Madison investor George Arida is raising a $15 million venture capital fund, 30Ventures Fund I L.P., according to a new SEC filing.
The filing indicates Arida launched the offering May 31, and does not yet have investors committed to the fund. According to state records, 30Ventures was established in September 2017 and is based at the University Research Park in Madison.
Arida did not respond to requests for comment Friday and Monday regarding the fund. According to his LinkedIn profile, 30Ventures will invest in early-stage Midwestern companies in the medical diagnostics, biotechnology tools, medical device, and industrial water and chemistry sectors. The 30Ventures company page on LinkedIn says the company plans to participate in series A and series B rounds for innovations that can impact human health care.
In addition to serving as managing director of 30Ventures, Arida chairs the boards of Chromatin Inc. and Juventas Therapeutics Inc. He’s also a director at NanoBio Corp. and an advisor to Madison venture capital firm Venture Investors, where he worked as a managing director from 2000 to 2016. Arida previously chaired the boards of Milwaukee-based Zystor Therapeutics, which was acquired for up to $115 million by BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. in 2010; Madison-based Nerites Corp., which was acquired by Kensey Nash Corp. for $20 million in 2011; and Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based Celleration Inc., which was acquired for $30.4 million by Alliqua BioMedica Inc. in 2015.
Last year, Arida spoke on a venture capital panel at the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference in Madison, where he said Wisconsin needed more venture capital funds to help startups obtain later-stage funding.
