Renaissance Venture Capital Fund (Renaissance), Michigan’s ground-breaking venture capital fund-of-funds, today announced the closing of its third fund, with $81 million of new capital. The innovative network fund is the largest of its kind in the United States, now with a total of $205 million raised since its inception in 2008.

Renaissance Fund III leverages the same broad, diverse mix of corporate and institutional partners that defined Renaissance’s previous funds. Renaissance Funds I and II, which closed at $45 million and $79 million, respectively, laid the foundation for today’s closing, and its rapidly expanding network of corporate partners, VC funds and startups is validation of its success.

The first-of-its-kind investment model created by Renaissance was designed to profitably attract much needed capital to Michigan. Renaissance invests in top tier venture capital funds around the country, and brings them, as well as their capital, into Michigan’s startup ecosystem. Renaissance further connects those funds and their startups with major companies looking for innovation, creating a “win-win-win” result for startups, major corporations and Michigan’seconomy.

“Through our Renaissance Funds, we’ve created a unique vision for how financial capital could grow a new economy in Michigan, and how our expanding network can increase connectivity in that new economy,” said Chris Rizik, CEO and fund manager at Renaissance. Renaissance’s strong financial returns have substantially beaten national benchmarks for performance, while it has also been a national leader on impact on its community.

For every $1 Renaissance has deployed during its past nine years, it has helped attract $17, or a total of $1.3 BILLION of investment, back into the state of Michigan. By deploying capital into more than 30 top tier venture capital funds around the U.S., Renaissance’s strategy has resulted in the emergence of 39 Michigan startup companies, with a growing workforce of 1,300 employees and average salaries exceeding $75,000. Read the full story here.