Hyde Park raising $60 million for latest venture fund

Chicago-based Hyde Park Venture Partners, a technology-focused venture capital firm that opened an Indianapolis office last year, is in the midst of raising $60 million for its second fund, according to recent securities filings.

In central Indiana, the money will likely serve as dry powder to fuel software startups that are in expansion mode. Young companies in the area are surrounded by a variety of individual angel investors who can write five- or six-figure checks to get them started but few institutional firms that can make bets of $1 million or more to help them expand.

Hyde Park officials said they couldn't comment on the newest fund before it's complete. But Indianapolis managing partner Tim Kopp said the firm has been very busy in Indiana in 2015, participating in or leading financing events for six Indiana outfits including High Alpha, TinderBox and Demand Jump.

"Indiana was one of our most active states last year in terms of number of investments," Kopp said. "I think that's a combination of, one, we're seeing great companies here and, two, having a partner that's on the ground who has a chance to see all these companies day in and day out."

Hyde Park started in 2011, raising $25 million for its first fund. It tapped Kopp, the former chief marketing officer at ExactTarget, to lead the local office early last year.

As of mid-December, it had secured about $40 million for the latest fund, securities filings show.

Besides Illinois and Indiana, the firm has considered or made investments in companies in Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Missouri and Minnesota. It's also interested in under-served markets like Toronto and Atlanta, Kopp said.

The firm investigates roughly 200 investment opportunities a year, Kopp said, and funds about 5 percent of them.

For new tech companies with revenue ranging from $0 to $30,000 a month, Hyde Park typically makes seed investments of $100,000 to $250,000.

For businesses that are further along–making about $100,000 a month and at least doubling annual revenue–Hyde Park invests $1 million to $2 million, on average.