As part of a newly-launched economic development strategy, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy proposed yesterday the creation of a $500-million fund to pump resources into Jersey-based startups.

The NJ Innovation Evergreen Fund will raise half the cash target by auctioning state tax credits at a discounted rate. The other half will come by way of matching dollars from VC firms looking to invest in the area.

“We’ve had a very sort of blunt-instrument, one-size-fits-all, big-company-focused tax incentive program that was our whole strategy,” Murphy told the New York Times yesterday. “And almost nothing toward the start-up community.”

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