Innovation Works

Impact

As the most active seed-stage investor in the southwestern Pennsylvania region, IW serves an important role in the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, providing technology entrepreneurs with the risk capital needed to develop new products and enter new markets. In 2021, IW provided $3.7 million in financial assistance, filling critical gaps in private sector funding at the riskiest phases of company development.

Since its launch in 1999, IW has supported more than 729 companies with investments totaling over $117 million. Innovation Works makes direct investments into southwest Pennsylvania’s promising, early-stage technology companies that are focused on high-opportunity markets.

Bridging the Funding Gaps

With its large and growing portfolio of high-quality companies, IW serves as a nexus of regional investment opportunities for venture capitalists and angel investors. In 2021, IW’s seed fund and accelerator companies were successful in attracting more than $458 million in investment from VCs, angels, corporate/strategic investors, and other sources.

Attracting Capital to the Region

Since the launch of IW’s seed fund in 1999, the entrepreneurs and companies supported by IW have helped to change the image of Pittsburgh in the minds of investors nationwide. To date, more than 100 venture capital firms from across the United States have invested in IW-funded companies. By connecting entrepreneurs to investors across the country, IW has helped to catalyze more than $3.3 billion in total follow-on investment.

Since the seed fund began, more than 100 venture capital firms clustered in major financial and technology centers across the country have invested in the IW portfolio.

2022 Reports:

2021 Reports:

Past Reports: