Split Rock Partners and its predecessor, St. Paul Venture Capital, have long been the dominant players on the local venture capital scene. Since the inception of St. Paul Venture in 1988 and the follow-on formation of Split Rock in June 2004, the firms have invested in 45 Minnesota-based companies, with 16 active portfolio companies today. Gorman, Simons, and Stassen (plus a fourth partner in Menlo Park, California) closed on a new fund of $275 million in May 2005. Given the firm’s emphasis on health care and software companies, coupled with a geographic focus on the Upper Midwest and the West Coast, Minnesota entrepreneurs and financial angels will be eagerly tracking where Split Rock makes its next investment bets.