Chicago Ventures announced Monday morning that it has closed its second fund with $66M in capital commitments, over $25M more than its first fund, which the early-stage venture capital firm closed in 2013.
The 1871-based VC firm has already invested in 27 companies through Fund II, with half of those being Chicago businesses. According to a recent report from CB Insights, the firm has the highest follow-on rate for all micro-VCs outside of the coasts. Local portfolio companies include tock, Project 44, Catalytic, Curiosity, SpotHero, Shiftgig, G2 Crowd and more.
In addition to officially closing Fund II, Chicago Ventures revealed that it has added to its roster of Entrepreneur Partners / Advisors, which includes Signal’s Eric Lunt, OkCupid's Sam Yagan, Trunk Club’s Brian Spaly, and SteelBrick’s Godard Abel.
Outside of the city, Chicago Ventures has had success investing in Austin, Texas, leading a $3.4M round in infinite io, participating in a $6.3M round for XOR Data Exchange, and joining in on a $3.5M round for Get Smart Content.
The VC firm is led by partners Stuart Larkin and Kevin Willer, with Ezra Galston and Jason Duboe as principals. Chicago Ventures, which launched in 2012, funds early-stage tech-enabled businesses, generally at the seed round ranging from $750K – $1M.
(Image via Chicago Ventures)
