Entrepreneurs in venture capital-starved North Carolina and the rest of the southeast received some good news Tuesday – $47 million worth – as the CED’s Tech Venture Conference opened in Raleigh.

Atlanta-based venture capital firm Noro-Moseley Partners, which invests across the region and has an office in Charlotte, is adding new fuel to invest in startups and emerging companies.

Mike Elliott, one of the firm’s partners and chair of the CED’s event, was all smiles as he toured the Raleigh Convention Center where more than 50 startups are showcasing themselves.

Due to SEC restrictions, Elliott could not talk about the fund.

However, an SEC filing disclosed the initial closing, which drew $46.97 million from 45 different investors. And Noro-Moseley is continuing to look for more money. According to the filing, an “indefinite” amount remains to be raised.

Talk out of Atlanta is that the firm is seeking to raise $120 million. It’s the seventh fund for Noro-Moseley, one of the southeast’s largest and oldest VC firms. It launched in 1983.

Minimum investment for the fund is $100,000 per investor, according to the filing.

“I can’t comment other than what’s in the filing,” Elliott said, “but we’re happy.”

Elliott, who is based in Charlotte, is a familiar face in the Triangle startup community. Among its investments is fast-growing Appia in Durham.

VC funding and fund-raising have plunged in North Carolina since the 2008 recession. However, Hatteras Ventures raised a new fund and Bull City Ventures, a new VC firm led by Southern Capitol’s Jason Caplain and David Jones, is in the process of raising one. Last month IDEA Fund Partners in Durham raised $8 million.

The CED event continues Wednesday.