Funders

Your next big win is right here.

Baltimore is a great place to invest – and we’re here to help.

By every metric – the number of companies, dollars invested, average deal size, or number of mega-deals – ours is a tech economy on the rise.

> Access to Deal Flow

> Industry Leaders and Technologists

> Inclusive Growth

Access to Deal Flow

Baltimore has close to 500 tech startups. We’ll connect you to our most promising founders who meet your thesis, sector and stage.

For more information, reach out to our Program Manager, Rimjhim Khandelwal.

Industry Leaders and Technologists

Health care and IT companies make up 61% of Baltimore startups, with a healthy mix from other sectors. We help funders understand the Baltimore landscape and how to engage with it. Home to 13 colleges and universities, including the largest recipient of federal R&D dollars, our region is fed by steady channels of innovations and talent. And we’ve mobilized large local companies and institutions to engage with startups in meaningful ways, whether as advisors, pilot sites or purchasers. Let us add you to the mix.

Inclusive Growth

With founders who are 40% female and 18% Black, Baltimore is the best city in the country to find diverse entrepreneurs building the next great startup.

RESOURCE

Resource: The $11B Opportunity.

The $11 Billion opportunity report highlights the unique – and often overlooked – assets of Baltimore, and the potential for those assets to drive the acceleration of its tech economy within the decade.

Learn More

UpSurge facilitated the most productive discussion I’ve seen between the VC and “big corporate” sectors. I’m really energized thanks to UpSurge’s work on the $11B Opportunity report.

Guy Filippelli

Managing Partner - Squadra Ventures

Having been a part of many startup ecosystems throughout the country, I have seen what does and doesn’t work. The Baltimore startup community is really starting to thrive.

Lawson DeVries

Grotech Ventures

The Baltimore tech economy will scale faster as our innovative companies and robust capital infrastructure develop in parallel. The money and the talent are here, waiting to be unlocked.

Jeff Cherry

Managing General Partner, Conscious Venture Partners

Alongside the exciting companies that are growing in Baltimore is an emerging group of local venture capital funds that can supply growth capital. Individual investors can still support local startup by investing in these funds.

Mary Miller

Executive and Local Investor, T. Rowe Price

Baltimore has many natural advantages as a tech hub, leading to a thriving startup scene, and UpSurge is working to ensure this growth is equitable.

Deric Emry

Senior Managing Director, Private Equity, StepStone Group

Crucial to any startup region is a place for community and connectivity. UpSurge amply serves that role for Baltimore — a virtual and IRL (!) place to find, connect with, and learn from all those committed to the startup ethos and to Equitech.

Justin Label

Managing Director, Inner Loop Capital

There’s a lot to do to transform Baltimore into the national model for Equitech, but I couldn’t be more excited to work alongside a wide-ranging group of remarkable organizations in pursuit of this shared vision.

Keith Stone

Partner and Private Equity Analyst, Brown Advisory

THE UPSHOT

Dig Into the Data

Report: Momentum 2023 – Baltimore’s 2022 Startup Ecosystem, Trends and Opportunities.