“Philadelphia was an innovation and investment backwater,” but Ajay Raju says it’s headed for venture capital’s mainstream, and he’s personally setting up the partnerships to make it happen, pledges the real estate finance lawyer and chairman of the law firm Dilworth Paxson.
Though it’s home to some of the nation’s oldest medical research centers, the first modern computer, and the state-funded Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, it’s a familiar observation that the region ranks far behind Silicon Valley, Boston, New York, and others as a start-up funding center.
Image: ANDREW THAYER / FILE PHOTOGRAPH
