INNOVATION GAP FUND

What is the Elevate Innovation Gap Fund?

The Elevate Innovation Gap Fund supports disruptive science and research-based innovation throughout Oregon by investing in early-stage founders. The Innovation Gap Fund is sponsored by the Oregon Innovation Council (Oregon InC) Commercialization Gap Fund and Business Oregon.

By investing through its lens of diverse and underserved founders, Elevate Capital seeks to create economic value and improve access to capital for founders from all backgrounds. The Elevate Capital team actively works with and mentors founders to help bring their technologies to market.

Elevate Capital has invested in 30 companies across Gap Funds I and II. Investments cover Oregon’s target traded-sector industries, emphasizing healthcare, life sciences, cleantech and sustainability, and natural resources. Elevate Capital also brings its lens of investing in nontraditional founders to the Gap Funds.

Over 58% of Gap Fund portfolio companies have diverse leadership, with 37% led by women and 43% by minorities. These trends continue to the employee level: Gap Fund portfolio companies have created over 151 (104 in Oregon) jobs, more than half of which have gone to women, minorities, LGBTQ+, and others.

Elevate Capital Assets Under Management (AUM) is $7M between Gap Funds I and II. Despite the young vintages (Gap Fund I was created in 2020 and Gap Fund II in 2022), portfolio companies have raised over $16.9M in additional investments and another $14.7M in non-dilutive grant support. Gap Fund investments into these companies at such early stages are seen as validation by other investors, encouraging them to participate and help these companies grow and succeed.