BIRMINGHAM – Innovate Alabama has partnered with Harmony Venture Labs to launch the Innovate Alabama Venture Studio and Fund, a vehicle for building high-growth, venture-backed startups in the state.
Led by HVL, the studio will partner with Alabama-based companies to turn industry challenges into investable businesses — deploying HVL’s proven studio model to launch high-impact startups into the state’s ecosystem.Drawing on insights from Innovate Alabama’s Capital Access Initiative, the studio partnership will seed Alabama-founded startups designed to attract in-state and external early-stage capital and reinforce the state’s momentum as a rising innovation hub.
“The venture studio model gives us a unique opportunity to build with intention by developing startups that are not only innovative but also aligned with Alabama’s economic priorities,” said Mary Beth Grant, program director of the Innovate Alabama Capital Access Initiative. “By partnering with in-state companies and tapping into local talent, we are creating businesses designed to grow in Alabama and stay in Alabama, generating long-term value and local job opportunities.”
Guided by the Alabama Department of Commerce’s Catalyst Plan and fueled by the attached Venture Studio Fund, the studio focuses on building ventures designed for strong market traction and long-term expansion across sectors such as fintech, logistics, agtech, medical technology, industrial systems, and construction innovation.
The studio aims to launch dozens of high-growth companies to seed a strong talent pipeline, attract meaningful private investment, and develop the Alabama innovation ecosystem.
The studio is managed by Harmony Venture Labs, a Birmingham-based venture studio founded and led by entrepreneur and investor Shegun Otulana. HVL brings deep expertise and a proven process for identifying and leveraging unique opportunities to build innovative ventures at scale.
In collaboration with Alabama’s cornerstone businesses, HVL creates startups that solve real-world problems for underserved customers and markets — delivering lasting impact through new venture creation.
“When I started launching startups in Alabama, the opportunity to build was always here — but capital and attention weren’t,” said Shegun Otulana, founder and CEO of Harmony Venture Labs. “This studio partnership is our answer to that gap: building real companies around real problems, with early customer validation and the backing to grow.
“As these ventures succeed, they attract capital, which draws more talent, and together, they fuel the next generation of startups. That’s how we create a lasting engine for innovation — one that raises Alabama’s tech profile and drives meaningful economic impact for its citizens.”
By 2028, the studio aims to launch 10 companies, attract $10 million in venture capital and generate millions in economic impact across the state.
The Innovate Alabama Capital Access Initiative, one of the driving forces behind the studio’s creation, is focused on solving one of Alabama’s most persistent challenges: early-stage capital access. Formed in response to recommendations from the Alabama Innovation Commission and the Hoover Institution, the council is working to strengthen Alabama’s position as a leading innovation hub by turning strategy into action.
“Through the work of the Capital Access Initiative, the idea for the Innovate Alabama Venture Studio quickly stood out as one of the most impactful ways we could move the needle,” said Britney Summerville, Innovate Alabama board member and chair of the Innovate Alabama Capital Access Initiative. “By embedding innovation inside Alabama’s cornerstone industries and building high-growth startups from the ground up, we’re thinking outside the box about how we solve our biggest problems and how the state takes the lead in venture creation.”
Through a mix of in-state capital generation, out-of-state investment partnerships and investor education, the initiative is creating more avenues to scale startups. The launch marks a key milestone in the council’s broader efforts to generate high-quality jobs, attract new investment and ensure startups have the tools they need to thrive in Alabama.
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