The 20Fathoms Innovation Fund is an early-stage venture fund dedicated to supporting Michigan founders building scalable companies and competitive edge technologies.
Based in Traverse City and operated by 20Fathoms, the fund is rooted in Northern Michigan’s unique position as a freshwater region and innovation hub. A primary focus of the fund is to help grow the freshwater and blue tech economy by supporting entrepreneurs developing solutions related to water, environmental resilience, infrastructure, advanced monitoring, sustainability, and the responsible use and stewardship of freshwater resources.
At the same time, the fund is designed to support high-potential early-stage companies across a range of technology-driven sectors. The fund shares 20Fathoms’ broader mission of accelerating the growth of early-stage companies and expanding access to entrepreneurial resources across the state. Through early-stage capital, founder support, and regional connectivity, the 20Fathoms Innovation Fund aims to help promising companies grow in Michigan, create economic opportunities, and contribute to a more resilient and sustainable future.
The 20Fathoms Innovation Fund was established through a $1.6 million award from the Michigan Strategic Fund under the Michigan Innovation Fund Program, with administrative support from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. The fund was made possible through the collaboration of statewide and regional partners, including Traverse Connect, whose leadership and support helped bring this important early-stage investment resource to Northern Michigan.
The 20Fathoms Innovation Fund invests in Michigan-based companies at the pre-seed and seed stages, with the flexibility to consider strong opportunities across sectors. Our primary focus is on founders building in areas where Northwest Michigan has distinctive strengths, emerging market advantages, and the potential to become a national leader.
We are especially interested in companies advancing freshwater and blue tech, including technologies that protect, monitor, manage, and sustainably use freshwater resources. We also prioritize opportunities in agricultural technology, advanced manufacturing, and rural health tech, where the region’s industry base, technical expertise, natural assets, and community need to create meaningful opportunities for innovation.
By combining early-stage capital with 20Fathoms’ founder support network and regional partnerships, the fund aims to help promising companies scale faster, build durable businesses, and contribute to a stronger, more resilient Michigan innovation economy.
The 20Fathoms Innovation Fund publishes annual reports to share our investment activity, portfolio progress, and the impact of our work supporting Michigan’s startup ecosystem. Reports for each year will be posted to this page as they are finalized.
