The Palmetto Angel Fund Announces Latest Investments
Greenville and Columbia, SC | December 4, 2014 – Two Carolinas-based early-stage companies have received new investments from the Palmetto Angel Fund (the fund), a partner of the South Carolina Angel Network (SCAN).
Pandoodle, based in Columbia, uses computer vision technology to provide dynamic brand placement and context-aware advertising in online images and videos. Baebies, headquartered in Durham, NC, uses a proprietary digital microfluidics technology to improve screening of newborn babies for medical conditions. Both companies have exceptionally strong technologies developed here in the Carolinas that have global applications and the potential to significantly improve peoples’ lives.
The fund is South Carolina’s first state-wide angel fund built on a strategy of co-investing in early-stage companies funded by the angel groups affiliated with SCAN. These groups currently include the Upstate Carolina Angel Network (UCAN), Capital Angels, and the Tiger Angel Network, with additional groups launching in 2015.
In addition to announcing its two most recent investments, the fund also announced that it will close to new investors at the end of 2014.
Since making its first investments this summer, the fund has now placed capital in five companies. Its first investments were in Proterra (which designs and manufactures zero-emission vehicles), OBMedical (which is developing a new generation of fetal and maternal monitoring devices) and Zipit Wireless (which provides messaging solutions in healthcare locations, particularly EMS providers and hospitals).
“I am delighted that Capital Angels and UCAN have invested in Pandoodle, and that the Palmetto Angel Fund could add on to their investment,” said Dirk Brown, CEO of Pandoodle. “These funds immediately enabled us to attract further funding from capital sources outside of South Carolina and will help Pandoodle secure a major increase in value over the coming months as our technology gains widespread adoption.”
The partners in the Palmetto Angel Fund are thrilled with their results. “We continue to invest almost as quickly as we can find new investors and promising early-stage companies,” said Paul Clark, the fund’s General Partner. “The pace of investment is a testament to the quality of SCAN’s angel investor groups.”
UCAN was recently voted the eighth best angel group in the US, and Capital Angels in Columbia is off to an equally impressive start with more than 30 active members. The investment pace demonstrates the continuing growth of South Carolina’s entrepreneurial economy – despite the chronic lack of capital available to fund local early-stage companies.
The Palmetto Angel Fund will continue to accept new commitments until the end of 2014 and is open to anyone who meets the accreditation standards established by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for investors, and its investments may be eligible for the new South Carolina Angel Investor Tax Credit, which provides a 35% state income tax credit to angel investors who back qualified South Carolina startups. New fund investors who sign up before the fund closes in December will receive investments in all five companies funded so far. For more information, visit www.scangelnetwork.com.
ABOUT THE SOUTH CAROLINA ANGEL NETWORK
The South Carolina Angel Network is dedicated to improving the infrastructure for the entrepreneurial economy in South Carolina, with a particular focus on early stage capital formation. SCAN supports multiple angel groups across South Carolina and beyond, including the Upstate Carolina Angel Network in Greenville, Capital Angels in Columbia, and Asheville Angels in Asheville. For investors, SCAN’s affiliated groups provide access to high quality deal flow, an efficient process to manage investment opportunities, and due diligence expertise from some of South Carolina’s most successful business leaders. For startup companies, SCAN offers access to highly scarce equity capital, mentoring, and expertise from its investors. For more information visit www.scangelnetwork.com.
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