Chicago · Pre-Seed–Seed · 9 people tracked
Also known as CHINGONA VENTURES MANAGEMENT LLC
Investment thesis
Chingona Ventures invests in the next generation of founders operating in industries undergoing massive change, particularly where a founder's background uniquely positions them to build in overlooked growth markets. The firm concentrates on financial technology, the future of work, the future of learning, and health technology. It primarily backs pre-seed companies raising their first institutional round of capital, writing initial checks of $250K to $2M.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 25, 2026.
Team · 9 people
from the firm's website & public directories
What they invest in
from 34 of 41 portfolio companiesSaaS ×16AI & Machine Learning ×14Fintech ×12Consumer ×6EdTech ×6Enterprise Software ×4InsurTech ×4B2B Marketplaces ×3
HQs:United States×26United Kingdom×1
Investments · 41 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2026 · 32025 · 12024 · 12023 · 22022 · 12021 · 42020 · 113 dated
Betterleave provides wrap-around caregiver support and bereavement services—including coaching, text-based support, and support groups—delivered through providers and employers to help caregivers navigate end-of-life decisions and grief.
Digital HealthMental HealthWellness & FitnessAustin, US
Cara Abbott(Founder)inAndy Ambrose(Director)Cara McCarty(Executive Officer, Director)
Board seatSamara Mejia Hernandez· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsEverywhere VenturesBread And Butter Ventures, LlcCoyote VenturesThe Fund
Cartwheel provides a software platform for restaurant delivery and order management, serving independent restaurants and multi-unit brands through their own delivery networks.
B2B MarketplacesFoodTechLogistics & Supply ChainSaaSLos Angeles, US
Alexander Vasilin(Founder)Dan Zamylin(Founder)Magdim Metshin(Founder)Alex(Co-Founder, CEO)
Co-investorsAct One VenturesEudemian VenturesMoonshots Capital37 Angels
SafeHill is a cybersecurity company that combines AI and human ethical hackers to help security teams identify and prioritize real security exposures and attack paths.
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareFircrest, US
Mike Pena(CEO/Founder)inHector Monsegur(Chief Research Officer/Founder)inNicholas Gonzalez(Chief Revenue Officer/Founder)in
Co-investorsTechstarsMucker Capital
Plantation, US
Sandra LaPlante(Executive Officer, Director)Michael Barnes(Director)
BoardSamara Hernandez(Director)in
Board seatSamara Mejia Hernandez· per SEC Form D · $2.3M raise · filed Jan 2023
Los Angeles, US
Board seatSamara Mejia Hernandez· per SEC Form D · $4.3M raise · filed Dec 2021
Agency built AI products; the company announced it is being acquired by Klaviyo and winding down on August 31, 2026, with its team joining Klaviyo.
AI & Machine Learning
Elias TorresLuke
Co-investorsArtisanal VenturesFelicis VenturesHubSpot VenturesMenlo VenturesDatabricks Ventures
Co-investorsEntrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA)
Beni is a search and discovery platform that aggregates 300 million secondhand deals across resale marketplaces, allowing consumers to find used items from their favorite brands at lower prices through web, mobile app, and browser extension.
Circular EconomyConsumerMarketplacesBrooklyn, US
Katharine Sanner(Executive Officer)
Co-investorsBetter Ventures Central LlcBuoyant Ventures Management, LlcXYZ Venture Capital
Boom operates a leasing platform connecting property managers and renters through the full leasing process, from inquiry to approved resident.
FintechPropTechSaaSAustin, US
Rob Whiting(Co-founder & CEO)in
Co-investorsBungalow CapitalClocktower VenturesMischiefStarting LineThe Fund
Co-investorsCherryrock CapitalHyde Park Venture Partners
Chord provides a unified data layer and AI agents for commerce brands, combining reliable data infrastructure with autonomous tools that operate across the full business stack.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureE-commerceMarketing Tech
Bryan Mahoney(CEO & Co-Founder)Henry Davis(President & Chairman)
Co-investorsAlleyCorpBright Pixel CapitalEqual VenturesIntercept VenturesRidge VenturesAlley Robotics Ventures+2 more
FintechHealthtechInsurTechChicago, US
Osvaldo Montelongoin
Co-investorsNew Age CapitalTechstarsPivotal Ventures
Crate builds a personalization layer for AI systems that learns user preferences and intent from content engagement, enabling AI to make more contextually relevant predictions and recommendations rather than relying on clicks or broad algorithms.
AI & Machine LearningSaaSTarzana, US
Dessy Levinson(Founder)inAnna Bofa(Founder)Adam Levy(Executive Officer, Director)Joseph Iny(Director)
Co-investorsBase Venture Management, Inc.MaC Venture CapitalUpfront VenturesSlauson & Co.
Dame designs and engineers sexual wellness products, including vibrators and other sex toys, developed in-house with input from a clinical board.
Direct to ConsumerFemTechWellness & FitnessBrooklyn, US
Alexandra Fine(Co-founder)Janet Lieberman(Co-founder)Benjamin Aldridge(Executive Officer)
BoardRick Desai(Director)in
Co-investorsAssembled BrandsigniteXL VentureJoyance PartnersListen Ventures
EarlyBird offers UGMA custodial investment accounts that let parents and family members invest on behalf of a child, with funds usable for education, a home down payment, starting a business, or other purposes.
ConsumerFintechSaaS
Co-investorsChicago Early Growth Ventures (CEGV)JourneyOne VenturesRareBreed VenturesResilienceVCAlumni VenturesFiat Ventures+1 more
Finix provides embedded payments infrastructure for software platforms, acting as an outsourced PayFac (PayFac-as-a-Service) with end-to-end payments technology, compliance and risk management, merchant onboarding, and reporting tools.
Data & InfrastructureDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareFintechSaaSSan Francisco, US
Richie Serna(Founder)inSean Donovan(Founder)in
Co-investorsInsight PartnersInspired CapitalLightspeed Venture PartnersAcrew CapitalCap Table CoalitionCiti Ventures+10 more
Optimal (Optibot) is an AI agent that reviews pull requests using full multi-repo codebase context, catching security vulnerabilities, breaking changes, and CI failures, and provides engineering productivity analytics.
AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsSaaS
Co-investorsAct One VenturesMindshift Capital
Clara is an AI mentor for school district employees that provides in-the-moment support and coaching to both new and veteran staff, complementing traditional professional development.
AI & Machine LearningEdTechHR Tech
Co-investorsCorazon Capital
Hologram provides global IoT connectivity solutions that simplify device management and reduce costs for businesses deploying internet-connected devices across multiple countries.
HardwareIoTSaaSChicago, US
Benjamin Forgan(Executive Officer, Director)Patrick Wilbur(Executive Officer, Director)Anne Rosen(Executive Officer)
BoardNick Solaro(Director)in
Co-investorsBullpen CapitalCapital Midwest FundConvergeDrive CapitalFounders Circle CapitalGutbrain Ventures+7 more
Honey Homes pairs households with dedicated, vetted handymen to manage home maintenance and upgrades through a technology platform.
B2B MarketplacesConsumerPropTechSaaSOakland, US
Vishwas PrabhakaraAvantika PrabhakaraVanti Prabhakara
Co-investorsAngel Collective Opportunity FundEra VenturesFlybridge Capital PartnersGaruda VenturesKhosla VenturesRecall Capital+1 more
Hoop is an AI agent that runs subscription cancellation conversations directly inside a brand's helpdesk, capturing cancel reasons and making segment-based save offers that write back to subscription billing tools like Recharge or Skio.
AI & Machine LearningE-commerceSaaSNew York City, US
Brian Schmidt(Founder)Justin Gallagher(Founder)Stella Garber(Founder)
Co-investorsIndex VenturesOrigin VenturesDivergent CapitalVenture Guides Management, L.P.Y Combinator
iAsk AI is a free AI-powered search engine that answers user questions with instant, source-backed responses without storing user data.
AI & Machine LearningEdTechSaaS
Co-investorsChicago Early Growth Ventures (CEGV)Corazon Capital
Innovare offers Inno, a strategic intelligence platform for schools that connects data sources such as attendance, assessment, and student support into one workspace.
AI & Machine LearningEdTechSaaSChicago, US
Fernando DeLeón(Founder)Nicholas Freeman(Executive Officer)Fernando DeLeon(Executive Officer, Director)Adrian DeLeon(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardMarcos Gonzalez(Director)
Co-investorsCleveland AvenuePortfoliaPropellant VenturesTAWANI VenturesVamosVentures
Leaf Trade operates a B2B wholesale marketplace for the cannabis industry, connecting cultivators, distributors, and brands with dispensary buyers for ordering, inventory management, and payments.
B2B MarketplacesFintechSaaS
Co-investorsArtemis Growth PartnersHyde Park Angels
Linker Finance provides an end-to-end digital account opening and onboarding platform for banks, handling KYC, fraud verification, core system account creation, funding, and customer communications.
FintechSaaS
Linker Finance provides digital banking technology for community financial institutions to enhance customer relationships and serve business customers.
Enterprise SoftwareFintechInsurTechSaaSPasadena, US
Jorge Garcia(Founder & CEO)
Co-investorsTechstarsAudaz CapitalTenOneTen Ventures
Lirvana Labs offers Yeti (including Yeti Confetti Kids and an AI Co-Pilot), an AI-powered K-5 learning platform that personalizes instruction, supports bilingual/dual-language teaching, and provides progress data for teachers and administrators.
AI & Machine LearningEdTechSaaSMenlo Park, US
Christie Pang(Founder)
LuminX provides an on-device visual AI system for warehouse dock operations, using compact camera units at dock doors to read barcodes, labels, case counts, and damage on pallets in real time and reconcile them against the BOL and WMS.
AI & Machine LearningHardwareLogistics & Supply Chain
Co-investorsFemale Founders
OutRival is a no-code AI platform that enables non-technical customer experience teams to create and deploy AI solutions including chatbots, voice agents, and workflow automation for customer interactions.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareInsurTechSaaSMiami, US
Ruben A. Harris(CEO & Co-Founder)inTimur Meyster(Founder)in
Co-investorsY CombinatorInitialized CapitalBronze InvestmentsNecessary VenturesOpen Opportunity Fund
Scout provides financial advisory and wealth management services for college athletes, particularly those benefiting from NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) opportunities.
Fintech
Michael Haddix Jr(Founder)in
Co-investors125 VenturesAusum VenturesJ4 VenturesMoai CapitalOUTBOUND CAPITALSymphonic Capital+1 more
Sigo Seguros is a digital auto insurance agency that lets customers compare quotes from multiple insurers online and buy a policy in Spanish, with or without a US driver's license.
FintechInsurTech
Co-investorsKern Venture GroupNewlin VenturesRemarkable VenturesBlockchain Founders FundListen Ventures
Suma Wealth provides AI-powered financial coaching through chatbot assistants that help users budget, track spending, and build savings with personalized advice available in English and Spanish.
AI & Machine LearningConsumerFintech
Beatriz Acevedo(Founder)in
Co-investors2045 VenturesBackstage CapitalFemale FoundersHow Women InvestPortfoliaResilienceVC+5 more
Teal provides telehealth healthcare services for people assigned female at birth, offering virtual care without traditional in-office procedures.
Digital HealthFemTechHealthtech
Co-investorsFelicis VenturesHalogen Ventures Management Company LlcMetrodora VenturesSerena VenturesInflect HealthLerer Hippeau+2 more
Tendrel is a manufacturing operations platform that connects existing plant systems (MES, CMMS, historians, quality systems) and uses AI to answer operational questions and flag production issues before they cost the business.
Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureSammamish, US
Esteban Reyes(Director)Karsten Kell(Executive Officer)Mark Keller(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardAkash Nandi(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investorsBread And Butter Ventures, LlcSUPPLY CHANGE CAPITAL
Plasma is a financial technology company offering Plasma One, a stablecoin-based account and Visa card that supports USD₮ transfers, cashback, and yield through third-party DeFi protocols.
Crypto & Web3FintechLondon, GB
Co-investors1/1 Capital6th Man VenturesBeni Venture CapitalMercury FundMirana VenturesPharsalus Capital+9 more
Co-investorsAltari Ventures
Viva provides a resident benefits app that bundles services such as 24/7 telehealth, bilingual K-12 tutoring, high-yield savings, rent reporting for credit building, and homebuying grants for renters and households across the U.S.
ConsumerFintechPropTechEdinburg, US
Co-investorsAtlanta Technology AngelsRevUp CapitalTechstars
Rows marked “SEC filing” are inferred from directors named on the company's SEC Form D — public regulatory data, not a portfolio list published by the firm.
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companies
Boom · commercialobserver.com · Aug 18, 2026
Scout · wltx.com · Aug 17, 2026
Chord · marketbeat.com · Jul 16, 2026
Linker Finance · infotechlead.com · Jul 15, 2026
OutRival, Inc. · ycombinator.com · Jun 26, 2026
Hoop · btw.media · May 26, 2026
Topl (Now Plasma) · avalanchefusion.com · Apr 8, 2026
Innovare · bitscale.ai · Apr 5, 2026
Frequently asked questions
- What stage does Chingona Ventures invest at?
- Chingona Ventures invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed stages.
- What is Chingona Ventures's typical check size?
- Chingona Ventures typically writes checks of $250K – $2M.
- What sectors does Chingona Ventures focus on?
- Chingona Ventures focuses on Digital Health, EdTech, Fintech, Future of Work, Healthtech, Wellness & Fitness.
- Where is Chingona Ventures located?
- Chingona Ventures is headquartered in Chicago, US.
- Does Chingona Ventures lead rounds?
- Yes, Chingona Ventures leads investment rounds.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamStartup Superhero: Samara Mejia Hernandez, Founding Partner at Chingona Ventures | Stacklist
Samara Mejia Hernandez · stacklist.app
Chingona Ventures' Samara Mejia Hernandez
Startup Cuba · Samara Mejia Hernandez
Co-investors · 32
Techstars is a startup accelerator and early-stage investor that funds ambitious founders and provides capital, mentorship, and access to a global network of investors, operators, and corporate partners.
VamosVentures is a mission-driven venture firm backing early-stage founders building disruptive technology solutions, with an emphasis on diverse, Latinx, female, and immigrant/first-gen-led companies.
Female Founders Fund is a venture capital firm that invests in female-founded companies building category-defining businesses across sectors, backed by a strong founder community.
Listen Ventures is a consumer-focused venture capital firm founded in 2010 that partners with founders to build disruptive brands amid shifts in consumer behavior.
Sequoia Capital is a venture capital firm that partners with founders to build technology companies.
Index Ventures is a multi-stage venture capital firm that backs companies from Seed to IPO and beyond, including through its dedicated seed fund Index Origin.
Everywhere Ventures is an early-stage venture firm, backed by a community of founders and operators as LPs, that writes early checks (including pre-seed) into startups across many sectors and geographies.
Ulu Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital firm focused on finding and funding early-stage founder teams, emphasizing diversity and data-driven investment decisions.
Hyde Park Venture Partners (HPVP) is an early-stage venture fund investing in AI, software, and tech-enabled services companies connected to the Midwest, Toronto, or the Southeast.
Origin Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm backing founders building companies in the artificial intelligence economy, focusing on infrastructure, software, applications, services, and marketplaces that transform productivity and automation.
Backstage Capital is an investment firm focused on supporting underrepresented founders. It publishes a weekly newsletter, The Mixtape, sharing news, opportunities, and stories for these founders.
Divergent Capital is a pre-seed fund that leads first rounds for deeply technical and scientific founders building AI, biotech, climatetech, and infrastructure startups grounded in serious science or engineering. The fund is run by two female operator-investors who combine deep-tech investing experience with hands-on go-to-market expertise, and they cultivate deal flow through structured fellowships targeting students and emerging investors in their technical-founder network.
▶20 more co-investors
SUPPLY CHANGE CAPITALAusum VenturesEudemian VenturesGeneral CatalystFundersClubC2 InvestmentsPareto HoldingsGaingelsArray Ventures Management LlcPropeller VCConvictionLightShed Venturessuper{set}10x GenomicsANIMO VenturesGanas VenturesOVO FundVSC VenturesZeal Capital PartnersFirebrand Ventures
Firms observed investing alongside Chingona Ventures, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with Chingona Ventures's recorded portfolio.
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