Illinois Ventures
Venture capitalChampaign · Pre-Seed–Late Stage · 21 people tracked
Investment thesis
Illinois Ventures backs early-stage companies across a broad range of founders, from deep tech teams building solutions in a lab, to student coders, to seasoned entrepreneurs. The firm positions itself as a hands-on partner with a veteran team that helps portfolio companies advance from a pioneering venture to a successful exit. Its stated mission is to make the world a better and more connected place.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 21 people
from the firm's website & public directories
What they invest in
from 40 of 55 portfolio companiesMedical Devices ×14Biotech ×12Healthtech ×12AI & Machine Learning ×10Deep Tech ×9Hardware ×7Digital Health ×5Enterprise Software ×4
HQs:United States×32
Investments · 55 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2024 · 22023 · 22020 · 12017 · 16 dated
Clinical-stage therapeutics company focusing on high-impact cancers and inflammatory diseases.
BiotechFort Worth, US
Daniel Schmitt(Executive Officer, Director)Andrew Mazar(Executive Officer)Paul Lytle(Executive Officer)Leslie Wayne Kreis, Jr.(Director, Promoter)
BoardTodd Thomson(Director)Roger Sawhney(Director)
Amber produces wireless, solar-powered automation kits for grain bin monitoring and fan control that replace traditional cable systems.
AgTechHardwareIoTChicago, US
Lucas Frye(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Cyril Ebersweiler(Incoming Series Seed Director.)Joseph Varikooty(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
Apriority offers a membership-based platform that helps individual borrowers manage and monitor their loans, continuously scanning lenders for lower rates and rate dips while redirecting referral commissions that normally go to intermediary platforms back to the member.
AI & Machine LearningConsumerFintechRedwood City, US
Aptimmune develops vaccines for swine health, partnering with vaccine development and swine health consulting companies to speed product development, testing and manufacturing.
AgTechBiotechHealthtechChampaign, US
Robert Easter(Director)Paul Olivo(Director)Aaron Gilbertie(CEO)Gary Durack(Director)Federico Zuckermann(Executive Officer, Director)
Beyond Barriers Therapeutics develops BBT-101, an intranasal therapy for mild and moderate concussions intended for rapid deployment at the point of injury.
BiotechDigital HealthMedical Devices
Brink Biologics provides NK-92 cell lines and assay panels for antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) testing in therapeutic antibody development.
BiotechDeep TechMedical DevicesSan Diego, US
BYLD Innovations develops portable and foldable 3D printers for engineers requiring on-demand and on-site printing capabilities.
Advanced ManufacturingHardware
Cadenza Bio develops small-molecule drugs for oral administration to treat demyelinating and inflammatory diseases.
BiotechFemTechMedical DevicesYukon, US
Carol Curtis, PhD(Chief Executive Officer, Founder)Elaine Hamm, PhD(Chief Operating Officer, Founder)John Katzenellenbogen, PhD(Scientific Founder)Seema Tiwari-Woodruff, PhD(Scientific Founder)Elaine Hamm(Executive Officer, Director)Carol Curtis(Executive Officer, Director)
Coologics develops a drug-free medical device designed to treat vaginal yeast and bacterial infections through controlled cooling technology.
FemTechMedical Devices
Female OB/GYN
CranioSense develops IPASS, a non-invasive medical device that measures intracranial pressure using a forehead patch and handheld device, eliminating the need for invasive skull drilling in traumatic brain injury assessment.
HealthtechMedical DevicesBedford, US
Gordon Hirschman(COB & CO-FOUNDER)inRyan Myers(CEO & CO-FOUNDER)inKristian DiMatteo(COO & CO-FOUNDER)in
Cystetic Medicines develops molecular prosthetics to treat cystic fibrosis, specifically targeting the 10% of CF patients who cannot benefit from existing modulator therapies due to little-to-no CFTR protein.
BiotechHealthtechMedical DevicesChampaign, US
PETER W STEELMAN(Director)JONATHAN RAMOS(Director)PETER B. FINN(Executive Officer)MARTIN BURKE, MD., PH.D.(Director)ZHENG SU(Director)Dr. Martin D. Burke(Co-founder)
EarthSense develops AI and robotics solutions for agriculture to address sustainability and productivity challenges.
AgTechAI & Machine LearningRobotics
Eden Park manufactures wafer-thin Far-UVC 222nm technology panels that continuously disinfect air and surfaces to reduce viruses and bacteria in populated spaces.
CleantechHardwareHealthtechChampaign, US
Cy Herring(Executive Officer, Director)Timothy Gary Kudron(Director)Tom Parkinson(Director)James Garry Eden(Director)Randy Cothers(Executive Officer)William Brewer(Director)
BiotechNew York, US
Jim Flynn(Director)Kieren Marr(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardMartin Heidecker(Director)Jonathan Leff(Director)
Excelsior Sciences develops automated chemistry technology for small-molecule discovery and manufacturing, targeting pharmaceutical and materials development.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechDeep Tech
Michael Foley(CEO)Jana Jensen(COO)Marty BurkeBartosz Grzybowski
FirstIgnite provides AI software that helps universities, hospitals, nonprofits, and foundations identify, engage, and manage partnership opportunities in research funding, philanthropy, and technology licensing.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareSaaS
Chase Bonhag(Founder)inCody Pawlowski(Founder)in
Integrated Dynamics develops high-temperature fermentation technology to produce bio-based chemical intermediates for onshore manufacturing.
Advanced ManufacturingBiotechDeep Tech
Inventables manufactures and sells desktop CNC machines, parts, and accessories for makers, creative professionals, and small manufacturers.
Advanced ManufacturingCreator EconomyHardwareChicago, US
BoardZach Kaplan(Executive Officer, Director)Phil Black(Director)Sue Khim(Director)
KeyWise AI develops Skye, a system that continuously assesses cognitive performance by passively capturing keystroke behavior (not content) as people type on their phones during normal use.
AI & Machine LearningDigital HealthHealthtech
HealthtechChicago, US
Tyler Wanke(Executive Officer, Director)Bermans Iskandar(Director)Joshua Medow(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardJoshua Carson(Director)John Slump(Director)
EnergyAlbany, US
Alexander S Kosyakov(Executive Officer, Director)Thomas Rouffiac(Cofounder)
BoardManas Gosavi(Director)Terry Howerton(Director)Thomas A Rouffiac(Director)
Chicago, US
Ted Greene(Chief Operating Officer)Robin Berthier(Chief Executive Officer, President, & Director)William Sanders(Director)Robert Schultz(Director)
BoardJeff Bocan(Director)Steve Westly(Director)
Ocient builds petabyte-scale agentic AI solutions through its OcientAIQ platform for enterprises managing massive datasets.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareChicago, US
George Kondiles(Executive Officer)S. Christopher Gladwin(Executive Officer, Director)Kumar Abhijeet(Executive Officer)William McCarthy(Executive Officer)Joseph Jablonski(Executive Officer)
BoardJames Dugan(Director)
Phi Optics develops quantitative phase imaging (QPI) technology that upgrades existing microscopes to enable non-invasive, real-time 3D imaging of live cells, tissues, organoids, and small organisms without labels or specimen damage.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechMedical DevicesChampaign, US
Catalin Chiritescu(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Timothy Hoerr(Director)Gabriel Popescu(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Jed Taylor(Director)
Photon Queue develops quantum memory devices using linear optics technology for photon storage.
Deep TechQuantum ComputingSan Francisco, US
Kelsey Ortiz(Co-founder)
PhotoniCare develops OtoSight, an FDA-cleared optical coherence tomography device for non-invasive assessment and monitoring of middle ear infections in healthcare facilities.
Deep TechDigital HealthHealthtechMedical DevicesDurham, US
Ryan Shelton(CEO)Cary Vance(Executive Officer, Director)Gary Durack(Member of the Board of Directors)Stephen Boppart(CMO)
BoardPatrick Zeller(Director)Dale Grogan(Director)
PSYONIC develops advanced, affordable bionic prosthetics, including the Ability Hand, a sensorized prosthetic hand with touch feedback for people with limb differences and amputations.
HealthtechMedical DevicesRoboticsChampaign, US
Aadeel Akhtar(Executive Officer)Patrick Slade(Cofounder)Dr. Aadeel Akhtar(Founder & CEO)
Resolv provides fraud protection and asset recovery for cryptocurrency holders through recoverable wrapped tokens and community-driven verification.
Crypto & Web3Fintech
Sakura MedTech develops a tampon-shaped imaging device as a comfortable alternative to the speculum for cervical cancer screening and gynecological exams.
Digital HealthFemTechMedical DevicesChicago, US
Samara Aerospace designs and builds high-performance satellite platforms featuring the Hummingbird satellite bus, which combines pointing stability, agility, and power generation in a compact form for commercial, civil, and national security missions.
Deep TechHardwareSpace TechSuperior, US
Patrick Haddox(Founder)Vedant(Founder)
Senex Biotechnology develops small-molecule inhibitors targeting protein regulators of gene expression for cancer treatment, with lead programs in prostate cancer, breast cancer, and leukemia.
BiotechHealthtechMedical Devices
ShareThis collects and analyzes consumer behavioral data from over three million global websites to provide insights, targeting, activation, and data enrichment services.
AdTechData & InfrastructureMarketing TechSaaSPalo Alto, US
Dana C. Hayes, Jr.(Chief Executive Officer)Myha Trieu(Chief People Officer)Chad Burns(Chief Financial Officer)Huanjin Chen(Chief Technology Officer)Michael Gorman(Chief Product Officer)Paul Lentz(Executive Officer)
Siloam Vision develops medical imaging and software solutions for eye care, with initial focus on retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in premature infants.
AI & Machine LearningHealthtechMedical DevicesPortland, US
John Peter Campbell(Executive Officer, Director)Tong Sun(Executive Officer)Robison Vernon Paul Chan(Executive Officer)Karyn Jonas(Executive Officer)Dr. Pete Campbell(Founder)Dr. Paul Chan(Founder)
Chicago, US
Joseph Nogal(Director)Brad LaConte(Director)Daniel Klein(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Adam Harris(Director, Promoter)Alex Sosnov(Executive Officer)Patrick Tannous(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
BiotechChampaign, US
Paul Hergenrother(Executive Officer, Director)Ted Tarasow(Executive Officer, Director)Ron Way(Director)Billie Jo Herberger(Director)Judd Heberger(Director)
VedaBio develops a molecular detection platform using CRISPR technology that enables rapid, accurate detection of multiple biological targets without the need for amplification.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechDeep TechHealthtechMedical DevicesSan Diego, US
Anurup Ganguli(Founder)inFred(President and CEO)Frédéric Sweeney(President and Chief Executive Officer)Maurice Exner(Chief Operating Officer)
Worktrace enables teams to build and deploy AI agents with zero setup required.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise Software
Exits · 1
IPOs and acquisitions across the tracked portfolioActuate TherapeuticsNASDAQ: ACTU
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesOcient · hpcwire.com · Jul 15, 2026
Skyryse · techcrunch.com · Jul 5, 2026
CranioSense · startupbos.org · Jun 29, 2026
Worktrace Ai · globalventuring.com · Jun 22, 2026
FirstIgnite · msufoundation.org · Mar 26, 2026
Samara Aerospace · kitalent.com · Mar 1, 2026
Frequently asked questions
- What stage does Illinois Ventures invest at?
- Illinois Ventures invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Late Stage stages.
- What sectors does Illinois Ventures focus on?
- Illinois Ventures focuses on Biotech, Consumer, Data & Infrastructure, Deep Tech, Energy, Enterprise Software, Hardware, Medical Devices, New Materials, SaaS, Semiconductors.
- Where is Illinois Ventures located?
- Illinois Ventures is headquartered in Champaign, US.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamNancy Sullivan, CEO and Senior Managing Director, Illinois VENTURES
InvestMidwest Venture Capital (Forum) · Nancy Sullivan
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