Armory Square Ventures was started by a husband-and-wife team, Somak and Pia Sawhney, after Syracuse-area professors and business leaders noticed promising local startups were leaving for New York City due to a lack of nearby capital, so the fund focuses on helping founders in university-rich, non-coastal cities like Buffalo, Rochester, Indianapolis, and Pittsburgh build companies without having to relocate. Rather than chasing typical software trends, they invest deliberately in overlooked industries like manufacturing, construction, trucking, and heavy equipment, backing founders with large, concentrated checks and follow-on support instead of spreading money across many small bets.