Browse updated 2026 startup programs, accelerators, incubators, and venture capital investors in Chicago. Find open deadlines, offers, and funding.
Updated Jun 2026
We invest in climate
Pre-Seed, Seed +3
Climate, Deeptech +31
$100 – $25,000,000
ARCH is an early-stage venture firm that focuses on life science discoveries to prevent, detect, and cure disease.
Seed, Series A +2
BioTech, Health +1
$50,000,000 – $150,000,000
Lightbank is a VC started by serial entrepreneur Eric Lefkofsky helping early stage founders across SaaS, marketplaces, fintech and crypto.
Pre-Seed, Seed +1
Marketplaces, FinTech +1
$400K - $5M
Hands-on, collaborative, and entrepreneur friendly early stage VC.
Seed, Series B +4
Enterprise, Consumer +1
$50,000,000 – $4,000,000
gener8tor’s turnkey platform for the creative economy connects startup founders musicians artists investors universities and corporations. The gener8tor platfor…
Seed, Early Stage VC +3
Software, Healthcare +22
$100,000 – $100,000
$100K
Accelerating and Investing in Sustainability and Climate Tech Startups
Pre-Seed, Seed +3
Climate, Sustainability +3
$100k for 7% on a SAFE
An early stage venture fund focused on technology companies that are innovating within real estate mortgage finance insurance and home services
Seed, Series A +2
Proptech, FinTech +40
$1,000,000 – $7,000,000
/PRNewswire/ -- Amperage Infrastructure Corporation ("Amperage") which invests in broadband service providers across rural America today announced an... S2G Inv…
Seed, Series A +2
Food, Ag +2
$100,000 – $5,000,000
$500K - $20M
A Global Leader in Private Markets
Seed, Series A +5
Software, Internet +36
$5,000,000 – $75,000,000
Money Talks Ours Listens
Seed, Series A
Consumer, CPG / D2C +1
catalyzing innovation.
Seed, Early Stage VC +4
Healthcare, BioTech +15
We support ambitious, DeepTech founders tackling complex problems to advance daily lives across the world.
Seed, Early Stage VC +2
Software, Mobile +8
Investing inOutsiders
Pre-Seed, Seed +1
SaaS, FinTech +1
Hyde Park Venture Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on high-growth mid-continent technology startups. We seek companies with an exceptiona…
Seed, Early Stage VC +6
Software, SaaS +43
An early-stage venture capital fund, investing in exceptional entrepreneurs in the Central US. WE GIVE FOUNDERS BETTER ODDS.
Seed, Early Stage VC +4
Internet, Healthcare +43
Focuses on companies empowering informed, connected health consumers and building system-level resilience to improve outcomes, experiences, and lower healthcare…
Seed, Series B
Health, Consumer +1
Helping leading corporations & ambitious entrepreneurs work together to create new business models, revenue streams, products, and markets.
Seed, Series A +4
Media, Enterprise Software +29
Second Century Ventures (SCV) is a venture capital fund focused on promoting innovation in the real estate industry.
Seed, Early Stage VC +8
Real Estate, FinTech +52
$1,000,000 – $7,000,000
Opportunities can present in any industry and at any stage. When Jump Capital sees significant potential we’re prepared to support it.
Seed, Early Stage VC +5
Software, Internet +16
Unparalleled vision in communications and software.
Seed, Pre-Seed +4
Software, Internet +3
Cleveland Avenue is a global venture capital firm that invests in lifestyle consumer brands and technology companies that positively disrupt large and growing m…
Seed, Series B
Food, Ag +2
A Latina-led pre-seed firm (solo Latina GP, $50M+ fund) that leads first institutional checks—often the largest—into pre-seed startups outside coastal hubs, esp…
Pre-Seed, Seed +1
FinTech, AI
AIV invests in the early stages of European companies that aspire to reshape the future of consumers and enterprises through technology.
Series A, Seed +2
Enterprise Software, Real Estate +42
From $3,000,000
$2M
Starting Line is an early stage Chicago based Venture Capital fund investing in premier consumer startups & brands and managed by Ezra Galston.
Pre-Seed, Seed +1
Consumer, CPG / D2C +4
$100 – $2,000,000
M25 is the most active early-stage VC firm investing in Midwest headquartered startups (14 states, 100+ companies) across most industries
Seed, Series A +4
Enterprise Software, Health +28
$250 – $500,000
Valor Equity Partners is an operational growth investment firm focused on high growth companies across various stages of development.
Seed, Pre-Seed +1
Finance, Crypto +3
We invest in innovation to drive lasting change in human livelihood.
Seed, Pre-Seed +7
Health, AI +5
Hyde Park Angels provides value to entrepreneurs and investors by driving startup growth and investment success.
Seed, Series A +5
Enterprise Software, FinTech +20
Seed-stage backer that uses its trading firm's balance sheet and engineering resources to build low-latency, open-source crypto infrastructure (validator client…
Seed, Series B +4
Web3, Crypto +2
Here at Math Venture Partners we partner with founding teams to take their vision further and grow with greater certainty.
Seed, Early Stage VC +4
Mobile, Restaurants +4
$100 – $2,000,000
Environmental Sustainability
Seed, Pre-Seed +3
Health, Climate Impact +23
$50,000,000 – $500,000
$50K - $500K
G Squared is a global venture capital fund manager that deploys a differentiated investment strategy to deliver access and exposure to some of the world’s most…
Series C, Series D +4
Software, Internet +24
VCapital Management
Seed, Early Stage VC
Internet, Healthcare +3
Early, dedicated food and agriculture VC with founder-operators from Monsanto/Dow, a patient, technically sophisticated focus on ag-biotech and food infrastruct…
Seed, Series A +2
Food, Ag +8
$1,000,000 – $10,000,000
Valor Equity Partners is an operational growth investment firm focused on high growth companies across various stages of development.
Series B, Series A +2
Food, Beverage +22
Investing in climate solutions with ambition
Series A, Series B +1
Climate, Software +7
$10M - $20M
Start with Heart
Seed, Series A +4
Software, Internet +17
$500 – $5,000,000
BY INVESTORS
Pre-Seed, Seed +4
Climate Impact, Mobility +4
$10M
We invest in digital solutions to climate change.
Seed, Series A +1
Finance, Crypto +41
$500 – $5,000,000
$1M - $5M
Impact Engine is a venture capital and private equity firm investing in companies driving positive impact in economic empowerment education environmental sustai…
Seed, Convertible Note +2
Education, Healthcare +9
M25 is an early-stage venture firm based in Chicago that invests exclusively in tech startups headquartered in the Midwest.
Seed
Software, Mobile +3
$250K - $1M
Targets post-traction consumer brands ($500k–$10M revenue), offering hands-on operator-led support—weekly founder calls, financial modeling, ops and capital pla…
Seed, Series A
Consumer, CPG / D2C +2
Nonprofit created by Illinois law and funded via mandatory utility contributions, recycles returns into deals and connects startups with ComEd and Ameren to tes…
Seed, Series A +1
Energy, Climate +15
$100 – $1,500,000
Hardtech VC focused on hardware-heavy industrial systems (autonomous cargo, robotic farms, solid-oxide fuel cells), acting as a patient, technically literate pa…
Pre-Seed, Seed +3
Deeptech, Hardware +36
IrishAngels is an angel group of over 250 investors affiliated with the University of Notre Dame that invests in seed-stage B2B, consumer, and medical companies…
Seed, Early Stage VC
Software, SaaS +5
Investments ranging from $150,000 to $3,000,000.
Sandalphon leads, co-leads or meaningfully participates in Pre-Seed and Seed stage rounds for B2B SaaS, Marketplace and Consumer startups, primarily in Chicago…
Seed, Early Stage VC +3
Real Estate, SaaS +111
$100 – $1,000,000
Powering the Energy Expansion
Seed, Series A +1
Climate Impact, Software +1
$2M - $5M
Institutional investor in venture capital, private equity, and private debt.
Seed, Series A +7
Software, Internet +22
Listen · Money Talks Ours Listens
Seed, Series A +3
Finance, Crypto +20
We are a seed and early-stage investment firm specializing in ventures born from research.
Seed, Pre-Seed +3
Software, Health Diagnostics +3
A Global Alternative Investment Firm
Seed, Series A +2
Health, Consumer
We’re in the business of
Seed, Pre-Seed +4
Finance, Crypto
The DNS Family
Seed, Pre-Seed +1
Software, Internet +5
Investing in WorkTech
Seed, Pre-Seed +1
Software, Internet +1
Funding the Future of Cannabis
Seed, Series A +3
Software, Internet +8
Investing in Critical Industries
Seed, Pre-Seed +1
Health, Robotics
Growth Capital
Seed, Pre-Seed +3
Health, Climate Impact +44
Go Above and Beyond with Innogate!
Not Seeking Funding
Featured Investments
Seed, Pre-Seed +3
Software, Internet +9
Investing in climate solutions with ambition
Seed, Pre-Seed +3
Software, Internet +38
$10,000,000 – $20,000,000
Bluestein Ventures: we invest in the future of food. We look for game-changing early-stage ventures across the food industry.
Seed, Early Stage VC +2
Software, Internet +3
Early-stage venture capital for enterprise AI
Seed, Pre-Seed +2
Software, Internet +23
Active Partners for Growth
Seed
Health, AI +3
Sfermion is a metaverse-native firm investing in esoteric digital assets.
Seed, Pre-Seed +1
Software, Internet +3
Black-founded, woman-led fund exclusively backing commerce-enablement tech and consumer brands serving Black and Latinx founders and consumers, pairing platform…
Pre-Seed, Seed
AI, Ecommerce
We are a Chicago Based private investment and strategic advisory firm with a focus on technology and business services.
Seed, Pre-Seed +2
Market Research, Analytics +18
The food and agriculture sector is undergoing unprecedented change, driven by demographics, globalization, sustainability pressures, new energy sources and conc…
Seed, Series A +2
Food, Agriculture +2
$1M - $7M
An Innovation Center for All Things HardTech
Seed, Pre-Seed +1
Software, Internet +34
Exelon opens 2026 Climate Change Investment Initiative applications
Seed
Climate Impact, Software +2
Bridge is a Chicago-based Seed-stage venture capital fund investing in software marketplaces and consumer brands within categories in need of innovation.
Seed, Early Stage VC +2
E Commerce, Internet +10
Investing globally in technology entrepreneurs impacting our world.
Series A, Seed +3
Climate Impact, Software +65
$100,000 – $1,000,000
$100K - $300K
Creative Innovation to Fuel Generations
Pre-Seed, Post-Graduation
Media
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What are the best VCs and accelerators in Chicago for 2026?
See the list below filtered to Chicago. We surface top VCs, accelerators, and incubators with current offers and open cohorts for 2026.
Which programs in Chicago have upcoming deadlines?
Check the “Open now” section for the soonest deadlines. Only future deadlines are highlighted; closed cohorts are excluded.
Do programs in Chicago accept remote startups?
Many programs list remote availability. Filter results for remote or review program details to confirm hybrid/on-site expectations.
What funding or equity terms should I expect in Chicago?
Offers vary by program. Look for the offer/terms in each card. Typical ranges span equity-free stipends to seed-size checks for a small equity share.
