1855 Capital

About The Fund

1855 Capital is a Venture Capital Fund that specializes in seed, startup, and early stage investments. With a focus on the Penn State community, they develop investment opportunities by actively engaging with current faculty, staff, and students involved in world-class research efforts, as well as leveraging the extensive Penn State alumni network of over 600,000 members. They target companies that possess a core technological competency not currently available in the marketplace, along with a scalable business model and management team. Their investment sectors include information technology, advanced materials, and healthcare/medical devices. Despite their strong ties to the Penn State community locally and globally, 1855 Capital operates as a privately owned company and is not directly affiliated with Penn State University. They manage assets under the guidance of Matt Rhodes, the Managing Director, who has a background ranging from startup funding and management as CEO of Teranetics, to leading a large semiconductor business as President of Conexant Systems. 1855 Capital strives to leverage the business acumen and management talent of the Penn State Alumni network and the Fund's limited partners to create value for their investments. With assets under management of $10 million, they offer an equity expertise with a minimum investment threshold of $100,000 and a maximum of $500,000.