J2 Ventures captures $150M for second fund
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By
Ross Wilkers
The four-year-old venture firm backs technology startups and helps them secure government contract funding to aid in efforts to scale out their creations for agency adoption.
J2 Ventures, a Boston-headquartered venture capital firm, has secured $150 million for its second fund to continue investing in technology startups whose products have potential application for federal agencies.
MetLife, JP Morgan and the New Mexico State Investment Council are among the investors who contributed capital to J2 Ventures' new Argonne Fund announced Thursday. J2's inaugural fund closed in 2021 captured $67.5 million in commitments, which means the new vehicle is more than double that amount.
The Boston-headquartered firm touts having invested in 25 companies since its 2020 founding. J2's key tech areas of focus include cybersecurity, advanced computing, health care, telecommunications and infrastructure.
Led by a group of military veterans, J2 also works with its portfolio companies to secure government contract funding and support efforts to further scale out their technologies for adoption by agencies.
J2 gears its investments toward startups between the pre-seed stage to Series A. Its healthcare portfolio includes Tasso, a maker of needle-free blood drawing technology; and Lumia Health, a wearable device that measures blood flows to the brain.
J2 also backs Femtosense, a developer of artificial intelligence chips for smart devices that are also made to be more energy efficient.