Regional Accelerator & Innovation Network

RAIN will create the Willamette Valley Seed Fund (“WVSF”), which will be an equity-based, sustainable pool of capital to fund early-stage companies in Oregon’s underrepresented and unconnected South Willamette Valley and Mid-Coast Region. The WVSF will focus on the abundant number of technology and other scalable startups in our region that spring from the hundreds of millions of dollars in research being done at Oregon State University and University of Oregon in innovation clusters that include biotechnology, clean energy technology, computers and peripherals, electronics/instrumentation, chemistry, industrial/energy, Internet/web services, IT services, medical devices/equipment, mobile technology, pharmaceuticals, robotics, semiconductors, software, nanotechnology, unmanned aerial vehicles, and marine science. RAIN expects to raise $10.5 million in capital from 75 investors in the WVSF to be invested in 50 innovation-centric startups, ultimately supporting the creation of 300 new jobs.