Keyhorse Capital, in partnership with the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development’s statewide #KYInnovation program and as an initiative of Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation (KSTC), has announced that its current quarterly investment cycle is open through September 30th for eligible companies.
The windows for each quarterly investment cycle are:
- January 1 - March 31
- April 1 - June 30
- July 1 - September 30
- October 1 - December 31
Through the Kentucky Enterprise Fund, Keyhorse Capital and the Commonwealth of Kentucky have been investing in the future of Kentucky since 2002, leveraging over $53.1 million to support 249 Kentucky companies. Under the new KSBCI initiative, Keyhorse Capital and the Commonwealth of Kentucky have invested $11.2 million in 22 Kentucky companies. These investments have accelerated the growth of these companies and catalyzed additional follow-on investments.
These funds make early-stage venture capital investments in high-growth startups and entrepreneurs based in or interested in relocating to Kentucky. Companies must be in the process of building an innovative, technology-enabled product, process, or service; have developed a prototype, be seeking product-market fit, or entering an early growth stage of development; and present a well-articulated market opportunity with some level of customer validation and a strong founding team.
In the second investment cycle of 2024, Keyhorse Capital announced $1.6M of investments in companies that included:
- Besti Co.: Developer of a synchronizable period care solution platform offering a subscription box business model.
- EZ-Chow: Multi-channel digital ordering platform for the restaurant and food service industry.
- Devyze: A collaboration platform that empowers marketing teams to not only track their work but also use AI to help devise a plan that outperforms the competition.
- Garnet Gazelle: Innovative auction platform focusing on consumer products and offering digital acquisition, tracking, and notification tools.
- Hempwood: Manufacturer of high-strength hemp-based sustainable building materials.
- Narratize: Developer of an AI-driven platform designed to enhance and streamline the creation of high-quality content for enterprises.
- Organilock: OrganiLock offers soil amendments and plant food products designed to prioritize soil microbial life and promote soil health.
- PONTIS: Developer of a psycholinguistic keyboard extension for various platforms that improves communication among people within a work environment.
- PowerTech Water (Electramet): Manufacturer of water treatment technology designed to give water-intensive industries access to clean water and/or cleaner outputs and waste streams.
- PreventScripts: Developer of a health management platform and remote patient monitoring for diabetes and hypertension
- RiverGuide: Developer of a mentored pathway for student entrepreneurs that connects them with a curated network of venture-backed mentors and provides them with an AI-assisted software.
- SoFab Inks: Developer of specialty materials used to accelerate the commercialization of perovskite solar cells.
- Soundspace Technology: Developer of a SaaS platform that manages all aspects of operations for shared spaces including booking, payments, memberships, financials, and more.
- Thynk Health: Developer of fully-operational healthcare software suite that helps hospitals increase patient participation in their screening programs.
- Wicked Technologies: Bedding and sleep products that detect and mitigate issues associated with excess moisture.
- UJoin: Developer of a platform designed to simplify grassroots policy advocacy.
Keyhorse Capital and KSTC have partnered with KY Innovation and the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development to create an easy-to-navigate quarterly investment process for the state’s most promising startup companies. Together with an improved public application process and statewide communication strategy to increase access and the number of investment opportunities, Kentucky’s funds have seen a continued increase in award applications and reviews.
To learn more and apply for funding, visit: keyhorse.vc/
About Keyhorse Capital
Keyhorse Capital is a seed-stage venture capital firm focused on supporting a thriving community of entrepreneurs willing to go the distance to build and grow innovative companies. Keyhorse is focused on investing in early-stage companies based in Kentucky through a funding partnership with KYInnovation and KCED. Keyhorse Capital has provided financing to 254 companies. Their active portfolio of 140 companies has created more than 800 jobs and counting. Learn more at keyhorse.vc.
About KSTC
KSTC is a private, statewide non-profit corporation committed to advancing science, technology, and innovative economic development founded on Kentucky know-how. KSTC seeks to improve the capacity of people, companies, and organizations to build an innovation-driven economy in Kentucky. Learn more at kstc.org.
About KY Innovation
#KYInnovation is an initiative of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development (KCED) that targets resources to support startups, traditional small businesses, and innovation-driven entrepreneurs across the business life-span with the aim of dramatically improving Kentucky’s entrepreneurship ecosystem and significantly increasing the number of new company startups annually. More about the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s investment and support for innovation can be found at kyinnovation.com.
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