Pennsylvania’s State-Backed VC Firm Is Tokenizing an Investment Fund

Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, one of four regional outposts formed by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development in 1982, launched the Global Opportunity Philadelphia Fund, or GO Philly Fund, in February with $15 million committed.

Unlike Ben Franklin, which receives funds from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is restricted to investing in the companies based in the Greater Philadelphia area, GO Philly is planning to raise funds and invest globally, Scott Nissenbaum, Ben Franklin’s chief investment officer and a managing partner of GO Philly, told CoinDesk.

Working with the California-based token platform Securitize, GO Philly is looking to raise another $35 million by selling GO Philly Fund tokens to accredited investors.

“GO Philly Fund has been a trailblazer, not only in the blockchain space, but also as an impact fund,” Securitize CEO and co-founder Carlos Domingo told CoinDesk via a spokesperson. “We are proud to be partnering with them as their technology provider.”

Built on top of the ethereum blockchain, the GO Philly Token will be available for purchase by accredited investors at $0.50 apiece, in dollars, bitcoin or ether – but the minimum buy-in is $250,000.