Great Neck-based investment firm BDS Capital is creating a venture capital fund that could inject between $10 million and $30 million into start-ups, according to a Newsday report.
The fund could target some Long Island-based companies and will focus on tech firms, BDS Capital founder Brian Rubenstein told Newsday.
“It was time to take the next step, which was to raise my own venture fund,” said Rubenstein, who has 13 years of experience in venture capital from his work at Great Neck-based investment firm Wheatley Partners. “For Long Island specifically, I think we’re at the beginning stages of venture coming back. . . . I think we’re going to start seeing a lot more opportunities.”
The fund, which the report says has already secured $6 million in commitments from Rubenstein’s associates, began marketing to investors earlier this month.
Rubenstein, 39, worked for more than a decade at Wheatley partners, another Great Neck-based investment firm where his father is a partner. According to the report, the venture fund already has three out-of-state tech companies in its portfolio from Rubenstein’s previous investments.
There is a shortage of venture capital funding on Long Island, according to the report, and the director of a tech industry group told Newsday the new fund could be good news for the region’s start-ups.
