NJ Attracts $5.5 Billion In Venture Capital in 2021; Princeton Starts Regional I-Corps Program; Coviello Promoted

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Innovation-focused companies in New Jersey secured $5.5 billion in 219 venture capital deals in 2021, up from $1.7 billion through 154 deals in 2020, according to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA).
By contrast, in 2017, the state saw a total of only $818 million in 143 venture capital deals.
In just one example, Celsius Network announced in Oct. 2021 that it had raised $400 million of Series B venture funding.
Last year, the NJEDA approved a record-breaking 559 Angel Investor Tax Credit Program applications, a nearly 400 percent increase over 2020.
These approved applications represented the injection of more than $100 million in 39 New Jersey businesses, the NJEDA said.

Princeton University and its partners kicked off the first program offered by the National Science Foundation’s new Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Northeast Regional Hub ,which offers university startups training in customer discovery.
Fourteen teams from universities and institutions across the Northeast are participating in the program, according to an article on Princeton’s website.
The teams attend four sessions led by experienced entrepreneurship instructors and work with practiced mentors to enhance their chances of success.
“The number-one reason that startups fail is because they build a product that nobody wants,” said Lori Dars, I-Corps co-instructor and associate director of the Office of Economic Development and Innovation at Rutgers University, a partner institution.
The I-Corps program is designed to make sure that doesn’t happen for these academic startups.

Kathleen Coviello, executive vice president for technology, life sciences & entrepreneurship at the NJEDA is taking on a new role.
The long-time leader at the NJEDA is being promoted to chief economic transformation officer.
Coviello will now oversee the strategic sector and economic growth products, including corporate and real-estate tax credit programs and initiatives involving clean energy, innovation and venture funds, according to an article at ROI-NJ.