Editor’s note: Local Tech Wire features a profile each day of a venture capital or investment firm doing deals in the Carolinas and Georgia. Matthew Burns, Worth Civils and Daniel Pearson compiled the series.

WASHINGTON,Founded two years ago by a veteran of the private equity markets and a former chief operating officer of Tiger Management hedge funds, Core Capital Partners has been moving southward from its Washington, D.C., base with recent investments in Trinity Convergence of Raleigh and CorrFlex Graphics in Statesville, N.C.

Core has $180 million under management, including $25 million from an early-stage fund it merged with a year ago, and sticks close to deals in the information technology and telecommunications sectors while avoiding investments in life sciences and professional service companies.

The firm usually invests between $1 million and $10 million in portfolio companies and likes to have a leading role in each of its deals.

Experienced managers and “disruptive” technologies are the most important criteria for a company to possess, according to Core, which counts former U.S. Energy Secretary and Transportation Secretary Federico Pena among its advisers.

Here’s the skinny:

Featured Firm: Core Capital Partners

Mailing address: 901 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20005

Phone number: (202) 589-0090

Web site: www.core-capital.com

Management Team:

Jonathan Silver
Will Dunbar
Mark Levine

Focus of firm: Principally on the kinds of “core” or fundamental technologies that enable or enhance information, data and communication. Most investments are made on the East Coast.

Size of current fund: $180 million

Money under management: $180 million

Companies funded:

Core Communications
CorrFlex Graphics
Ecutel
Foresight
InPhonic Inc.
Pivotech
Quantum Photonics, Inc.
SentitO Networks
SwapDrive
Trinity Convergence, Inc.
Viaken Systems
Women’s Sports Network

How many new deals do you expect to fund in 2002: Six to eight

In what size range: $1 million to $10 million

Sweet Spot (types of deals, stage of the company): Lead investor in early-stage ventures and growth financing for small to mid-size companies. Investments are generally structured as either preferred stock or convertible debentures.

Most important attributes for companies seeking funding: Enabling technology and experiences teams in companies that are developing or incorporating disruptive technologies into their businesses along the East Coast.

What differentiates you: Strategic and operational reasons and experience in building companies. We are backed by some of the country’s most sophisticated and experienced institutional and individual investors who are often actively involved in our investment work and each year we review thousands of potential transactions.

Note: Previous profiles can be found by going to Search, selecting Venture Watch category, and setting date parameters between Feb. 1 and today.