The Dayton Development Coalition is seeking investment toward a new $6 million pre-seed fund to support technology start-ups in the region.

The coalition will host informational meetings Wednesday and Aug. 8 at the Engineer’s Club of Dayton for accredited investors interested in participating in the Dayton Region Signature Fund II.

“We want to let the community know what is going on with entrepreneurship and the investments that have been made in the past in technology start-ups in the region,” said Ray Hagerman, the coalition’s vice president of investments.

The coalition’s second pre-seed fund would include $3 million from local private investors and an additional $3 million from the state of Ohio, Hagerman said.

The first pre-seed fund, established in 2007, raised $7.5 million from private investors and $6 million from the Ohio Third Frontier for a total $13.5 million.

Since 2008, that fund has invested in 31 regional companies, three of which have made profitable exits by being acquired by private corporations, Hagerman said. Most of the others are still in the start-up phase.

“We believe that we have done really good work so far with the first fund and and we are excited about the possibility of helping even more entrepreneurs with the next fund,” he said.

The second fund will invest in technology-focused companies in the areas of aerospace; advanced manufacturing and advanced materials; health care and human sciences; and information technology and data management.

The Wednesday meeting starts at 7:30 a.m. and the Aug. 8 meeting starts at 3:30 p.m. For more information visit the coalition’s website at daytonregion.com.