Find the right company to invest in for the greatest ROI
One of CEDâs strongest and most popular offerings is our Connect to Capital Program. We work with entrepreneurs searching for help with scaling up, and create connections and introductions to the right investors.
Our Partner Companies
We collaborate with companies seeking capital in the sectors of Life Science, Technology, Advanced Marketing and Materials, Consumer Products, Cleantech and AgTech. Our strongest support and value to the entrepreneur is during the first round of raising institutional capital, but we can also support companies in the pre-seed or seed phases, as well as subsequent follow on rounds.
Our Investor Partners
Because there are so many different companies needing different kinds of financial backing, we work with multiple categories of venture financing. Besides those focused on raising from traditional venture capital funds, we also build relationships with angels, angel groups, growth and private equity funds, corporate and strategics, and debt funds.
Why you should connect with us
Collaborating with the Council for Entrepreneurial Development gives you full access to North Carolina companies and real-time deal flow. That translates into front-end introductions to vetted entrepreneurs that match your investment criteria.


What you should know
We are a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching and supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem of North Carolina. We are not investment bankers. We do not receive a success fee for capital introductions if they result in an investment agreement. And we do not work exclusively for entrepreneursâwe are guiding them along the process so that they can present their company and its goals in the most polished and effective possible way.
This is how we help you
Our driving goal is connecting you with the entrepreneurs that are a great fit for you. Every company at the stage of scaling up is carefully prepared to present every potential investor with a pitch that impresses, and allows you to quickly determine if itâs a yes or no.
Find NC Companies
NC companies are traveling to some great regional events to grow their company, reach investors and connect with resources. For a list of upcoming events where you can find NC companies click here.
who’s getting Funded in NC
CED produces an annual report on funding activity for North Carolina and how we compare to other entrepreneurial hubs across the nation. See who is getting funded this year by clicking the link below.
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#Investor
CED is the primordial goo of the Research Triangle, an overscienced, yet underfunded biotech community. CED brings together this fascinating soup of brilliant founders, experienced operators, and investors through its social events like Venture Connect, where I can count on finding support for my portfolio companies or the next great idea in a burgeoning biotech powerhouse.”
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#Investor
Front Porch has found working with CED extremely helpful from several different perspectives. One that stands out is that the organization is often a first stop for many local entrepreneurs that are either currently fundraising or looking to build relationships for the future. An independent introduction such as those provided by CED is helpful to both sides. Additionally, we have found CED’s events such as the Investor Fly-in and VentureConnect Summit to be well orchestrated and great relationship-building opportunities.”
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#Investor
CED does a great job of thoughtfully connecting investors with entrepreneurs who are building promising companies. We benefit greatly from all of their hard work in supporting local startups.”
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#Investor
CED so often is the center of the early-stage investing universe in NC. As software investors, we send any early-stage companies over to CED and recently closed a later-stage deal with a local company that came via a CED introduction two years prior. Their work putting together events and matching companies to investors in this region is tireless.”
Investor Network

112 Capital
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5AM Ventures
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7 Gate Ventures
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8VC
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AbbVie Ventures
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Active Capital
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Aflac Ventures
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Ag TechInventures
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Aisling Capital
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Alexandria Venture Investments
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Amgen Ventures
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Anthos Capital
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Arch Venture Partners
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Arix Bioscience
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Arsenal Growth
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Atlanta Ventures
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Atlas Venture
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Ballast Point Ventures
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Bio/Med Investor Network
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BioInnovation Capital
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Bioventure Partners
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BIP Capital
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Blue Heron Capital
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Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund
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Bootstrap Advisors
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Brentwood Capital Advisors
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Brian Hamilton Foundation
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BrightEdge Venture Fund
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Bull City Venture Partners
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Burroughs Wellcome Fund
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Canaan Partners
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Carolina Angel Network
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Castle Digital Partners
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Catalyst Partners
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CFV Ventures
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Charleston Angel Partners
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Charlotte Angel Fund
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Cherokee Investment Partners
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Chrysalis Ventures
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Cofounders Capital
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Colopy Ventures
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Comcast Ventures
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Core Capital Partners
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Covera Ventures
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CrowdfundNC.com
Tech
CRV
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CureDuchenne Ventures
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Cypress Growth Capital
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Daerter Group
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Deerfield
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Digitalis
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Dioko Ventures
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Dow Jones Ventures
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Draper Fisher Jurvetson
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Draper Triangle Ventures
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Duke Angel Network
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East Carolina Angels
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Echo Health Ventures
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Ecliptic Capital
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Edison Partners
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Eli Global
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Epidarex
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F-Prime
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Ferguson Ventures
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FHI Ventures
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Fintop Capital
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First Launch Capital Fund
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FJ Labs
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Flyover Capital
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Flywheel New Ventures
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Fresenius Medical Ventures
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Fulcrum Equity Partners
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Good Growth Capital
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Google Ventures
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Gray Ghost Ventures
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Greenhawk Corporation
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Grey Sky Venture Partners
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Greycroft Partners
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Grotech Ventures
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H.I.G. Capital
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Harbert Growth Partners, LLC
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Hardball Capital
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Hatteras Venture Partners
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High Country Impact Fund
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Hockey Stick Investments
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HUB Angels
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Hustle Fund
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IDEA Fund Partners
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Illumina Ventures
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IMAF – RTP
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Innovacorp
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Insight Venture Partners
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Institutional Venture Partners
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Intel Capital
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International Farming
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Intersouth Partners
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iSelect Fund
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JMI Equity
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Jurassic Capital
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Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
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KdT Ventures
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Kinetic Ventures
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Knoll Ventures
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Las Olas Venture Capital
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Lattice Ventures
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Lighter Capital
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Lightspeed Venture Partners
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Lilly Asia Ventures
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LLR Partners
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Longitude Capital
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Lowes Venture Capital
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Lumira Ventures
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Madison River Ventures
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MANN+HUMMEL
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Material Capital Partners
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Mayo Clinic Ventures
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McCarthy Capital
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McKesson Ventures
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MDO Holdings
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Middleland Capital
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Mjalli Investment Group
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Morgan Creek Capital Management
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Motley Fool Ventures
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Mountain Group Capital
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Mucker Capital
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New Enterprise Associates (NEA)
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New Richmond Ventures
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NEXT Investors
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Noel Ventures
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Noro-Moseley Partners
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OCA Ventures
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Okapi Venture Capital
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One Better Ventures
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ORIX Ventures
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Osage University Partners
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Osage Venture Partners
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OSF Ventures
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Oval Park Capital
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Oxford Finance
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Paladin Capital Group
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Palm Drive Capital
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Pappas Capital
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Pfizer Venture Capital
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Polaris Partners
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PSP Growth
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Queen City Fintech
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RA Capital
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Radian Capital
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Red Hat Ventures
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Redwood Digital Group Fund
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Relevance Capital
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Renewal Funds
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Resilient Ventures
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RevUp Capital
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Rex Health Ventures
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RIoT
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River Cities Capital Funds (RCCF)
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Riverside Acceleration Capital
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Route 66 Ventures
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RTP Capital
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Rubicon Venture Capital
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Sangus Partners
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Satter Investment Management
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Seminal Capital Partners
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SeventySix Capital
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Shah Capital
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SharpVue Capital
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Sierra Ventures
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Signature Bank
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SJF Ventures
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Sopris Capital
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Southeast Investor Group
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Spring Mountain Capital
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SSM Partners
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Stanley Ventures
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Starlight Ventures
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Start100
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Stonehenge Growth Equity Partners
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Stripes Group
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Susquehanna Growth Equity
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Swan & Legend
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Syngenta Ventures
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Takeda Ventures
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TDF Ventures
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Tech Square Ventures
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Techstars
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The Launch Place
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The Startup Factory
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Thiel Capital
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Tidewater Equity Partners
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Tiverton
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Tobacco Road Partners
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Triangle Angel Partners
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Trinity Ventures
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Truist Ventures
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Updata Partners
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Velocity Fund Partners
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Velocity Pharmaceutical Development
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Venture Asheville
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VentureSouth
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Village Capital
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Vista Equity Partners
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Vivo Capital
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Vocap Investment Partners
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VTC Innovation Fund
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Warburg Pincus
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Wavecrest Growth Partners
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Wilmington Angels for Local Entrepreneurs
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Wilmington Investor Network
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