Innovation & Job News

Wolverine Venture Fund invests in Direct Flow Medical

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Ann Arbor

The University of Michigan's Wolverine Venture Fund has struck again, this time making an investment in a California-based company.

The VC fund, run by MBA students at the University of Michigan, has invested in Direct Flow Medical, an emerging medical device company developing a catheter-based, percutaneous-delivered prosthetic aortic valve. This investment is part of Direct Flow Medical's Series C financing, which has raised $40 million from the likes of EDF Ventures, New Leaf Venture Partners and Spray Venture Partners.

The Wolverine Venture Fund is part of the University of Michigan's Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies in the Ross Business School. The fund is worth $3.5 million and has invested in more than 18 companies in industries like information technology, life sciences and alternative energy. These firms typically have some sort of U-M connection.

"That's how we get our deal flow," says Erik Gordon, clinical professor and associate director of the University of Michigan's Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies. "The University of Michigan is one of the most connected places."

Source: Erik Gordon, clinical professor and associate director of the University of Michigan's Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies
Writer: Jon Zemke

Innovation & Job News

Wolverine Venture Fund invests in Direct Flow Medical

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