Loading this page
Bringing the next page into view.
Blueprint Intelligence / Specialized Pathways / Kentucky SSBCI venture capital, Keyhorse direct and fund routes
Specialized Pathways
Kentucky runs its SSBCI venture capital through KY Innovation and Keyhorse Capital, with seed-stage equity in both direct and fund-of-funds form.
Kentucky's SSBCI capital runs through KSBCI 2.0, managed by KY Innovation within the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development. The venture component is seed-stage equity, and the equity process is managed by Keyhorse Capital, the venture arm of Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation. KSBCI 2.0 provides loan support and seed-stage equity investment, so a company or manager should be clear which side of that it is approaching.
KSBCI 2.0 is the state's whole SSBCI program rather than a venture program alone. Its support takes the form of loan support and seed-stage equity investment.
That framing matters at the first conversation, because the loan side and the equity side are different instruments with different obligations even though one program name covers both.
Keyhorse Capital, the venture arm of Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation, manages the seed-stage equity process. The state department administers the program; the equity decisions run through Keyhorse.
A company or manager preparing for this route is therefore preparing for a venture process rather than for a grant application or a state form.
Kentucky's SSBCI 2.0 venture allocation includes both direct investment and fund-of-funds investment, so the program can back a company or a fund depending on the applicant.
The current Kentucky page states that 70% of SSBCI 2.0 funding will be made available through direct and fund-of-funds venture programs. That describes how the program is weighted toward venture rather than a dollar figure or a statement of what is uncommitted, so confirm current terms and capacity with KY Innovation.
Grants and forgivable loans are not the form of SSBCI 2.0 support. A company expecting money it will not have to return or dilute for is looking at the wrong program.
Sorting the request into seed-stage equity or loan support before the conversation starts saves the applicant from preparing for the wrong one, since the diligence and the obligations differ across the two.
Kentucky's KSBCI 2.0 is not a grant program: its venture component is seed-stage equity managed through Keyhorse, with both direct and fund-of-funds routes alongside separate loan support.
Source check recorded: August 2, 2026.
Use this guide to prepare the conversation, then confirm current terms with the program administrator. Eligibility, investment limits and application windows can change after the recorded source date.
Check your Kentucky SSBCI fit
Upload one document containing your company or fund financing summary and get an initial read on whether Kentucky's direct or fund-level venture route may fit.
One PDF or DOCX, up to 15 MiB. Three successful free reads are shared across the library; no account is needed. This is an initial review, not an eligibility decision or a fund rating.
Perspectives by Colibrí Strategies: practical notes for GPs and the LPs who back them.
Opens Substack in a new tab, where you confirm the subscription.
Continue in this pillar
Also relevant
Choose SSBCI, DFI, impact, ESG or DEI. Blueprint separates supported, partial and missing evidence and gives you a prioritized assembly plan.