ANN ARBOR, Mich., Aug. 6 /EMWNews/ -- "Entrepreneur" recently named

the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, administered by Ann Arbor SPARK, as one

of 2007's "Top 100 Venture Capital Firms." The designation recognizes Ann

Arbor SPARK's management of the collaborative Michigan Pre-Seed Capital

Fund, and specifically, the Fund's investment in four equity deals in 2007.



    To date, 25 Michigan companies have received critical seed funding

through the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, totaling $5.4 million in

investments. The Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund is a collaborative effort

of Ann Arbor SPARK, the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and the state's

SmartZones.



    "Ranking as an 'Entrepreneur' Top 100 is an honor and a testament to

the great support start-ups throughout our state receive through the

Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund," explained Skip Simms, Fund manager. "If

the complete activity -- all 18 deals completed in 2007 -- had been

included in the "Entrepreneur" ranking, the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund

would have been #2 out of the Top 100. The activity supported through the

Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund is critical to our state's new economy

success, and a key difference for businesses choosing a location to start

up."



    "Entrepreneur's" Top 100 Venture Capital Firms ranks VC firms and

similar entities, like Ann Arbor SPARK, based on the number of first-time

fundings to companies in the start-up and early stages of development.

"Entrepreneur" uses financial information from PricewaterhouseCoopers'

"MoneyTree Report" and the National Venture Capital Association, based on

data from Thomson Reuters, as sources for its annual ranking.



    "The Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund is an example of the open source

economic development that Ann Arbor SPARK is committed to developing,"

explained Michael A. Finney, Ann Arbor SPARK CEO. "Collaborating with

regional and state partners is the key to delivering the services and

support Michigan businesses need to compete for new economy jobs and new

economy success."



    Start-ups receiving funding from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, an

equity investment fund, are in one of the state's identified competitive

edge technologies and have the sponsorship of their local SmartZone.

Additionally, companies must have grant, angel or venture capital funding

greater or equal to funding requested of the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital

Fund. The returns that the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund receives from its

investments will serve as seed money for the Fund's continuation.



    ABOUT ANN ARBOR SPARK



    Representing all communities in Washtenaw County, Ann Arbor SPARK, a

non-profit organization, is the driving force in establishing the Ann Arbor

region as a destination for business expansion, retention, and location by

identifying and meeting the needs of business at every stage, from startups

to large organizations. Ann Arbor SPARK collaborates with business,

academic, government, and community investor partners including the

University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University, the Herbert and Grace

Dow Foundation, Pfizer, Washtenaw County, the City of Ann Arbor, the Bank

of Ann Arbor, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the LDFA.

For more information, please call (734) 761-9317 or visit

http://www.AnnArborSPARK.org .