# Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

> Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is a VC fund backing Software. See 47 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug…

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Chicago, United States
- Total investments: 47
- Last investment: Apr 2026
- Lead investor: 40%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/polsky-center
- X (Twitter): http://www.twitter.com/PolskyCenter
- Website: http://polsky.uchicago.edu/
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PolskyCenter

Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is a VC fund in Chicago focused on Software and Education. The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago runs two programs that invests in UChicago-affiliated teams: the Edward L. Kaplan, '71, New Venture Challenge (NVC) program and the Polsky Center Accelerator Program. For more information and details on how to apply, please visit: http://chicagonvc.comor http://polskycenter.com/accelerator/

## Contacts

5 contacts available for Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Shizune tracks 8 team members at Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/polsky-center-for-entrepreneurship-and-innovation-accelerator-program?utm_source=investor_profile

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Software | 10 | 21% |
| Education | 8 | 17% |
| Health Care | 5 | 11% |
| Mobile | 4 | 9% |
| E-Commerce | 4 | 9% |

97 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Funding Round | 19 | 40% |
| Grant | 11 | 23% |
| Pre-Seed | 4 | 9% |
| Non-equity Assistance | 4 | 9% |
| Angel | 3 | 6% |

8 stages tracked in total.

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 31 | 66% |
| United Kingdom | 1 | 2% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Alex Hodgkin | Entrepreneur in Residence, Senior Advisor | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/alex-hodgkin |
| Brian O' Connor | Host | 1 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/brian-o-connor |
| Ellen Rudnick | Founder | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ellen-rudnick |
| Gabriel Sulkes | Program Manager | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/gabriel-sulkes |
| Jerome Goodrich | Assistant Director | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/jerome-goodrich |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Qoro Quantum | Qoro Quantum is an information technology company that offers software and quantum computing services. | $750K | Pre-Seed | Apr 09, 2026 |  |
| GameGain | GameGain is a marketplace democratizing sports ownership by connecting fans and retail investors to equity opportunities in sports teams | $7K | Grant | Jun 20, 2024 |  |
| Familial | Familial is a user-friendly and comprehensive software that enables families to collaborate on long-term planning and estate structuring. |  | Non-equity Assistance | Jun 20, 2024 |  |
| BioPack | BioPack manufactures and sells high-performance biodegradable packaging to replace non-degradable polyethylene-based plastics for single-use packaging. | $7K | Grant | Jun 20, 2024 |  |
| Tsay Tea | Tsay Tea is a Taiwanese-American tea company that works directly with family-owned and operated farms to ensure quality and promote their authentic stories. |  | Non-equity Assistance | Jun 20, 2024 |  |
| Zenara | Zenara builds a community focused on holistic health and wellness. | $7K | Grant | Jun 20, 2024 |  |
| ScoutX | Scout provides tools for firms to secure & monetize existing data, automatically. It builds the infrastructure for safe, efficient data commercialization—limiting liability and increasing quality—to fuel next-gen AI/ML training. | $7K | Grant | Jun 20, 2024 |  |
| InsightEd | InsightEd assists schools in understanding and supporting their kids' mental health by delivering tailored assessments and proven solutions, resulting in healthier communities that promote student success. | $7K | Grant | Jun 20, 2024 |  |
| Rayni | Rayni's AI copilot assists researchers in utilizing their equipment like experts, saving months and thousands of dollars while enabling surprising findings. | $7K | Grant | Jun 20, 2024 |  |
| KindEd | KindEd is a non-profit organization that offers a non-digital social media education curriculum aimed at developing high agency and healthy social media use in children. |  | Non-equity Assistance | Jun 20, 2024 |  |

10 of 47 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Ada Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ada-vemtires) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Alsop Louie Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/alsop-louie-partners) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [The University of Chicago Booth School of Business](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/booth-school-of-business) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Foundation Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/foundation-capital) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [gener8tor](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/gener8tor) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Gold House](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/gold-house) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

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## FAQ

### What does Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation invest in?

Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation invests primarily in Software, Education and Health Care startups, most often at Funding Round and Grant stage. Most of the 47 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 Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation?

Public channels for Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation 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 Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation?

The team at Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation includes Alex Hodgkin (Entrepreneur in Residence, Senior Advisor), Brian O' Connor (Host) and Ellen Rudnick (Founder), among 8 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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