth Partners is a growth equity investment firm and the U.S. growth equity affiliate of Harbert Management Corporation. It partners with entrepreneurs to finance high-growth companies, focusing on information technology, software, cybersecurity, fintech, digital media, and healthcare IT and services in markets underserved by traditional venture capital; it has over a decade of experience and invests across early to growth stages, often taking an active governance role and leveraging Harbert Management’s broader platform to support portfolio companies.

Verizon Communications is a United States telecommunications company that provides data, wireless and internet services to consumers, businesses, and government entities. It operates 4G LTE and 3G networks and offers wireless plans, fixed broadband, and media and information services, together with enterprise products such as private networking, cloud connectivity, unified communications, and security. The company serves mass market, business, government and wholesale customers and maintains a broad portfolio of devices and services, including IoT solutions and value-added services. Based in New York, Verizon emphasizes connectivity and digital solutions across industries and maintains a venture arm to support early-stage technology development and a foundation focused on education and community initiatives.

Second Century Ventures is a Chicago-based venture capital firm focused on real estate technology and related software and data-enabled services. Established in 2009, the firm backs early to mid-stage companies across North America, Europe, and the Middle East, with investments spanning real estate tech, software-as-a-service, big data, digital media, fintech, and business services. It operates as a fund backed by the National Association of Realtors, providing portfolio companies with strategic resources and a broad industry network through NAR’s extensive membership and industry expertise.

Stout Street Capital is a Denver, Colorado-based venture capital firm that backs early-stage technology companies. It concentrates on software and B2B SaaS, while also investing in fintech, advanced materials, robotics, and artificial intelligence. The firm targets opportunities in under-served markets in the central United States, with a particular emphasis on the Rocky Mountain region. Its approach combines data-driven analysis, market assessment, and thorough due diligence to select ventures that can improve efficiency and generate measurable value as they scale.

Qualcomm is a U.S.-based fabless semiconductor company that designs, develops, and markets wireless technologies, processors, connectivity solutions, software, and charging products. Its Snapdragon processors and related platforms serve mobile devices, automotive, and Internet of Things applications, while its technologies span 3G, 4G, and 5G wireless networks, networking, and multimedia. Qualcomm operates through three main activities: chip business providing integrated circuits and system software; licensing of intellectual property for wireless standards; and strategic initiatives investing in early-stage technologies. The company serves industries including automotive, healthcare, smart cities, wearables, and smart homes, and maintains a broad ecosystem that supports developers and partners worldwide.

New York Angels is a leading New York-based angel investment organization founded in 2004 as the successor to the NYNMA Angel Investor Program. It comprises over 110 active angel investors and early-stage venture funds and meets monthly to screen and present early-stage technology companies. Since 2002 it has invested more than $100 million across more than 90 ventures, with typical initial investments ranging from $100,000 to $1,000,000 and occasional lead investments up to $2 million. The group processes over 2,200 funding applications annually, selecting 12-16 companies each month for in-person review, and hosts a monthly Investment Breakfast where a subset presents with the goal of closing rounds within two months. It is a recognized leader in organized angel investing, was an early member of the Angel Capital Association, and has hosted ACA Summit. Membership is by invitation, with a requirement to commit at least $50,000 annually in early-stage tech deals in addition to a $3,500 annual membership fee; entrepreneurs may submit requests via its website.

Seae Ventures is a Boston-based venture capital firm providing early-stage and growth capital to healthcare service and technology companies, with a focus on minority- and women-led ventures, targeting opportunities across women's health, mental health, digital health, personalized medicine and genomics, artificial intelligence, data analytics, information technology, fintech, and tech-enabled services primarily in the United States, and prioritizing investments from women and BIPOC-led teams that support underserved populations to advance innovative health solutions.

G2VP is a California-based venture capital and growth equity firm focused on digitizing traditional industries. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Portola Valley, with an additional office in Rochester, New York, the firm backs companies implementing emerging digital technologies such as cloud computing, machine learning and data-enabled automation in sectors including transportation, manufacturing, energy, agriculture, industrials and logistics. G2VP aims to drive sustainable value by aligning purpose and profitability, often taking board seats in portfolio companies to support growth and operational transformation. The firm targets a broad spectrum of investments across venture and growth stages, with an emphasis on the digitization of industry and resource efficiency.

Canaan Partners is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm founded in 1987 that operates globally with offices in Israel and India. It focuses on early-stage investments in technology and healthcare, including software, fintech, enterprise/cloud, marketplaces, digital health, biopharma, and medtech, and it has a history of backing startups that achieve exits.

TechOperators is a venture capital firm based in Atlanta, founded in 2008. It backs category-defining cybersecurity startups and growth-stage software companies, with a focus on solutions in cybersecurity, enterprise productivity, cloud computing, and IT infrastructure. The firm provides constructive strategic, operational, and networking support to its portfolio companies and leverages deep operational experience to help drive growth and value creation, backed by a history of outsized returns. Its activity includes investments in B2B software across the Southeast United States.

IDEA Fund Partners is a private equity and venture capital firm founded in 2007 and headquartered in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It targets early-stage technology companies in North Carolina and the southeastern United States, with investments across technology, software, automation, big data, and healthcare. The firm supports entrepreneurs applying technology and business model innovations to industries facing digital disruption at the earliest stages, with a focus on underserved people, places, and stages.

Gruhas is a venture capital firm based in Bangalore, India, founded in 2021. It invests in startups across property technology, climate, content, consumer, clean technology, media, and entertainment sectors, seeking to back ventures that push technology and innovation. The firm partners with early-stage, venture and debt investments to support founders and teams advancing new solutions.

Boston Harbor Angels is an angel investor group based in Boston that brings together experienced business leaders who invest their own capital in high-growth, early-stage companies. Founded in 2004, the group targets sectors including information technology, life sciences, fintech, healthcare, agriculture technology, cleantech, and sustainable technologies. Typically seeking rounds of 250,000 to 1.5 million, members fund a portion of a round and may syndicate with other angel groups or early-stage venture funds while prioritizing companies close to commercialization with defensible competitive advantages. They favor capital-efficient ventures capable of achieving profitability with less than five million dollars in equity and delivering substantial returns within five years. The group emphasizes more than funding, offering advisory support and hands-on involvement, and operates with a structured yet flexible due diligence process in which members individually evaluate opportunities and collaboratively screen and refine candidates before making investments. The team is known for deep expertise in life sciences and often takes a lead role, though opportunities across technology and other sectors are pursued when a strong business case exists.

AltaIR Capital is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm that invests in early and growth-stage startups across a range of sectors. The firm focuses on companies with disruptive ideas and strong growth potential, including productivity tools, future of work, software as a service, fintech, insurtech, artificial intelligence, and digital health. Its portfolio features key players in the startup ecosystem, including top incubator graduates and promising teams.

Standard Industries is a privately-held global industrial company operating in over 80 countries with over 15,000 employees. The Standard ecosystem spans a broad array of holdings, technologies and investments—including both public and private companies from early to late-stage—as well as world-class building materials assets and next-generation solar solutions.

Keiretsu Forum is an international investment community of accredited private equity investors, venture capitalists and corporate/institutional investors. Founded in San Francisco in 2000, it operates as a worldwide network that structures access to high-quality deal flow and investment opportunities through regional chapters across the United States, Europe and Asia. It is described as the world’s largest invitation-only angel investor network, with thousands of investor members who participate in funding opportunities for early- to growth-stage companies in technology, healthcare, energy, consumer products and other sectors. The forum emphasizes collaboration among members and partner resources to support due diligence, syndication and capital deployment, enabling private capital to back high-potential ventures.

Spark Capital is a venture capital firm founded in 2005 with offices in San Francisco, Boston, and New York City. It focuses on early-stage investments across technology-enabled sectors, supporting founders with flexible, founder-centric backing. The firm has backed high-profile consumer and software companies such as Twitter, Discord, Oculus, Warby Parker, Tumblr, Niantic, and Anthropic, reflecting a tendency toward ambitious products and teams that reshape consumer, media, and technology markets.

Founders Fund is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm that backs science and technology companies across stages. The firm focuses on transformational technologies and has supported early backers of SpaceX, Palantir, Facebook, and Airbnb. It pursues a founder-friendly approach that provides significant support with minimal interference, and it invests globally across sectors including software, artificial intelligence, aerospace, energy, healthcare, cybersecurity, biotech, and information technology. The firm targets opportunities from seed to growth stages and emphasizes solving difficult problems through innovative technology.

Tiger Global Management is an investment firm founded in 2001 by Charles (Chase) Coleman. It allocates capital across public and private markets worldwide, with a focus on technology-enabled growth opportunities. The firm pursues public equity strategies, including long/short and growth investments, and private equity across early- to late-stage companies in multiple industries, seeking high-quality growth opportunities and guiding portfolio companies through their lifecycle.

First Round Capital is a San Francisco-based seed-stage venture capital firm that backs technology startups from pre-seed through Series A. It offers capital, a founder-focused community, and services designed to help companies grow from inception, with partners who take an active role in portfolio companies. The firm invests nationally across sectors including healthcare, consumer technology, fintech, hardware, artificial intelligence, and web3, with offices in San Francisco and New York. It emphasizes resources beyond funding and has adopted a diversity term sheet rider to promote inclusive entrepreneurship.

Grotech Ventures is a venture capital firm founded in 1984 and headquartered in the Maryland–Virginia region, investing in early-stage technology companies across the United States. It targets sectors including digital media, e-commerce, software (mobile, cloud, security, enterprise), fintech, and healthcare information technology, and looks for opportunities where its experience and network can add value. Typical initial investments range from $0.5 million to $5 million, with capacity for follow-on rounds to support growth; the firm often acts as lead investor, seeks a board seat, and pursues both control and minority equity positions, sometimes co-investing to accommodate larger commitments. Grotech emphasizes a long-term, collaborative partnership with entrepreneurs and aims to leverage its domain expertise to help portfolio companies scale, including focus on underserved venture markets. Its regional footprint includes offices in Hunt Valley, Maryland; Arlington, Virginia; and Denver, Colorado, reflecting a nationwide reach.

Greenoaks Capital Partners is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm founded in 2012. It makes concentrated, long-term investments in generational teams building enduring technology and internet companies, partnering with exceptional leaders early in their journeys to create enduring businesses. The firm pursues a hands-on approach and seeks to invest across geographies, with a portfolio strategy that includes direct investments as well as fund-of-funds, targeting mid-venture to growth opportunities and supporting companies through multiple growth stages.

IrishAngels is an angel group and early-stage venture firm based in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 2012. It funds pre-seed and seed startups across the United States and leverages an active network to help portfolio companies grow. Its investment focus includes software and technology-enabled sectors such as B2B SaaS, consumer products, and medical technology, with interests extending to artificial intelligence and machine learning, fintech, e-commerce, health tech, edtech, IoT, mobility, cleantech, climate tech, real estate tech, and related areas.

Florida Opportunity Fund is a venture capital firm based in Orlando, Florida, that provides venture capital to emerging Florida companies and partners with other organizations to strengthen the state's early-stage finance ecosystem. Created from legislation in 2007 and launched in 2008, the fund aims to expand access to seed and early-stage capital for Florida enterprises across sectors such as life sciences, information technology, advanced manufacturing, aviation and aerospace, homeland security and defense, and other strategic technologies, including clean energy opportunities.

Tampa Bay Ventures is a venture capital firm based in Tampa, Florida, founded in 2021. It concentrates on early-stage investments in the Tampa Bay region, seeking companies in cybersecurity, e-commerce, health care, education technology, financial technology, and hardware. The firm supports the development of a vibrant startup ecosystem in the Tampa Bay area and aims to connect local founders with resources to accelerate growth.

DeepWork Capital is a Florida-based venture capital firm, founded in 2015 and headquartered in Orlando. It targets early-stage investments in technology and life sciences companies across the United States, supporting portfolio companies with active engagement and mentorship as they scale. The firm partners with entrepreneurs to build growth-oriented enterprises and utilizes committed capital funds to back its investments, focusing on sectors including software, healthcare technology, diagnostics, cloud computing, B2B software as a service, and related tech-enabled fields.

Alta Partners is a venture capital firm focused on life sciences and healthcare sectors, with a diverse, integrated team that brings deep knowledge and experience to support portfolio companies and deliver tangible results to investors. Founded in 1996, the firm is based in Jackson, Wyoming, with additional offices in Denver and Tiburon.

Cardinal Partners is a private equity and venture capital firm founded in 1996 and based in Princeton, New Jersey, with offices in Laguna Beach, California, Wayne, Pennsylvania, and San Francisco, California. It focuses on healthcare investments across the United States, including healthcare information technology, medical technology, life sciences, medical devices and related medical products, pursuing early-stage and growth opportunities. The firm often acts as lead investor in initial financing rounds and typically makes investments in the range of several million dollars.