Empire State Development drops $4M on Golden Seeds, has $21M left for NY startups

Empire State Development, New York’s chief economic development agency, has announced that it will be providing over $25 million to six investment funds across NY. The goal here is to create more than 2,200 jobs for small businesses and to facilitate investment in nearly 100 seed stage companies.

Golden Seeds, an investment firm dedicated to the empowerment of women entrepreneurs and the people who invest in them, will be receiving $4 million in funds from ESD. The firm already has a fund totaling $30mil for female founded companies & as many as 240 angel investors.

From Stephanie Newby, Managing Director at Golden Seeds:

We are honored to be selected for this important award. The allocation of public funding to equity investments marks a significant shift from the traditional focus on debt financing as the primary tool for economic stimulus. We believe equity capital is vital in the support of innovation and job growth.

This shift is important, as it shows how the state is realizing exactly how powerful the startup scene can be. These small companies hold real promise, which is exactly why investments such as these have great potential to pay off.

Along with Golden Seeds, Canrock Ventures has won $4.5 million, Cayuga Ventures was awarded $5 million, Excell Partners is receiving $2.5 million, SCP Buffalo Incubator won $4 million and Stonehenge Capital Company is receiving $5 million.

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For more, check out the official release from ESD and Golden Seeds. We’ll keep or eyes and ears open for what happens next with Golden Seeds, which has already invested in the likes of HitFix, gDiapers, DRY Soda and Carnegie Speech.