ANN ARBOR – Nine Michigan companies recently received investments from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, totaling more than $2 million. So far in the program, 72 companies have received seed funding totaling more than $16 milion.

?The Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund is helping businesses across the state bring their innovative products to market,? said Skip Simms, Ann Arbor Spark?s senior vice president and administrator of the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund. ?As more companies continue to apply for and receive these funds, we fulfill the fund?s mission of diversifying economic opportunity in Michigan.?

The Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund supports a start-up?s commercialization efforts. Specific innovations include:

* Angott Medical Products, based in Bloomfield Hills, is developing breast cancer testing technology.

* Axonia Medical of Kalamazoo is developing technology to rebuild and restore damaged peripheral or central nervous systems using tissue-engineered nerve grafts.

* Ann Arbor-based Blaze Medical Devices is developing spectral analysis for red blood cells.

* Coliant Corp. of Warren is developing a power outlet to connect and mount electrical devices on motorcycles and other outdoor recreational vehicles.

* Plymouth-based DeNovo Sciences, winner of the 2011 Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition, is developing a microfluidic device that captures and isolates viable cancer cells in their own compartments where single cell analysis can be done.

* ePaySelect, of Midland, is developing an electronic bill payment system.

* Oxus America, of Rochester Hills, is developing a portable oxygen concentrator medical device.

* Syzygy Biotech, based in Grand Rapids, is developing biotech products for DNA amplification used in research.

* Grand Rapids-based Varsity News Network is developing custom, online high school sports publications.

Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund companies have attracted more than $20 million in matching grant and equity funds. Combined, Michigan Pre-Seed Fund investments have helped to create more than 100 jobs in Michigan.

The Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund is an equity fund that invests in technology-based companies to support business formation and acceleration. Ann Arbor Spark serves as the Fund?s administrator.

To qualify for the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, start-up companies must be based on a technology in one of the state?s identified competitive technologies and have the sponsorship of a local SmartZone. In addition to SmartZone sponsorship, companies must have received grant, angel or venture capital funding as a match with the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund investment.

The Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund is an equity investment fund that receives the same returns as the third party investor. The returns that the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund receives from its investments will be redeployed by the Fund as first round capital to Michigan-based start-ups.

a>>