In the keynote address at today’s Venture Capital in the Rockies conference, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper announced the formation of a new venture capital fund backed by the state.

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By partnering with local VCs and tech companies, Hickenlooper hopes to provide area startups the funding they need to get off the ground. According to VentureBeat, $100 million of the proposed $150 million has already been raised through contributions from local business leaders such as TeleTech founder Ken Tuchman. The state of Colorado will contribute with money from its retirement program.

“We don’t need more patents, we need more entrepreneurs,” Hickenlooper said, according to TechCrunch. Reports indicate that he acknowledged the lack of venture funding in his state as a barrier to tech startup success and hopes this state-backed funding will help combat that. The fund is slated to launch this summer.

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