Illinois Ventures

General contacts

Investor type

Founded

2000

AUM

$48 M

Location

Champaign, Illinois, United States

Investment Ticket

$1-5 m

Investment Stage

Series A Seed Pre-seed Late Stage (Series C+)

Region of investment

North America

Investor profile last updated: 30 August, 2026

Profile

Illinois Ventures is a venture capital firm based in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 2000. The firm is closely affiliated with the University of Illinois and focuses on investing in companies with ties to the university. With a team of experienced professionals, Illinois Ventures aims to support early-stage companies in their growth journey, leveraging the university's innovative spirit.

The firm primarily invests in seed and early-stage companies across a variety of sectors, including information technologies, artificial intelligence, cancer therapeutics, engineering, physical sciences, ag tech, deep tech, and life sciences. Illinois Ventures typically invests in companies based in the United States, with a focus on those emerging from research and innovation. The firm manages several funds, including the Deep Tech Strategic Fund, which has an AUM of $48 million.

Notable investments by Illinois Ventures include Ocient - data analytics for compute-intensive workloads, Revolution Medicines - cancer therapeutics, EarthSense - autonomous ag robots, Cystetic Medicines - molecular prosthetics for cystic fibrosis, and MESH ++ - WiFi solutions. These investments highlight the firm's commitment to backing transformative technologies and solutions.

Industry

AgriTech Life Sciences Robotics AI Technology Deeptech Agriculture Healthcare Services Biotechnology CleanTech HealthTech

Illinois Ventures Funds

Name	Type	Industry	Stage	Region	Size	AUM	Launch date
Deep Tech Strategic Fund	Venture Capital (VC)	Biotechnology Healthcare Services AI Technology CleanTech HealthTech	Pre-seed Seed	North America	$5-10 m	$48 M	October 2024

Contacts

Name

Title

Social Networks

Nancy Sullivan CEO, Managing Director, and Managing Principal

CEO, Managing Director, and Managing Principal

n•••@•••

Thomas Parkinson Venture Partner

Venture Partner

t•••@•••

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Investment-team contacts for Illinois Ventures — including verified work emails and LinkedIn profiles — are available to Private Equity List subscribers.
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Contacts sourced from the firm's website and LinkedIn, re-verified on a rolling cycle. Spot a stale contact, or none at all? Report it — we re-run that firm within 48h and get back to you.

FAQs about Illinois Ventures

Is Illinois Ventures a venture capital or private equity firm?

Illinois Ventures is a venture capital firm. It backs companies at Series A, Seed, Pre-seed and Late Stage (Series C+), writing tickets of $1-5 m.

Where is Illinois Ventures located?

Illinois Ventures is located in Champaign, Illinois, United States.

When was Illinois Ventures founded?

Illinois Ventures was founded in 2000.

What sectors and industries does Illinois Ventures invest in?

Illinois Ventures invests in companies and startups in AgriTech, Life Sciences, Robotics, AI, Technology, Deeptech, Agriculture, Healthcare Services, Biotechnology, CleanTech, HealthTech.

What is Illinois Ventures geographical focus of investments?

Illinois Ventures invests in companies and startups in North America.

At what stages of companies and startups does Illinois Ventures typically invest in?

Illinois Ventures invests in companies and startups at Series A, Seed, Pre-seed, Late Stage (Series C+).

What is the usual amount of Illinois Ventures investment?

Illinois Ventures usually invests $1-5 m on average.

What is the amount of assets of under management (AUM) for Illinois Ventures?

Illinois Ventures has around $48m assets under management.

When was Illinois Ventures last fund created?

Illinois Ventures last fund was created/launched in 2024-10-22

What are the contacts of Illinois Ventures?

Illinois Ventures can be reached through its website illinoisventures.com, its LinkedIn page and its X account. Cold-mailing a general inbox rarely reaches a partner, so Private Equity List also lists the investment-team contacts for Illinois Ventures — names, roles, verified work emails and LinkedIn profiles — available on a Pro plan from $129/month (see pricing). Contacts are sourced from the firm's website and LinkedIn and re-verified on a rolling cycle. Spot a stale contact, or none at all? Report it — we re-run that firm within 48h and get back to you.

Can I access Illinois Ventures data via API or MCP?

Yes. Every field on this page — profile, funds, investment criteria, portfolio and investment-team contacts — is available programmatically through the Private Equity List REST API and MCP server, so AI assistants such as Claude and ChatGPT can query Illinois Ventures directly instead of scraping this page. One subscription covers both the web app and machine access — see API & MCP.

When was the Illinois Ventures profile last updated?

Private Equity List re-verifies investor profiles on a rolling cycle, pulling from the firm's own website and LinkedIn rather than a one-off import. This profile was last updated on 30 August, 2026. Something out of date here? Report it — we re-run that firm within 48h and get back to you.