Below is a list of selected venture capital firms that are actively investing in Chicago. All of them will look at technology related startups, although many invest in additional industries, as well. Please research these venture capital investors at their linked websites, to see who may be the best fit for you. I organized this venture capital list in terms of stage of investment focus, from early to late stage investors. So, please don't reach out to these Chicago VC's if you do not fit their target criteria. And, be sure to research their specific technology focus on their websites (e.g., healthcare, education, digital media, SaaS), to make sure your business is a fit for them. I have added notes below, if they were available from their websites. Also, as a reminder, don't blindly cold call these Chicago venture capital firms. It is always best to have a warm intro into one of their partners, where Red Rocket or others may be able to help here.
ANGEL INVESTOR NETWORKS IN CHICAGO
Chicago ArchAngels medical, green tech, clean energy, fin svs., education, CPG, others
Cornerstone Angels clean tech, software, internet, mobile, mfg., industrial, consumer, food/bev., biz svs., health, medical
Harvard Angels generalist
Heartland Angels science, retail, mfg., distribution, telecom, info tech
Hyde Park Angels digital media/tech, biz/fin. svs., consumer, health
Irish Angels
MD Angels
Pipeline Angels women founders
Purple Arch Ventures co-invest along other VC's; generalists
West Suburban Angels info tech, biz svs., industrial, finance, CPG, health
SEED STAGE VENTURE CAPITAL (Up to $250K checks from $0 revenues)
Chicago Early Growth Ventures generalist for Chicago based companies
Chingona fin tech, food tech, education tech, health tech, generalist, female founders
Dundee Venture Capital tech in central U.S., the "Mighty Middle"
Founder Equity
Fulcrum Investing all industries, 25% pre-revenue, $25-$100K checks
G2T3V insurance, auto, media, marketing, data, customer satisfaction, tech, education
Harbor Street Ventures
Illinois Ventures university based research
Impact Engine education, health, better economy, lower resources
Jumpstart Ventures
KB Partners tech, medical, industrial, real estate, consumer
KGC Capital
Kilmahew Group food, food service, healthcare tech, SaaS, virtual reality
Koh Founders B2B, marketplace, health, AI, messaging, IoT, inefficiencies, software, svs., mobile
Laveer Capital consumer, business, real estate
Listen Ventures brands
Founder Equity
Fulcrum Investing all industries, 25% pre-revenue, $25-$100K checks
G2T3V insurance, auto, media, marketing, data, customer satisfaction, tech, education
Harbor Street Ventures
Illinois Ventures university based research
Impact Engine education, health, better economy, lower resources
Jumpstart Ventures
KB Partners tech, medical, industrial, real estate, consumer
KGC Capital
Kilmahew Group food, food service, healthcare tech, SaaS, virtual reality
Koh Founders B2B, marketplace, health, AI, messaging, IoT, inefficiencies, software, svs., mobile
Laveer Capital consumer, business, real estate
Listen Ventures brands
LongJump by founders, for founders
M25 Group Midwest, generalist
Motivate Venture Capital generalist
Network Ventures Midwest, marketplace, networks, platforms
New Stack Ventures Midwest, IoT, smart hardware, space tech, deep tech, frontier tech
OS Fund "see beyond our lifetimes"
M25 Group Midwest, generalist
Motivate Venture Capital generalist
Network Ventures Midwest, marketplace, networks, platforms
New Stack Ventures Midwest, IoT, smart hardware, space tech, deep tech, frontier tech
OS Fund "see beyond our lifetimes"
Outside VC invest in fintech startups run by diverse "outsider" entrepreneurs
Propellant Ventures Midwest and Southeast, leading edge companies
Rebellion Partners financial, B2B marketplaces, cloud, data
Ringleader Ventures health, insurance, consumer
Propellant Ventures Midwest and Southeast, leading edge companies
Rebellion Partners financial, B2B marketplaces, cloud, data
Ringleader Ventures health, insurance, consumer
Subconscious Ventures SaaS, marketplace, consumer tech
Tech Rise for black and Latinx tech founders
Tribal Ventures
Vue Ventures Midwest
Washing Pond Ventures software, consumer, B2B, social enterprise, events
West Loop Ventures financial tech
Also, be sure to research this list of Chicago startup accelerators as some invest capital.
EARLY STAGE VENTURE CAPITAL (Up to $500K checks in under $500K revenues)
ARCH Venture Partners life sciences, physical sciences, info tech
Abundant Venture Partners human wellness, performance & engagement
Tribal Ventures
Vue Ventures Midwest
Washing Pond Ventures software, consumer, B2B, social enterprise, events
West Loop Ventures financial tech
Also, be sure to research this list of Chicago startup accelerators as some invest capital.
ARCH Venture Partners life sciences, physical sciences, info tech
Abundant Venture Partners human wellness, performance & engagement
ATOMS VC "hard tech" engineering innovations across life, physical and chemical sciences
Batterson Venture Partners high tech, bio tech, energy, medical, media
Bluestein & Associates tech-enabled services, food related (retail/cpg/supply), ecommerce/retail
Breakpoint Ventures real estate, law, tech, financial
Ceres Venture Fund Midwest, health, info tech, biz svs.
Corazon Capital
DRW Venture Partners financial, technology
Batterson Venture Partners high tech, bio tech, energy, medical, media
Bluestein & Associates tech-enabled services, food related (retail/cpg/supply), ecommerce/retail
Breakpoint Ventures real estate, law, tech, financial
Ceres Venture Fund Midwest, health, info tech, biz svs.
Corazon Capital
DRW Venture Partners financial, technology
81 Collection stealth fund by super-angels in Chicago, led by Vijen Patel
Energy Foundry energy
FireStarter Fund digital tech
Garland Capital
Graphene Ventures B2B SaaS, collaboration economy, mobile svs.
Guild Capital contrarian, non-VC friendly, underserved geographies
Hyde Park Venture Partners Midwest, B2B SaaS, consumer marketplace
Independence Equity natural resource utilization
Lakewest Venture Partners Chicago, generalist
Lead Lap biz svs., consumer
Math Venture Partners
Next Gen Venture Partners "network driven", like an angel network
Nin Ventures crowd-based, finance, education, internet, digital media, mobile comms, cloud
Nine Four Ventures real estate related technology
Energy Foundry energy
FireStarter Fund digital tech
Garland Capital
Graphene Ventures B2B SaaS, collaboration economy, mobile svs.
Guild Capital contrarian, non-VC friendly, underserved geographies
Hyde Park Venture Partners Midwest, B2B SaaS, consumer marketplace
Independence Equity natural resource utilization
Lakewest Venture Partners Chicago, generalist
Lead Lap biz svs., consumer
Math Venture Partners
Next Gen Venture Partners "network driven", like an angel network
Nin Ventures crowd-based, finance, education, internet, digital media, mobile comms, cloud
Nine Four Ventures real estate related technology
Sandalphon Capital SaaS, marketplaces, consumer tech, consumer brands, IoT /hardware
Sandbox Industries health, food/agriculture
Sandbox Industries health, food/agriculture
Starting Line consumer products and services
Synetro Group B2B software, biz svs., niche CPG
Wicklow Capital
SERIES A STAGE VENTURE CAPITAL ($500K-$1MM checks in $500K-$1MM revenues)
Breakout Capital consumer that can leverage their inhouse creative agency (fundless sponsor)
Bridge Investments biz svs., SaaS, consumer, ecommerce, niche mfg., health, real estate
Chicago Ventures ecommerce, data, education, health, marketplace, media, payments, SaaS
Cultivian Sandbox food/agriculture
LEO Capital entertainment, youth, internet, mobile, health
Lightbank generalist
Jump Capital enterprise SaaS, fin tech, health, marketplace
Moderne Ventures real estate, mortgages, fin. svs., home svs.
OCA Ventures tech, financial, education, health
Origin Ventures ecommerce, digital media, ad tech, SaaS
Promus Ventures analytics, data, mobile, digital media, connected web
Purple Arch Ventures generalist co-investors of Northwestern alumni
Red Barn Investments
Second Century Ventures SaaS, data, digital media, fin tech, biz. svs.
7 Wire Ventures health
2x Partners consumer products, food
Wintrust Ventures
SERIES A/B STAGE VENTURE CAPITAL ($1-$5MM checks in $1-$5MM revenues)
Apex Venture Partners tech svs., (B2B and B2C), info tech, clean tech
Baird Venture Partners health, industrial, technology, services
Duchossois Capital health, education
Synetro Group B2B software, biz svs., niche CPG
Wicklow Capital
SERIES A STAGE VENTURE CAPITAL ($500K-$1MM checks in $500K-$1MM revenues)
Breakout Capital consumer that can leverage their inhouse creative agency (fundless sponsor)
Bridge Investments biz svs., SaaS, consumer, ecommerce, niche mfg., health, real estate
Chicago Ventures ecommerce, data, education, health, marketplace, media, payments, SaaS
Cultivian Sandbox food/agriculture
LEO Capital entertainment, youth, internet, mobile, health
Lightbank generalist
Jump Capital enterprise SaaS, fin tech, health, marketplace
Moderne Ventures real estate, mortgages, fin. svs., home svs.
OCA Ventures tech, financial, education, health
Origin Ventures ecommerce, digital media, ad tech, SaaS
Promus Ventures analytics, data, mobile, digital media, connected web
Purple Arch Ventures generalist co-investors of Northwestern alumni
Red Barn Investments
Second Century Ventures SaaS, data, digital media, fin tech, biz. svs.
7 Wire Ventures health
2x Partners consumer products, food
Wintrust Ventures
SERIES A/B STAGE VENTURE CAPITAL ($1-$5MM checks in $1-$5MM revenues)
Apex Venture Partners tech svs., (B2B and B2C), info tech, clean tech
Baird Venture Partners health, industrial, technology, services
Duchossois Capital health, education
Evolve Ventures technology in the food industry (backed by Kraft Heinz)
First Analysis technology, health
Kenex Holdings (can do seed stage too) mfg., food/bev, agric., transport, logistics, infrastructure
MK Capital digital media, data, sotware, education
Matthew Pritzker Company
Method Capital B2B tech in Midwest
Pritzker Group Venture Capital consumer, enterprise, health, emerging
R7 Partners "big things"
Range Light active life, natural foods, tech svs.
Romar Partners B2B tech
SERIES B/C STAGE VENTURE CAPITAL ($5-$20MM checks in over $5MM revenues)
Adams Street Partners software, mobile, health, security, finance
Chicago Growth Partners education, tech svs., health, industrial
JK&B Capital comms., info tech, health
Merrick Ventures marketplace
MVC Capital CPG, food, distribution, industrial, mfg., finance, insurance, chemicals
Sterling Partners biz svs., education, health
CORPORATE VENTURE CAPITAL FUNDS
Abbott Ventures
Abbvie Biotech Ventures
Allstate Investments
Baxter Ventures
Blue Cross Blue Shield Venture Partners
CME Ventures
DV X Labs (DeVry EdTech Accelerator)
Mondelez Shopper Futures
Motorola Solutions Venture Capital
Walgreens Well Ventures
FAMILY INVESTMENT OFFICES
See this list of Chicago family offices
REGIONAL VENTURE CAPITAL FIRMS THAT LOOK AT CHICAGO DEALS
Beringea (Detroit)--Series A/B stage, helath, life svs., info tech, clean tech, CPG, mfg., media, biz svs., retail, leisure
Blossom Street Ventures (Dallas)--Series A stage, generalist.
Castlestone Capital (Dallas)--Seed stage, SaaS, finance, health, enterprise apps
Calumet Ventures (Madison)--Early stage, Midwest
Chrysalis Ventures (Louisville)--Series A/B stage, health, technology
CID Capital (Indianapolis)--Series B/C stage, CPG, industrial products
Connectic Ventures (Cincinnati Area)--Seed stage, tech
Detroit Venture Partners (Detroit)--Early stage
Drive Capital (Columbus)--Series A stage
Dundee Venture Capital (Omaha)--Early stage, ecommerce, SaaS, consumer networks
Firebrand Ventures (Kansas City) --Early stage, Midwest, generalist
4490 Ventures (Madison)--Series A, Midwest, software, or enabled IoT hardware in health, mktg, business services, industrial, agriculture, logistics, transportation.
Frontier Capital (Charlotte)--Series B/C sates, software, services
Grand Ventures (Grand Rapids)--Seed/Series A stage, Midwest, mfg., agric., energy, food, transp. and mobility
Huron River Ventures (Ann Arbor)--Early stage, Midwest, agric., energy, transport
Matchstick Ventures (Minneapolis)--Early stage
Mercury Fund (Houston)--Early stage, Mid-Continent, enterprise B2B, SaaS, cloud computing, data
NorthCoast Technology Investors (Ann Arbor) Midwest, software, comms., mat. sciences, medical
Omphalos Ventures (Minneapolis)--Early stage, consumer, health, info tech
Open Prairie (Illinois/Michigan/Kansas)--Early stage, agric., life sciences, medical, software, info tech, energy, mfg., real estate
Pallasite Ventures (Vancouver)--Seed/Series A, technology, CPG
Plymouth Ventures (Ann Arbor)--Series A stage, Midwest, B2B
Resonant Venture Partners (Ann Arbor)-Seed/Series A, super compute, security, industrial IoT, cloud
RPM Ventures (Ann Arbor)--Early stage, B2B SaaS, cloud, social infrastructure, marketplace, auto
River Cities Capital (Cincinnati)--Series A/B stage, health, info tech
T Gap Ventures (Kalamazoo)--Series A/B stage, software, life sciences, medical, internet infrastructure, specialty mfg., plastics, data/comm tech
Venture Investors (Madison/Ann Arbor)--Seed/Series A, health, health tech
Vine Street Ventures (Cincinnati)--Early stage, internet, mobile
In addition, don't forget, many startup accelerator or incubator programs in Chicago will also provide cash for their startups. And, there are many other anonymous angel investors who invest in startups, that you need a solid introduction into those high net worth individuals. So, be sure to tap into your networks for these other sources of capital.
For future posts, please follow me at: www.twitter.com/georgedeeb. If you enjoyed this post, please click the social sharing buttons to share with your social networks.
First Analysis technology, health
Kenex Holdings (can do seed stage too) mfg., food/bev, agric., transport, logistics, infrastructure
MK Capital digital media, data, sotware, education
Matthew Pritzker Company
Method Capital B2B tech in Midwest
Pritzker Group Venture Capital consumer, enterprise, health, emerging
R7 Partners "big things"
Range Light active life, natural foods, tech svs.
Romar Partners B2B tech
SERIES B/C STAGE VENTURE CAPITAL ($5-$20MM checks in over $5MM revenues)
Adams Street Partners software, mobile, health, security, finance
Chicago Growth Partners education, tech svs., health, industrial
JK&B Capital comms., info tech, health
Merrick Ventures marketplace
Sterling Partners biz svs., education, health
CORPORATE VENTURE CAPITAL FUNDS
Abbott Ventures
Abbvie Biotech Ventures
Allstate Investments
Baxter Ventures
Blue Cross Blue Shield Venture Partners
CME Ventures
DV X Labs (DeVry EdTech Accelerator)
Mondelez Shopper Futures
Motorola Solutions Venture Capital
Walgreens Well Ventures
FAMILY INVESTMENT OFFICES
See this list of Chicago family offices
REGIONAL VENTURE CAPITAL FIRMS THAT LOOK AT CHICAGO DEALS
Beringea (Detroit)--Series A/B stage, helath, life svs., info tech, clean tech, CPG, mfg., media, biz svs., retail, leisure
Blossom Street Ventures (Dallas)--Series A stage, generalist.
Castlestone Capital (Dallas)--Seed stage, SaaS, finance, health, enterprise apps
Calumet Ventures (Madison)--Early stage, Midwest
Chrysalis Ventures (Louisville)--Series A/B stage, health, technology
CID Capital (Indianapolis)--Series B/C stage, CPG, industrial products
Connectic Ventures (Cincinnati Area)--Seed stage, tech
Drive Capital (Columbus)--Series A stage
Dundee Venture Capital (Omaha)--Early stage, ecommerce, SaaS, consumer networks
Firebrand Ventures (Kansas City) --Early stage, Midwest, generalist
4490 Ventures (Madison)--Series A, Midwest, software, or enabled IoT hardware in health, mktg, business services, industrial, agriculture, logistics, transportation.
Grand Ventures (Grand Rapids)--Seed/Series A stage, Midwest, mfg., agric., energy, food, transp. and mobility
Huron River Ventures (Ann Arbor)--Early stage, Midwest, agric., energy, transport
Matchstick Ventures (Minneapolis)--Early stage
Mercury Fund (Houston)--Early stage, Mid-Continent, enterprise B2B, SaaS, cloud computing, data
NorthCoast Technology Investors (Ann Arbor) Midwest, software, comms., mat. sciences, medical
Omphalos Ventures (Minneapolis)--Early stage, consumer, health, info tech
Open Prairie (Illinois/Michigan/Kansas)--Early stage, agric., life sciences, medical, software, info tech, energy, mfg., real estate
Pallasite Ventures (Vancouver)--Seed/Series A, technology, CPG
Plymouth Ventures (Ann Arbor)--Series A stage, Midwest, B2B
Resonant Venture Partners (Ann Arbor)-Seed/Series A, super compute, security, industrial IoT, cloud
RPM Ventures (Ann Arbor)--Early stage, B2B SaaS, cloud, social infrastructure, marketplace, auto
River Cities Capital (Cincinnati)--Series A/B stage, health, info tech
T Gap Ventures (Kalamazoo)--Series A/B stage, software, life sciences, medical, internet infrastructure, specialty mfg., plastics, data/comm tech
Venture Investors (Madison/Ann Arbor)--Seed/Series A, health, health tech
Vine Street Ventures (Cincinnati)--Early stage, internet, mobile
In addition, don't forget, many startup accelerator or incubator programs in Chicago will also provide cash for their startups. And, there are many other anonymous angel investors who invest in startups, that you need a solid introduction into those high net worth individuals. So, be sure to tap into your networks for these other sources of capital.
For future posts, please follow me at: www.twitter.com/georgedeeb. If you enjoyed this post, please click the social sharing buttons to share with your social networks.
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