# Chicago Ventures

> Chicago Ventures is a VC fund in Chicago backing Software and E-Commerce. See 162 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Chicago, United States
- Total investments: 162
- Last investment: Jul 2026
- Lead investor: 35%
- Fund size: $68M
- Last fund: May 2019
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/3197829
- X (Twitter): http://twitter.com/ChicagoVentures
- Website: http://chicagoventures.com
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChicagoVentures

Chicago Ventures is a VC fund in Chicago focused on Software and E-Commerce. Chicago Ventures partners closely with exceptional entrepreneurs building companies in undercapitalized high-potential ecosystems.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for Chicago Ventures. Shizune tracks 9 team members at Chicago Ventures. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/chicago-ventures?utm_source=investor_profile

## Round sizes

| Stage | Round size |
| --- | --- |
| Seed | $1M–$5.8M |
| Series A | $3M–$11M |
| Series B | $6.2M–$35M |

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Software | 22 | 14% |
| E-Commerce | 18 | 11% |
| Information Technology | 13 | 8% |
| Internet | 11 | 7% |
| Health Care | 11 | 7% |

153 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | 50 | 31% |
| Series A | 45 | 28% |
| Series B | 18 | 11% |
| Funding Round | 16 | 10% |
| Series C | 4 | 2% |

10 stages tracked in total.

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 83 | 51% |
| Canada | 1 | 1% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Kevin Willer | Partner | 28 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/kevin-willer |
| Lindsay Knight | Partner | 1 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/lindsay-knight |
| Peter Christman | Partner | 10 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/peter-christman |
| Rob Chesney | Partner | 10 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/rob-chesney |
| Stuart Larkins | Co-Founder and Partner | 80 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/stuart-larkins |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Buildforce | Buildforce is building the first-ever marketplace and career lifecycle platform for people in construction, starting with the electrical trade. Its end-to-end career platform enables people in the construction trades to maintain consistent work at fair pay and with the benefits of a W-2 employee. Since its launch in 2020, Buildforce has become thego-to partner helping dozens of construction contractors connect with the construction workforce. | $10M | Series A | Jul 28, 2026 |  |
| Guthrie AI | Guthrie AI uses AI to structure RFPs and project information, helping teams quickly understand jobs and bid more effectively. | $4M | Seed | Jul 13, 2026 |  |
| InstaSwitch | InstaSwitch is account activation infrastructure for business banking. | $4.7M | Seed | May 05, 2026 |  |
| Intelligent Legal Solutions | Intelligent Legal Solutions provides software for managing side letters in private funds through its ProVision platform. ProVision centralizes side letter terms, organizes obligations by investor and fund, and maintains a single source of record. The platform automates Most Favoured Nation (MFN) elections and supports workflows to track approvalsand implementation. Users can monitor key dates and generate reports to support ongoing compliance. The product is designed for legal, compliance, and investor relations teams that handle complex side letter portfolios. | $3M | Seed | Mar 09, 2026 |  |
| Annie Labs | Annie is an AI front-desk assistant for dental practices that answers calls, chats with patients, and books appointments. | $4M | Seed | Nov 20, 2025 |  |
| GreenLite Technologies | Delays in construction permitting cost developers over $40 billion a year and are the number one reason for delayed openings. GreenLite is a vertical SaaS platform that deconstructs the black box that is permitting in America by bringing innovation the AEC industry needs. GreenLite’s multi-disciplinary review team combined with our modern softwareplatform shaves weeks and months off the construction permitting process and allows our customers to focus on their core business. Founded by a team with decades of retail development experience, AEC, regulatory, and technology experience, GreenLite provides local expertise with a national reach. We serve as the connective tissue between those that build and city agencies -- increasing transparency, predictability, and visibility. We support our customers nationwide, including global retailers, franchises, EV charging networks, and small businesses, including 5 of the top 10 largest quick-service restaurant brands. GreenLite makes getting a construction permit fast, predictable, and transparent. | $49.5M | Series B | Sep 15, 2025 |  |
| GoodShip | GoodShip is a freight orchestration and procurement platform that streamlines how shippers manage transportation data, bids, and carrier relationships. It integrates tender, contract, performance, and market rate data into a unified dashboard that enables more informed decision-making and efficient RFP processes. The platform supports AI-poweredbid recommendations, scenario modelling, carrier scorecards, and in-app messaging, making it easier to align stakeholders and manage corrective actions. GoodShip plugs seamlessly into existing TMS systems and is purpose-built to enhance collaboration between procurement and operations teams. | $25M | Series B | Aug 12, 2025 |  |
| Entegrata | Entegrata is a legal tech company that allows firms to centralize all of their data safely and securely. The company was founded in 2023 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. | $4.5M | Seed | Mar 19, 2025 |  |
| OneRail | OneRail is a final mile delivery orchestration platform providing real-time visibility, actionable data, and data-driven optimization capabilities for its enterprise clients. OneRail’s cloud-based “delivery switch” simplifies same-day and on-demand delivery execution by connecting the demand signal (POS, eCommerce, ERP) with the ecosystem ofdelivery networks and internal fleets in real-time. The result of OneRail’s centralized view of disparate final mile data enables data-driven optimization, positively impacting the dependability, speed, and cost of final mile fulfillment. | $42M | Series C | Nov 21, 2024 |  |
| FranShares | FranShares will soon let you invest in a diversified portfolio of franchise locations for as little as $500. By adding franchise ownership to your investments, your equity will increase in value over time while you earn passive income from franchise cash flows. FranShares was founded by Kenny Rose, a world renowned franchise expert with a mediareach exceeding 300 million people. He has been featured in Business Insider, Forbes, ABC, and other leading publications. FranShares is partnered with over 500 franchise brands and backed by Chicago Ventures. Join the waitlist today at www.franshares.com. | $4.1M | Seed | Jul 30, 2024 |  |

10 of 162 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Pritzker Group Venture Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/pritzker-group-venture-capital) — VC Fund, 23 deals together
- [Corazon Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/corazon-capital) — VC Fund, 15 deals together
- [FireStarter Fund](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/firestarter-fund) — VC Fund, 10 deals together
- [Hyde Park Venture Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/hyde-park-venture-partners) — VC Fund, 10 deals together
- [Lakewest Venture Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/lakewest-venture-partners) — VC Fund, 10 deals together
- [OCA Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/oca-ventures) — VC Fund, 10 deals together

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## FAQ

### What does Chicago Ventures invest in?

Chicago Ventures invests primarily in Software, E-Commerce and Information Technology startups, most often at Seed and Series A stage. Most of the 162 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### What is Chicago Ventures's check size?

Chicago Ventures typically joins rounds of $1M–$5.8M at Seed, $3M–$11M at Series A and $6.2M–$35M at Series B. These ranges are 10th–90th percentile round sizes calculated from confirmed public funding rounds, so they are a realistic guide to the rounds Chicago Ventures participates in.

### How do I contact Chicago Ventures?

Public channels for Chicago Ventures include LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and the website linked on this profile. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.

### Who are the partners at Chicago Ventures?

The team at Chicago Ventures includes Kevin Willer (Partner), Lindsay Knight (Partner) and Peter Christman (Partner), among 9 team members tracked by Shizune. The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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