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Michigan Rise Pre-Seed Fund III provides strategic early-stage venture funding and comprehensive support to Michigan-based technology startups. Offering coaching and grant assistance, it leverages sector expertise to guide companies through development. The organization aims to scale innovative businesses and catalyze the state’s tech industry.
A subsidiary of the Michigan State University Research Foundation, Michigan Rise draws on its parent’s fifty-year legacy in innovation and commercialization. This institutional foundation, partnered with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, underpins its operations. The fund originated from the understanding that targeted early-stage capital and ecosystem support translate local technologies into thriving enterprises.
Michigan Rise serves Michigan-based technology startups, connecting them to a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem. Its mission is to transform nascent innovations into successful, sustainable businesses, fostering local talent and attracting investment. The fund ultimately delivers economic prosperity across Michigan.
Key people at Michigan Rise.
Key people at Michigan Rise.
Michigan Rise is a pre-seed venture capital fund that provides early-stage funding and strategic support to Michigan-based technology startups, focusing on sectors where the state holds competitive advantages such as advanced materials and manufacturing, CleanTech and energy, AgTech, life sciences and healthcare, software and digital technologies, mobility, and emerging industries.[1][2][3] As a subsidiary of the Michigan State University (MSU) Research Foundation in partnership with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), its mission is to catalyze growth in Michigan’s tech ecosystem by offering initial investments of $50,000 to $150,000 (with follow-on up to $250,000 via flexible structures like Convertible Debt, Equity, or SAFE Notes), end-to-end coaching, grant assistance, and connections to mentors and networks.[1][2][3] The fund has leveraged nearly $700M in follow-on investment through its portfolio and provided $7.6M in purchase order financing over three years, significantly impacting Michigan's startup landscape by fostering innovation and economic development.[1][2]
Michigan Rise was founded in 2020 as a subsidiary of the MSU Research Foundation, a non-profit established in 1973 to advance economic development through technology commercialization.[2][4] Building on the foundation's 50-year legacy of innovation and commercialization, Michigan Rise launched as Pre-Seed Fund III in partnership with MEDC to address gaps in early-stage funding for Michigan tech startups.[1][2][3] Key leaders include Executive Director Jeff Wesley, Director of Portfolio Management Pete Martin, and Directors of Venture Investments Matt Okoneski and Tommy Skinner, alongside venture associates with expertise in executive leadership, startup founding, and technical innovation.[2] The fund evolved from MSU's long history of supporting tech transfer to a focused VC model, marking milestones like three years of purchase order financing by 2025 and four new investments in October 2025 across mobility, CleanTech, and EdTech.[1]
Michigan Rise rides the trend of regional tech hub development, capitalizing on Michigan's strengths in mobility (auto heritage), manufacturing, CleanTech, and AgTech to counter coastal VC dominance and build a self-sustaining innovation ecosystem.[1][3] Timing aligns with state economic initiatives via MEDC, addressing early-stage funding deserts for Midwest startups amid rising national interest in diversified supply chains and sustainable tech post-2020s supply disruptions.[2] Market forces like federal incentives for domestic manufacturing and clean energy favor its portfolio, while the fund influences the ecosystem by de-risking ventures—demonstrated by $700M leveraged capital and $7.6M in financing that accelerates commercialization and attracts larger investors.[1] This positions Michigan as an emerging hub, with Michigan Rise humanizing local entrepreneurship through hands-on support.[2][5]
Michigan Rise is poised to deepen its impact as Pre-Seed Fund III scales, potentially announcing more 2026 investments amid growing Midwest tech momentum and trends like AI-integrated manufacturing, climate tech, and mobility autonomy.[1][3][5] Evolving federal and state policies for regional innovation will shape its trajectory, amplifying leverage effects as portfolio companies mature into series A contenders. Its influence may expand via deeper MSU-MEDC synergies, solidifying Michigan's role in national tech ecosystems—transforming "promising technologies into successful businesses," as its mission states.[1]
