Southeast Interactive Technology Funds

David Blivin and Charles Merritt co-founded the firm in 1994. Blivin brought operating experience from his time as a technology entrepreneur, having co-founded and sold a communications software company. Merritt's background similarly included technology company operating roles. Both were based in North Carolina's Research Triangle and saw an opportunity to create a regionally focused venture firm that could underwrite local technology founders.

The firm made early-stage equity investments in technology companies headquartered in the Southeastern United States. Sectors included enterprise software, internet infrastructure, digital media, and business-to-business platforms. The fund thesis relied on proximity to research universities — Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, NC State — and the corporate research campuses clustered around Research Triangle Park.

The firm raised two committed venture capital funds over its lifecycle. Exact fund sizes have not been widely disclosed, though public records indicate limited partners included institutional investors and regional family offices. Southeast Interactive wound down active investment operations by the mid-2000s, with remaining portfolio positions distributed to limited partners.

No. The firm ceased making new investments and wound down its fund management operations by the mid-2000s. David Blivin and Charles Merritt each transitioned to other roles. Blivin served on boards of portfolio companies and in operating executive roles, while Merritt remained involved with regional investment activity.

It was among the earliest institutional venture firms to build a fund explicitly around the thesis that the Southeastern United States — outside of Austin and Florida — could generate venture-scale technology returns. Two decades before the proliferation of regional seed funds in cities like Atlanta, Nashville, and Durham, Southeast Interactive raised two committed funds and backed over 40 companies at a time when coastal investors rarely visited the region.