NJEDA Closes on Two New NJ Innovation Evergreen Fund Investments

TRENTON, N.J. (July 31, 2025) – The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) recently closed on two new investments through the New Jersey Innovation Evergreen Fund (NJIEF). Nascent Materials, Inc. received an initial Qualified Investment of $750,000 through an application for co-investment submitted by the Princeton-based venture capital firm, SOSV. Additionally, Enquyst Technologies, Inc. received an initial Qualified Investment of $3 million through an application for co-investment submitted by the New York City-based venture capital firm Eckuity Capital.

“The New Jersey Innovation Evergreen Fund is a groundbreaking tool aimed at strengthening New Jersey’s economy and backing high-potential startups by creating a self-sustaining cycle of investment for entrepreneurs seeking capital,” said Tim Sullivan, Chief Executive Officer of the NJEDA. “Under Governor Murphy’s leadership, the Garden State is cementing its position as a global hub for innovation by supporting the next generation of transformative businesses.”

The NJIEF, launched in 2022, is a unique tool to increase access to strategic resources and venture capital in New Jersey. Under the NJIEF, the State acts as an equity investor in early-stage companies, deploying up to $600 million into companies alongside professional venture capital firms. The Evergreen Fund currently has approximately $19 million of unallocated capital available to fund additional investments into high-growth businesses in New Jersey.

“The NJEDA’s funding for Nascent Materials and Enquyst will accelerate each companies’ growth by providing essential resources for success. With four investments already made, the New Jersey Innovation Evergreen Fund shows no signs of slowing, demonstrating the state’s strong commitment to supporting young, innovative ventures,” said Kathleen Coviello, Chief Economic Transformation Officer of the NJEDA. “NJIEF’s continuous venture capital investments in high-growth startups play a key role in driving job creation and economic growth across the State.”

Nascent Materials develops cost-effective cathode active materials, a key input in lithium-ion batteries. Cathodes are the single most expensive component of lithium-ion batteries, representing roughly 40 percent of total battery cell cost, with current cathode production capacity largely stemming from manufactures based in China. Nascent Materials is currently working out of SOSV-sponsored HAX, a startup development program and Strategic Innovation Center for pre-seed hard tech companies located in Newark. NJEDA’s investment of $750,000 into Nascent Materials’ Seed fundraising round attracted additional international and out-of-state capital of $1,550,000 resulting in /private/ public multiplier of 2:1.

“While the U.S. has both the lithium resources and strong end-market demand for batteries, we continue to lag in one of the most strategic segments of the value chain: cathode manufacturing. This bottleneck has left domestic cell manufacturers overly reliant on foreign suppliers for their most expensive and technically complex input,” said Chaitanya Sharma, Founder and CEO of Nascent Materials. “This investment from NJEDA enables us to expand our operations in New Jersey and build the foundation for a resilient, homegrown supply chain. With its exceptional engineering talent, global port access, and critical position in national logistics networks, New Jersey is uniquely positioned to become a key hub in the emerging U.S. battery belt. We’re proud to be part of that vision and excited to grow alongside a state that’s actively investing in clean energy innovation and advanced manufacturing.”

Based in Princeton, SOSV is a global multi-stage venture capital firm that operates early-stage deep-tech programs and has over $1 billion in assets under management. Currently, SOSV manages three development programs, including HAX, and has invested in 50 Newark-based businesses through the HAX Strategic Innovation Center (SIC) program. In June, the NJEDA also announced that it will partner with venture capital firm SOSV on a second project along with Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) to create a new SIC in the Princeton area.

“New Jersey has become a critical hub for industrial deep tech, and Nascent Materials is exactly the kind of company we envisioned supporting when we chose Newark as the home for HAX HQ. Their breakthrough cathode manufacturing process tackles one of the most urgent challenges in U.S. electrification—sourcing battery materials that are affordable, reliable, and not dependent on foreign supply chains, enabling us to reshore critical manufacturing,” said Duncan Turner, General Partner of SOSV and Global Managing Director of HAX. “With support from NJEDA and the infrastructure we’ve built at HAX HQ in Newark, Nascent has a clear path to scale in New Jersey, while reshaping a core part of America’s energy future.”

Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Short Hills, Enquyst Technologies is a manufacturing technology company that developed an advanced modular equipment and process platform designed to enhance biomanufacturing, specifically in the purification of complex drugs. The company’s platform focuses on the production of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), bispecific antibodies, protein therapeutics, biosimilars, and gene therapies, all of which are high-demand market segments in biologics, with mAbs being the largest.

Currently, the production capacity for these drugs meets only 50 percent of the market’s demand, with Enquyst looking to close that gap. Enquyst was founded in Boston, Massachusetts where the technology has been developed, but is pivoting its core operations to New Jersey as a result of the proposed Program investment and to leverage the State’s strong biotech ecosystem. NJEDA’s investment into Enquyst is expected to catalyze additional private funding on a 3:1 basis.

“For decades, we have seen minimal innovation in bioprocessing, due to the highly regulated and conservative nature of the biotech and biopharma industries. Strategies fall short in meeting the cost and purification demands of today’s increasingly diverse biological medicines,” said Dr. Jason Criscione, Founder and CSO of Enquyst Technologies. “Our platform technology is disrupting biological drug manufacturing by enabling truly continuous processing, delivering best-in-class purity with no yield loss, offering flexibility across diverse biological drug classes, and lowering downstream processing costs by more than 70 percent. With investment from NJEDA and Eckuity Capital, Enquyst is expanding its NJ footprint to facilitate early adoption through strategic partnerships within the region’s biomanufacturing ecosystem.”

Eckuity Capital was established in 2021 and is based in New York City. The firm invests in companies with innovative solutions that it judges can achieve commercialization faster than traditional timelines, with a focus on life sciences, devices and diagnostics, and digital health. Enquyst Technologies represents Eckuity’s first investment in a New Jersey-based business.

“We believe Enquyst can fundamentally transform the purification process for complex molecules, but more importantly, change the way we think about manufacturing costs, time, and speed to market for the broader biologics industry,” said Vishal Jain, Managing Partner of Eckuity Capital.

Both Nascent Materials and Enquyst Technologies, like all companies approved for investment under the NJIEF, will benefit from the strategic commitments made by NJIEF tax credit purchasers. These purchases, which fund investments made by the Qualified Venture Firms (QVFs), are made in tandem with commitments to provide strategic support to strengthen the State’s innovation ecosystem. These commitments, which include networking, mentoring, and educational opportunities, are a scored component of the tax credit purchasers’ bids.

Applications for venture firms seeking to qualify as a QVF can be found here and are being accepted on a rolling basis. The firms approved to date represent diversity in terms of investment strategy, industry, and stage. Additionally, there continues to be strong momentum from interested managers. The roster of the 19 currently approved managers can be found here.

Applications for approved QVFs to apply for Qualified Investments into high-growth, innovative businesses based in New Jersey are also now open. The total capital available for new investments stands at approximately $19 million.

About the NJEDA

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) serves as the State’s principal agency for driving economic growth. The NJEDA is committed to making New Jersey a national model for inclusive and sustainable economic development by focusing on key strategies to help build strong and dynamic communities, create good jobs for New Jersey residents, and provide pathways to a stronger and fairer economy. Through partnerships with a diverse range of stakeholders, the NJEDA creates and implements initiatives to enhance the economic vitality and quality of life in the State and strengthen New Jersey’s long-term economic competitiveness.

To learn more about NJEDA resources for businesses, call NJEDA Customer Care at 844-965-1125 or visit https://www.njeda.gov and follow @NewJerseyEDA on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

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