/EINPresswire.com/ -- NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Aug 2, 2017) - Elevate Innovation Partners (EIP), a New York City-based early to mid-stage venture capital fund, today announced the first close of its Venture Capital fund. Consistent with EIP's focus, the fund will seek to capitalize fintech, enterprise software, marketing analytics and new media platform startups that have validated business models and are generating revenue. The geographic focus is on the U.S. East Coast with selective investments in India, Germany and Netherlands -- all regions where the fund has local partners.

The general partners and board of EIP possess significant investment experience. Chairman and founding member of EIP's board, Sridhar Chityala, has held executive management roles at JP Morgan, Citi and Wachovia. EIP's leadership team includes:

• Shreyas Slater Chityala, a venture capital and investment banking professional who is co-founder and managing partner with experience in financial services and energy across the U.S. and Asia
• Thomas Rudy, co-founder, is a specialist in investment banking, venture capital, hedge funds and private equity, specifically in the sports, fintech and entertainment sectors across the U.S. and Europe
• Chief Financial Officer Greg Brown has more than 20 years of venture capital and startup industry expertise with a focus on portfolio management and valuation

Existing fund investors include Mohandas Pai, previously CFO of Infosys; Jerry Rao, venture advisor to NEA and founder of Mphasis; and other fund managers from major private equity and hedge funds.

Sridhar Chityala commented, "EIP has already completed 21 investments and our portfolio companies are run by executives from the leading tech firms in the world including Netflix, Facebook, Google and Infosys. Up nearly 40 percent since inception, we've had two successful exits to date and expect more within the next 14 months. EIP is investing alongside leading VCs; for example, deals where we've invested as Seed/Series A are now seeing follow-on investment from funds such as Sequoia, Matrix, Softbank and RRE."

He concluded, "The combination of global investments, realized returns and exits and access to deals where the leading investors participate, distinguishes EIP among VC investment opportunities."

Shreyas Chityala said, "We are excited to be working with entrepreneurs focused on New York and the East Coast. New York is the fastest growing region for venture capital globally; this is the center of finance, fashion, media and marketing. Technology underpins innovation and evolution of business models within all these industries. With our international team and network, we help bring a global perspective to the companies we work with. Our team comes from diverse backgrounds and being a startup-VC ourselves, we appreciate the challenges of building a business that all startups face!"

Thomas Rudy described the value EIP brings, "Few other venture capital funds have such an entrepreneurial mindset as we approach deals from different angles, applying a unique skillset that is best-in-class. We can add significant value to the companies we invest in, helping accelerate exits and drive value. While many claim to have a large network, ours is truly global and relevant to the industries we focus on. Since 2015, we have generated a considerable return and continue to build on our vision: to help the most talented entrepreneurs succeed with their great companies."

Joe Rubin is one of the veterans of the New York and East Coast startup community as a Founder of FundingPost and co-founder of ARC Angel Fund -- the first Angel Fund in New York City. He is also an advisor to EIP and a co-founder of one EIP's portfolio companies, Crowded. "Working with EIP has been a fantastic experience. They have provided us with much more than capital. They have become a sounding board for management ideas and direction, an introductory resource with an extensive 'Rolodex' of potential customers, and evangelists keeping us in their conversations with potential partners and other investors. Their straight-forward approach and continued support and advice have been tremendous assets to our company," said Rubin.

The initial close of the Venture Capital fund was at $15 million. A final close of $25 million is anticipated by Q4.

More About Elevate Innovation Partners (EIP)
Based in New York City, EIP's global investments include MoviePass, Crowded, Cuebiq, Planted, GVNG, Avlino, Radius8, Ocrolus, Score Data, Aggrigator, Square Foot, Pathgather, LiftMetrix, SwitchMe, Tone Tag and YouPlus. EIP has also invested in Kabbage, Coupa, Banjo, Freedompay and Radius. Additional information is available at www.eipfund.com.