Ben Franklin TechVentures has announced that Lehigh Valley Angel Investors (LVAI) as a new affiliate partner.

The partnership with LVAI is said to allow Ben Franklin clients greater access and exposure to more organizations and individuals who, like Ben Franklin, are involved with helping start-ups with seed and first-round investments, according to Ben Franklin officials.

Ben Franklin TechVentures will provide resources and meeting space to LVAI, which was created in 2010 by Lehigh Valley entrepreneurs and business executives and had been seeking a base of operations.

"Ben Franklin TechVentures is ideal: a beautiful, modern facility in which entrepreneurship flourishes," said LVAI President Kyle David. "Our affiliate partnership will lend credibility and permanence to the Lehigh Valley Investors Group, as well as encourage networking among the investors and the early-stage firms occupying TechVentures."

Ben Franklin TechVentures is an award-winning technology business incubator owned and managed by the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania on Lehigh University's Mountaintop Campus, Bethlehem. Ben Franklin TechVentures brings together entrepreneurs, Ben Franklin staff, and Lehigh faculty and students to accelerate the growth of the region's technology economy.

There are 27 early-stage firms, employing 158, in Ben Franklin TechVentures. Since 1983, Ben Franklin TechVentures and the Ben Franklin Business Incubator have graduated 55 successful companies, which grossed more than $620 million in annual revenue last year and created more than 5,400 jobs.