Innovation Works

General contacts

Investor type

PE / VC

Founded

1999

AUM

$423 M

Location

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

Investment Ticket

$10-50 m

Investment Stage

Seed Series A

Region of investment

North America Asia

Investor profile last updated: 16 August, 2026

Profile

Innovation Works (IW) is the Pittsburgh region’s most active investor in and supporter of early-stage companies developing hardware, software and life sciences technologies.

Though focused exclusively on helping startups in the southwest PA region, IW’s level of investment activity makes it one of the most active investors in the U.S. Innovation Works is part of the statewide Ben Franklin Technology Partners, a network of four centers developed to help diversify PA’s economy and retain the state’s high caliber innovations that are invented and incubated here. The Ben Franklin Technology Partners are partially funded by the Commonwealth of PA and overseen by the Department of Community and Economic Development.

Founder of AlphaLab (http://alphalab.org)--one of the nation's top startup accelerators-- AlphaLab Gear (http://alphalabgear.org)--its hardware program -- AlphaLab Health (https://alphalabhealth.org/) -- its life sciences program and -- Robotics Factory (https://roboticsfactory.org/) -- its robotics program.

Industry

Education Healthcare Services Media and Entertainment Software Transportation Financial Services Fintech Food and Beverage Foodtech Robotics SaaS Security HealthTech

Innovation Works Funds

Name	Type	Industry	Stage	Region	Size	AUM	Launch date
Ignite Capital	Venture Capital (VC)	Financial Services Fintech Healthcare Services Robotics SaaS Security Software Transportation HealthTech	Pre-seed Seed	North America	$5-10 m	$4 M	November 2020

Contacts

Name

Title

Social Networks

Kelley Benson Vice President Human Resources

Vice President Human Resources

k•••@•••

Jane Joseph Director of Communications and Community Development

Director of Communications and Community Development

j•••@•••

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Investment-team contacts for Innovation Works — 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 Innovation Works

Is Innovation Works a venture capital or private equity firm?

Innovation Works is a venture capital and private equity firm. It backs companies at Seed and Series A, writing tickets of $10-50 m.

Where is Innovation Works located?

Innovation Works is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.

When was Innovation Works founded?

Innovation Works was founded in 1999.

What sectors and industries does Innovation Works invest in?

Innovation Works invests in companies and startups in Education, Healthcare Services, Media and Entertainment, Software, Transportation, Financial Services, Fintech, Food and Beverage, Foodtech, Robotics, SaaS, Security, HealthTech.

What is Innovation Works geographical focus of investments?

Innovation Works invests in companies and startups in North America, Asia.

At what stages of companies and startups does Innovation Works typically invest in?

Innovation Works invests in companies and startups at Seed, Series A.

What is the usual amount of Innovation Works investment?

Innovation Works usually invests $10-50 m on average.

What is the amount of assets of under management (AUM) for Innovation Works?

Innovation Works has around $423m assets under management.

When was Innovation Works last fund created?

Innovation Works last fund was created/launched in 2020-11-11

What are the contacts of Innovation Works?

Innovation Works can be reached through its website innovationworks.org, its LinkedIn page and its X account. Its general enquiries address is [email protected]. Cold-mailing a general inbox rarely reaches a partner, so Private Equity List also lists the investment-team contacts for Innovation Works — 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 Innovation Works 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 Innovation Works directly instead of scraping this page. One subscription covers both the web app and machine access — see API & MCP.

When was the Innovation Works 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 16 August, 2026. Something out of date here? Report it — we re-run that firm within 48h and get back to you.