A long-awaited Midwest venture fund expected to emerge in the next few weeks has tapped a California venture capitalist to run it, MedCity News has learned.
Ohio University and Ohio State University have wanted to launch their own $35 million fund since 2012, but it hasn’t yet come to fruition. That could soon change. They are understood to be working to land John Steuart, managing director at Prolog Ventures, which has offices in Oakland and St. Louis.
In response to a request for comment, Steuart emphasized that nothing has been finalized yet.
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Ohio State has committed $20 million to the fund and Ohio University contributed $15 million. According to the original release, “The universities will also leverage their resources and assets to bring the best talent, funding and facilities to jumpstart entrepreneurial activity and venture creation in Ohio.”
Ohio University president Roderick Davis said, “We hope to move more innovations to the marketplace to cure disease, produce healthier food and advance alternative energy solutions.”
Additional details on the fund were not yet available before this story was posted online.
The universities have been trying to set up the fund since 2012. They dropped their first partnership with California-based Dominion Ventures then spent the next three years searching for the right fit to head the fund.
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If an agreement is worked out, Steuart could be formally named as the head of the fund sometime in the coming weeks. Given the fund’s recent history, it would be fitting if the past were prologue.
Photo: Flickr user Stephen Wolfe
