Alexandria, VA (October 4, 2023) – The  Angel Capital Association (ACA) has received an $123k award from the National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIPs) designed to catalyze private investment in the Deep Tech Sector. This project is designed to better educate the early stage investor community on the benefits of Deep Tech investments with the intention of increasing the amount of private capital available for deployment in the Deep Tech sector. Grant activities will focus on the ten technology areas identified in the Chips and Science Act.

This award, Connecting Early Stage Capital to the Deep Tech Innovation Ecosystem, will conduct activities related to data collection,  investor education and investor activation in the Deep Tech sector. The data collection effort will seek to understand the current state of early stage investing into Deep Tech and what challenges/obstacles are currently facing the Deep Tech investor. The education effort will enable early stage investors to  participate in a Deep Tech educational webinar series in order to gain a clear understanding of the commercial potential of Deep Tech innovations. The investor activation effort will introduce early stage investors to promising Deep Tech start-ups and to encourage investor syndication efforts.

Dr. Margaret Bacheler, Ed.d., the ACA’s Director of Educational Initiatives, will serve as principal investigator for this project. According to Dr. Bacheler, “As the national leading professional development association for the early stage investing community, the ACA is honored to partner with the NSF in advancing knowledge and deal flow opportunities in the Deep Tech sector. 
Deep Tech innovations have the potential to address the critical issues of our time and improve the human condition. Connecting these innovations to the private capital needed to commercialize these innovations will benefit society as a whole.”

As these Deep Tech innovations become commercialized, the  investment capital will serve as catalytic capital for regional economic development expansion and ultimately lead to an increase in highly-skilled employment opportunities in the STEM fields.

About the Angel Capital Association (ACA) 
The Angel Capital Association (ACA) is the professional association of angel investors across North America and offers education, best practices, data, public policy advocacy, and significant benefits and resources to its membership of more than 15,000 accredited investors, who invest individually or through its 250+ angel groups, accredited platforms, and family offices. Visit us online at angelcapitalassociation.org. Contact: Dannielle Stewart, Marketing Director for the Angel Capital Association 720-496-3646, dstewart@angelcapitalassociation.org, for more information.