BIRMINGHAM – CitySide Ventures has launched its $10 million Great Lakes Angels Fund by investing an undisclosed amount of money in three start-up companies.

David Weaver, CitySide Chief Investment Officer, said more early-stage capital is available to keep new companies in Michigan and grow the Michigan ecosystem.

“We don’t see any lack of exciting early-stage companies being started in Michigan,” Weaver said. “We need to keep them here. It would help if more accredited investors, sitting on the sidelines, in Michigan would participate in groups or in a fund to prevent the companies from leaving the state because of the lack of early-stage capital. We are delighted to see the early-stage space growing and we need more people that are willing to be a part of this ‘Movement’ to put Michigan on the map”

Weaver said CitySide expects 2022 to be an even stronger funding year via its Great Lakes Angels Fund and Birmingham Angels members with the group growing in size every month, and many new exciting companies coming out of the Michigan startup ecosystem.

“City Side Ventures is a driven venture group comprised of experienced business builders, die-hard serial entrepreneurs, disrupters, innovators, and technologists,” Weaver said. “We are more than just traditional investors; we are a different investment management firm that creates and manages high-risk venture investment funds.”

The 1st three GLAF investments were in the following companies.
1. Allelo
Our platform, with its use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), delivers a consistent and robust “discussion experience” among students and energizes daily classroom engagement. Allelo puts the power of conversational analytics in the hands of educators and opens up a new world of opportunity for student growth.
2. Shopintelligence
Shoptelligence is the Home Furnishing industry’s leading solution to increase order size, helping retailers grow revenue per buyer more than 30%. Our AI-based platform helps shoppers discover more of a retailer’s assortment by providing interactive rooms around any item a shopper is viewing.
3. Upswing Health
Upswing provides immediate access to a top-of-the-funnel virtual front door of care directing patients to the most appropriate and cost-effective care pathway. Upswing disrupts the current state of top-down, heavily weighted specialty treatment, decreasing costs and improving outcomes.

More information at www.citysideventures.com