California, January 26, 2010 – Located less than a mile from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, RPM Ventures aims to bridge the gap between high-tech start-ups and major manufacturers in the Midwest. Last week RPM announced it raised $60 million for a second fund that it has already used to back 10 companies.
Venture capitalist and high-tech investor Mouli Cohen was interviewed today about these recent developments.
“The biggest thing RPM has going for itself is its strategy,” Cohen said when asked how the firm raised a second fund in such lean times. “They have a unique strategy. They have to, they’re in the Midwest.”
RPM will invest in a start-up regardless of where it is headquartered. But the company must have a roadmap that includes selling its wares to some of the iconic corporations that have manufacturing plants in Illinois or Michigan.
Not only will the start-ups have a clear path to revenue, they will ultimately benefit the states, Cohen said, by helping corporations like Archer Daniels Midland Corp., Kellogg’s Corp., and major automakers stay competitive with emerging technologies. The firm’s advisors include former executives from Dow Chemical and General Motors.
“When investors in the Silicon Valley go to lunch, they have lunch with people from Facebook or Google,” Cohen said. “When RPM investors go to lunch, it’s with someone from Proctor & Gamble, or Ford Motors. This is what RPM brings to the table, really. It’s their knowledge of these customers.”
For venture investors, the Midwest is wide open, Cohen said, with nearly $2 billion embarked by universities for research next year in Illinois and Michigan. Some of the beneficiaries of the firm’s second fund are university spin-outs, such as Arbor Photonics, and the firm will be looking for more innovation from the schools in the coming years.
About Mouli Cohen
Mr. Cohen is a successful entrepreneur who has founded and developed successful ventures in the biotechnology, high technology, digital media and entertainment sectors. He has balanced his success in business with extensive philanthropic activities. Over the years he has supported children’s charities, food programs, medical research, and the arts as well as education projects both in the US and abroad.