# Independence Equity

> Independence Equity is a VC fund in Northbrook backing Mobile and Water. See 6 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Northbrook, United States
- Total investments: 6
- Last investment: Oct 2018
- Lead investor: 17%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/independence-equity/about/
- Website: http://www.independence-equity.com

Independence Equity is a VC fund in Northbrook focused on Mobile and Water. Independence Equity, an early-stage firm, invests in companies commercializing technologies that improve resource utilization.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for Independence Equity. Shizune tracks 1 team members at Independence Equity. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/independence-equity?utm_source=investor_profile

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mobile | 2 | 33% |
| Water | 1 | 17% |
| Consumer | 1 | 17% |
| Delivery | 1 | 17% |
| Hardware | 1 | 17% |

15 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Series A | 2 | 33% |
| Seed | 1 | 17% |
| Series B | 1 | 17% |
| Funding Round | 1 | 17% |
| Convertible Note | 1 | 17% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Michael Gruber | Partner | 10 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/michael-gruber |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| EatStreet | EatStreet is an online and mobile food ordering service that streamlines commerce between restaurants and diners. To college students and young professionals, EatStreet is a smart, simple, and affordable way to order delivery and takeout from their favorite restaurants. To restaurant owners, EatStreet is a one-stop-shop for online ordering andmarketing. By providing web, mobile, and social products for online ordering, EatStreet brings in new business for restaurants. Diners enjoy the upside of fast, simple ordering while restaurants see their sales soar.Founded in 2010, the company is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. | $6M |  | Oct 09, 2018 |  |
| Algal Scientific | Algal Scientific has two distinct business units that serve the animal feed, human nutrition, and wastewater treatment industries. One unit is focused on the production of their ProGlucan beta-glucan products for animal feeds and human nutrition. The second unit is dedicated to the commercialization of their Hypertrophic wastewater treatmentsystem, which they license to customers in the food and beverage industry.It was acquired by Kemin Industries in March 2017. It was founded in 2017 and is based in Plymouth, Michigan. | $2M | Convertible Note | Sep 09, 2016 |  |
| Algal Scientific | Algal Scientific has two distinct business units that serve the animal feed, human nutrition, and wastewater treatment industries. One unit is focused on the production of their ProGlucan beta-glucan products for animal feeds and human nutrition. The second unit is dedicated to the commercialization of their Hypertrophic wastewater treatmentsystem, which they license to customers in the food and beverage industry.It was acquired by Kemin Industries in March 2017. It was founded in 2017 and is based in Plymouth, Michigan. | $7M | Series B | Mar 01, 2015 |  |
| NuCurrent | NuCurrent is a developer of high-efficiency antennas for wireless power applications. Compliant across Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP), Wireless Power Consortium (Qi) and Power Matters Alliance (PMA) standards, NuCurrent works closely with electronic device OEMs and integrators to custom-design, rapid-prototype and integrate the optimal antennafor a broad range of applications. NuCurrent’s patented designs, structures, and manufacturing techniques mitigate typical high-frequency effects, offering higher efficiency, smaller sizes, higher durability, and lower cost with wireless power application development.It was founded in 2009 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. | $3.5M | Series A | Oct 21, 2014 |  |
| Algal Scientific | Algal Scientific has two distinct business units that serve the animal feed, human nutrition, and wastewater treatment industries. One unit is focused on the production of their ProGlucan beta-glucan products for animal feeds and human nutrition. The second unit is dedicated to the commercialization of their Hypertrophic wastewater treatmentsystem, which they license to customers in the food and beverage industry.It was acquired by Kemin Industries in March 2017. It was founded in 2017 and is based in Plymouth, Michigan. | $3M | Series A | Apr 28, 2014 |  |
| Intellihot | Intellihot manufactures tankless water heater systems for residential and commercial applications. The system developed after several years of extensive research and development has been recognized for its innovative design and has several patents pending. The company traces its humble beginnings to winter of 2005 when a traditional water heaterbroke down and flooded the basement of the founder. | $325K | Seed | Sep 01, 2012 |  |

6 of 6 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Formation 8](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/formation8) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [Huron River Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/huron-river-ventures) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Ann Arbor SPARK](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ann-arbor-spark) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- Central Illinois Angels — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [CornerStone Partners LLC](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/cornerstone-partners-llc) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [CSA Partners LLC](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/csa-partners-llc) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## Similar investors

### Similar stage
- [Antler](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/antler-be9c) — VC Fund
- [Alumni Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/alumni-ventures-group) — VC Fund
- [General Catalyst](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/general-catalyst-partners) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does Independence Equity invest in?

Independence Equity invests primarily in Mobile, Water and Consumer startups, most often at Series A and Seed stage. Most of the 6 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### How do I contact Independence Equity?

Public channels for Independence Equity include LinkedIn 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 Independence Equity?

The team at Independence Equity includes Michael Gruber (Partner). 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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