A commitment from David Mussafer, chairman emeritus and managing partner of Advent International, has pushed 1834 Ventures to more than 95% of its $20 million fundraising target, moving the New Orleans-based venture capital firm to the doorstep of a final close. The fund, which invests in companies drawn from the Tulane University ecosystem, now counts 66 investors spread across 17 states backing a portfolio of 15 startup companies.
Mussafer is chair of the board of Tulane and a longtime benefactor of the Tulane Innovation Institute, according to Biz New Orleans. His anchor investment in 1834 Ventures' fund follows a pattern of major gifts to the university: David and Marion Mussafer endowed the Chief Innovation & Entrepreneurship Officer position at the Tulane Innovation Institute, a role now held by Kimberly Gramm, who also sits on 1834 Ventures' advisory board. In September 2025, the couple donated $10 million to Tulane to establish an undergraduate internship initiative, according to Tulane University News, building on earlier gifts that created Mussafer Hall.
“1834 Ventures is doing something that genuinely matters — not just for Tulane, but for New Orleans and for Louisiana,” Mussafer said, per the same account, and he has joined the fund's newly launched Friends of the Fund program as its inaugural member. Gramm, in her role tied to the Mussafer-endowed position, said 1834 Ventures has quickly become a cornerstone of Tulane's innovation ecosystem.
A Fund Built on Tulane's Alumni Network
1834 Ventures is structurally independent of Tulane University, but its leadership and pipeline run directly through the school. Co-founder and managing partner Evan Nicoll holds three degrees from Tulane — an undergraduate degree, an MBA and a Master of Sustainable Real Estate Development — and previously raised more than $10 million as a development director at Tulane's Freeman School of Business, according to the Tulane Innovation Institute. He also co-teaches New Orleans entrepreneurship courses at the university. Nicoll said the Tulane network was one of Louisiana's most underleveraged assets.
Patrick Hernandez, the fund's other co-founder and managing partner, credited the Tulane Innovation Institute, the Albert Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship, the Tulane community and Louisiana Economic Development as partners in building the fund. Hernandez said he plans to complete the fund and focus on supporting the next wave of Tulane founders. The fund's portfolio companies are led by founders drawn from the Tulane alumni network or university research spinouts, and 1834 Ventures collaborates with Tulane entities on co-investment, deal syndication, programming and other ecosystem initiatives, serving as a bridge between the university's commercialization efforts and the broader venture capital community.
Public Dollars Matching Private Bets
The Louisiana Economic Development Corporation has committed a significant investment in 1834 Ventures through the Louisiana Opportunity Fund. That state backing operates under the federal State Small Business Credit Initiative, through which Louisiana Economic Development provides 1:1 public matching equity of up to $1 million for eligible Louisiana-based startups, according to Louisiana SSBCI. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the State Small Business Credit Initiative is a nearly $10 billion program that funds small businesses. Josh Fleig, chief innovation officer at Louisiana Economic Development, said the Louisiana Opportunity Fund aims to catalyze investment in the state's innovation economy.
That public-private structure has already produced tangible results locally. Eleven of 1834 Ventures' portfolio companies are headquartered in or have expanded into Louisiana, and the fund's investment last month alongside Tulane Ventures in a $1 million seed round for Cabana, a digital behavioral health startup, enabled that company to relocate its headquarters to New Orleans, according to Tulane University News. Cabana was co-founded by Tulane alumnus David Black.
A Portfolio Spanning Biotech to Mattresses
The fund's 15 startups span a wide range of industries. Its portfolio includes Beken Bio, which opened a new laboratory at the New Orleans BioInnovation Center in March 2026 after securing a National Science Foundation grant to develop liquid-biopsy diagnostic tests for early ovarian cancer, a project Hoodline covered earlier this year. Orion Sleep raised seed capital in 2025 to commercialize an AI-powered mattress cover that tracks biometrics to regulate sleep temperature in real time.
Other companies in the portfolio include Trak.ai, Thrivvy, Tympanogen, Storyboard, Griddy, OS Benefits, NanoTrace, RentCheck, Exactics, Informuta, Hello Gravel and a stealth company developing an agentic freight execution engine. 1834 Ventures has also committed investments pending closing in Tympanogen, Storyboard, Griddy and OS Benefits.
Expanding the Fund's Support Network
Alongside the fundraising milestone, 1834 Ventures announced the formal launch of its Friends of the Fund program, a curated network of subject matter experts, advisors, mentors, venture capitalists and co-investors intended to support both 1834 Ventures' portfolio companies and the broader Tulane entrepreneurial community. Nicoll said the program connects founders with experienced operators and investors, and the fund said it will announce additional Friends of the Fund members and plans to expand the program in the coming months.
The fund's approach to its final close fits within a broader state push to build a venture ecosystem beyond traditional coastal tech hubs. Louisiana Economic Development launched its Louisiana Innovation division in February 2025, with an estimated $100 million in total capital and seven regional seed funds, according to Louisiana Economic Development. Louisiana Economic Development said in a February 6, 2025, announcement that it was participating in seven seed capital funds across Louisiana and planned to add more in 2025. Louisiana companies landed $41.7 million across 13 deals in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to Technical.ly. Private companies in Louisiana raised $8.5 million across 10 deals in the second quarter of 2026, according to Technical.ly. Mussafer is described as chairman emeritus and managing partner of Advent International, which is one of the world's leading private equity firms.
1834 Ventures publicly launched in August 2025 with the $20 million target, a milestone Hoodline reported on at the time. That launch came against the backdrop of Tulane's broader commercialization push: the university's Innovation Institute opened in summer 2022 under President Michael A. Fitts, and Tulane is planning redevelopment of the historic Charity Hospital building downtown. With Mussafer's anchor investment now in hand, 1834 Ventures works closely with the Tulane Innovation Institute and the Tulane Venture Fund as it moves toward closing out the remainder of its $20 million goal.
