Tennessee
State Resources
Tennessee’s Department of Economic & Community Development (TNCED) is the state’s lead economic development authority, charged with positioning the state as a “premier destination in the Southeast for high-quality jobs” by supporting the expansion and economic growth of existing Tennessee businesses while attracting new investment. The nonprofit private-public partnership Launch Tennessee (LaunchTN) works in conjunction with TNCED to support Tennessee’s startup ecosystem through facilitation of access to capital, providing commercialization support, and fostering connections among entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, and government. Highlighted below is a sample of what TNCED and LaunchTN are doing to support new ventures in the state.
InvestTN Funds
Using U.S. Treasury State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) funding under the Fund Tennessee program, the state makes equity investments in Tennessee-based, early- and growth-stage startups through the two of the funds in the InvestTN Fund program – the $28 million Regional Seed Fund and the $36 million Growth Fund. In both cases, the state makes a conditional commitment that startups can leverage to attract private investors, with a 1:1 match required. The program is administered by LaunchTN.
The Regional Seed Fund offers investments of $25,000–$250,000 to small businesses with a “venture-backable business model” that are working with their designated local entrepreneur center. The Growth Fund offers Seed, Series A, and Series B investments of $250,000–$3 million in selected industries, such as advanced energy, advanced manufacturing, agtech, biotech, climatetech, consumer products and technology, data and AI, fintech, healthtech, mobility and logistics, and SaaS. See current portfolio.
SBIR/STTR Matching Fund
The SBIR/STTR Matching Fund is an annual program administered by LaunchTN that supports technology commercialization in the state by matching federal dollars Tennessee-based small businesses receive from SBIR/STTR and other commercialization programs. The fund matches SBIR/STTR Phase I awards up to $100,000 and Phase II awards up to $300,000. The program prioritizes funding first-time SBIR/STTR (or other federal commercialization program) awardees; companies that received LaunchTN support for their successful federal application; companies that have licensed technology from or are collaborating with Tennessee research institutions; companies focused on life sciences, advanced energy, agriculture, or mobility industry technologies; and companies that have recently relocated or will relocate to Tennessee.
