Govtech Fund raises $23 million

The first-ever venture capital fund dedicated to government technology startups has launched publicly. The Govtech Fund raised $23 million and has made four investments to date: SmartProcure, MindMixer, SeamlessDocs, and AmigoCloud. 

“I’m thrilled to announce the launch of the Govtech Fund,” said Ron Bouganim, founder and managing partner. “We’re proud to support a new generation of venture-backable technology startups that have emerged in the past few years — helping governments become more efficient, more responsive and better able to serve society. This is just the beginning of a decades long wave of innovation in government.”

Govtech startups build hardware and software tools that government departments use for daily internal operations and to deliver services to citizens. Examples include tools to manage projects and procurement, track infrastructure, regulate zoning, deliver health care, collect taxes and other fees, issue licenses and permits, convene citizens, manage water and sewer infrastructure, etc.

“Thanks to the Govtech Fund’s support, SmartProcure is providing spending transparency for more than 3,800 local, state, and federal governments,” said Jeff Rubenstein, founder and CEO of SmartProcure, a government procurement intelligence platform. “By equipping procurement professionals and government vendors with critical data, competitive pricing of goods and services can now be assured — leading to significant taxpayer savings and providing smaller vendors real opportunity to work with government.”

Historically, governments have worked with large multinational vendors and contractors in the $540 billion global IT market. However, over the past few years, budget constraints, government adoption of cloud computing, the rise of open data, and significantly reduced sales cycles have created an environment for innovative and cost-effective technology startups to emerge.

“We’re honored to be among the inaugural group of companies funded by the first-ever government technology-focused venture capital fund,” said Nick Bowden, CEO of MindMixer, which recently announced the closing of its $17M Series C investment round. In the past two years, MindMixer’s community engagement platform has connected civic organizations in nearly 1,000 communities with almost two million citizens, generating more than 100,000 new ideas.