State Pension Fund Invests in NYC’s Technology Sector
May 16, 2012
Around Town – By Neal Tepel
The In-State Private Equity Program, which was founded in 2000 and made its first investment in 2001, partners with private equity managers who seek to invest in New York state companies that require capital for growth or to refinance ownership. The program provides investment returns consistent with the risk of private equity while also expanding the availability of capital for New York businesses. Highlights of the In-State Private Equity Program (as of March 2012) include:
· Of the nearly $1 billion committed to the program since 2001, $608 million has been invested in 218 companies, 139 of which are located in New York City. The program currently has significant additional capital available for investment in New York-based companies.
· The program has returned $322 million to the Fund on $206 million invested in 75 exited companies.
· DiNapoli has committed $534 million to the program since he took office in 2007.
· More than 3,000 employees have been added at companies in which the program has invested.
· New York State companies who have received investment through the program have raised nearly $4 billion in additional capital.
Since December 2010, the Fund has invested $1.7 million in Truveris with Tribeca Venture Partners. Truveris was founded in 2009 with six employees and now boasts 25 full-time staff. The SoHo based company makes software to drive efficiency and cost containment in the prescriptions claims process. Truveris helps payers of pharmacy benefits negotiate agreements with prescription benefit managers (PBMs), validate claim payment accuracy, ensure regulatory compliance and manage pharmacy spend.
In November 2011, the Fund was one of the investors in Movable Ink’s $1.3 million seed funding round led by Contour Venture Partners. Movable Ink was founded in 2010 by Vivek Sharma and Michael Nutt and has grown to eight employees in two years. With the Flatiron-based company’s technology, emails become containers for live content that can personalize to current time, recipient’s location, device, social context and business rules.
The New York City metropolitan area had the largest concentration of high-tech employment in the nation, with 317,000 jobs, according to the TechAmerica Foundation’s most recent study of the high-tech industry in American cities. These positions cover a broad range of technology jobs in areas such as computer services and equipment, software publishing, internet services, telecommunications, electronics design and manufacturing, optics, medical equipment and biotech research and development.
“Even in these challenging economic times, the entrepreneurial spirit is thriving in New York,” DiNapoli said. “The In-State Private Equity Program helps established and start-up companies based in New York obtain the capital they need to grow their businesses and create jobs. The state pension fund is contributing to the economic strength of New York, while earning significant investment returns. Truveris and Movable Ink are technical innovators building the companies of the future and are part of what is making New York City one of the world’s leading technology hubs.”
