The Arrowhead Innovation Fund, an early stage seed capital fund for promising New Mexico startup companies, has announced its first seed investment. The fund, which is a for-profit subsidiary of New Mexico State University’s Arrowhead Center, invested $100,000 in EVUS Inc., a company developing a new, environmentally friendly heating technology based on magnetic induction.
An Energy Star-rated technology, EVUS Inc. uses a unique proprietary design that harnesses the power of magnets for use in home heating.
“EVUS is an excellent example of the type of high-quality investments that are possible in New Mexico,” said AIF Managing Director Estela Hernandez. “This technology will bring to market an efficient and cost-saving heating solution for residential customers. Arrowhead Innovation Fund is impressed by the technology and believes the management team will be able to achieve significant growth.”
The management team at EVUS, Inc., which has located its headquarters at Arrowhead Park, includes CEO Patricio Reygadas who has more than 30 years of international experience managing technology companies and startups; Jorge Ramos, who has more than 25 years of experience in international business development and management; and JoAnna Luna, who serves as the team’s legal counsel and intellectual property development expert.
Reygadas said the investment will allow EVUS to further test and certify its first commercial prototypes and move forward in its plan to reach the market in early 2020.
“Our decision to establish operations at Arrowhead Park back in March 2017 has allowed us to gain access to relevant resources from NMSU and the Arrowhead Center ecosystem, and engage with students and faculty members to further develop our technology,” Reygadas said. “We couldn’t have found a better partner for our company.”
Reygadas said EVUS’ primary partners include heating, ventilation and air conditioning system manufacturers with a presence in markets in the Northwest, Midwest, Northeast and Mountain states in the U.S., where the technology is intended to become the most efficient alternative for heating. The company’s footprint will then expand to other territories where similar weather conditions exist, including Canada, Northern Europe, Japan and Korea. Eventually, the technology could be retrofitted into current less-efficient systems.
He estimates that adopting EVUS heating systems could save the average household up to 20 million BTUs per year in energy.
AIF is currently accepting applications from promising New Mexico-based companies at http://arrowheadinnovationfund.com, with a goal of investing in approximately 12 companies over the next three to four years. The venture capital fund is focused on seed and early stage investments to commercialize promising technologies developed by New Mexico companies, including those with an affiliation with NMSU and Arrowhead Center.
The fund has commitments for a total investment of $800,000 from New Mexico’s Catalyst Fund, a $20 million “fund of funds” to support New Mexico companies, and $500,000 from the NMSU Foundation, as well as a $300,000 grant through the Economic Development Administration’s Regional Innovation Strategies program and other private investors.
The fund now stands at $1.87 million in commitments, with a goal of reaching $2 million, and is looking for companies with entrepreneurs fully committed to growing and scaling their company and who are seeking between $50,000 and $150,000 in investment toward their total seed round fundraising target.
For more information about AIF, visit http://arrowheadinnovationfund.com.
Release courtesy of NMSU News Center, October 10, 2018
