This is a short list of available venture capital and grants, as well as articles on funding. Listed are Midwestern VC firms, government sources of grant funding, and presentations and articles shared by EnterpriseWorks speakers.
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IllinoisVENTURES, Early-stage, research-based companies in information technology, physical sciences, life sciences and clean technology. www.illinoisventures.com
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Open Prairie Ventures, www.openprairie.com
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Serra Capital, www.serraventures.com/serra_capital
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Origin Ventures, specializes in e-commerce, social media and software as a service companies in the Midwest. www.originventures.com
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Hopewell Ventures, www.hopewellventures.com/
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OCA Ventures, www.ocaventures.com
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Apex Venture Partners, focuses on technology-enabled services, information technology and clean technology sectors. www.apexvc.com
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New World Ventures, www.newworldvc.com
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Arch Venture Partners, specializes in the so-called "hard sciences," including advanced semiconductors, biotech, instrumentation, chemicals, etc. They work with researchers at universities and national laboratories to commercialize their innovations. www.archventure.com
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Sandbox Ventures, The Blue Cross Blue Shield Fund II focuses primarily on health care information technology. The Sandbox Advantage Fund will co-invest with the health care fund and also back internally generated projects. www.sandboxindustries.com/FundManagement/Ventures
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Hype Park Venture Partners, Early-stage software-as-a-service and healthcare IT companies in the Midwest. http://www.hydeparkvp.com/
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I2A Fund, Early-stage Illinois companies in technology-enabled services, new media and education, and consumer and retail products. http://www.i2afund.com/
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LEO Capital, Companies with high-growth potential in industries such as kids' entertainment, wireless technology, consumer e-commerce and social media. http://leocapholdings.com/
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Lighbank, Early-stage companies in large, high-growth industries such as social media, the consumer Web and business-to-business technology. http://lightbank.com/
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MK Capital, Interested in digital media, marketing automation, software and education technology. http://www.mkcapital.com/
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OCA Ventures, typically leads or co-leads initial funding rounds; OCA EDGE provides seed capital for consumer-facing web and mobile-commerce startups. http://www.ocaventures.com/
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New World Ventures, investments of the The Pritzker family looking for seasoned entreprenuers who have previously led or worked at startups and are focused on solving problems in large, growing markets. http://www.newworldvc.com/
