---
title: "16 Pre-seed Investors in Illinois (Nov 2026)"
last_updated: "2026-11-06"
rows: "16"
free_rows: "10"
source: "SEC filings"
canonical: "https://theinvestordatabase.com/lists/pre-seed-investors-in-illinois/"
---

# 16 pre-seed investors in Illinois

We list 16 pre-seed investors in Illinois as of November 2026: each has an SEC filing on file, and the list was last checked on 6 Nov 2026. The cities with the most head offices on this list are Chicago (12), Winnetka (2) and Morton Grove (1).

- 16 investors
- 13 with a fund filing or dated deal in the last 12 months
- $51M median fund size on file (SEC Form D, 14 firms)
- 89 named decision-makers on file

## First 10 of 16 pre-seed investors in Illinois

| Investor | Type | HQ | Stages (our research) | Focus (our research) | Latest fund or deal | Fund size | Checked | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Stack | VC firm | Chicago, IL | Pre-seed, Seed | AI, Fintech, Healthtech, Industrial Tech | New fund, Sep 2026 | $125M (SEC Form D, 2024) | 2026-11-04 | https://theinvestordatabase.com/investors/new-stack/ |
| M25 | VC firm | Chicago, IL | Pre-seed, Seed | AI, Healthtech, Generalist, Fintech | New deal, Sep 2026 | $50M (SEC Form D, 2022) | 2026-11-05 | https://theinvestordatabase.com/investors/m25/ |
| Alliance Venture Capital | VC firm | Morton Grove, IL | Pre-seed, Seed | AI, Healthtech, SaaS | New deal, Oct 2026 | $40M (SEC Form D, 2024) | 2026-11-05 | https://theinvestordatabase.com/investors/alliance-venture-capital/ |
| Nine Four Ventures | VC firm | Chicago, IL | Pre-seed, Seed, Series A | Proptech, AI, Fintech, SaaS | Portfolio news, Oct 2026 | $100M (SEC Form D, 2022) | 2026-11-05 | https://theinvestordatabase.com/investors/nine-four-ventures/ |
| LightX Capital | VC firm | Chicago, IL | Pre-seed | AI, Robotics, Healthtech, SaaS | New fund, Nov 2026 |  | 2026-11-04 | https://theinvestordatabase.com/investors/lightx-capital/ |
| ARCH Venture Partners | VC firm | Chicago, IL | Pre-seed, Seed | Biotech, Healthtech, Deep Tech | New fund, Aug 2026 | $3.0B (SEC Form D, 2024) | 2026-11-04 | https://theinvestordatabase.com/investors/arch-venture-partners/ |
| Capitalize VC | VC firm | Chicago, IL | Pre-seed, Seed | Marketing Tech, AI, Media, Fintech | Portfolio news, Jun 2026 | $10M (SEC Form D, 2021) | 2026-11-05 | https://theinvestordatabase.com/investors/capitalize-vc/ |
| Chingona Ventures | VC firm | Chicago, IL | Pre-seed | AI, Edtech, Fintech, Healthtech | New fund, Jun 2026 | $53M (SEC Form D, 2021) | 2026-11-04 | https://theinvestordatabase.com/investors/chingona-ventures/ |
| Hyde Park Venture Partners | VC firm | Chicago, IL | Pre-seed, Seed, Series A | AI, Fintech, SaaS, Healthtech | New deal, Apr 2026 | $100M (SEC Form D, 2023) | 2026-11-05 | https://theinvestordatabase.com/investors/hyde-park-venture-partners/ |
| UA1 VC | VC firm | Winnetka, IL | Pre-seed, Seed, Series A | Defense Tech, Industrial Tech, Deep Tech, Robotics | New fund, Apr 2026 | $21M (SEC Form D, 2025) | 2026-11-04 | https://theinvestordatabase.com/investors/ua1-vc/ |

You are seeing 10 of 16. The full list adds 6 more investors and 89 named decision-makers.

Get all 16 investors and 89 named contacts, $49, one-time: https://theinvestordatabase.com/buy/list/pre-seed-investors-in-illinois
This page: https://theinvestordatabase.com/lists/pre-seed-investors-in-illinois/

## Method and limits
- Source: All 16 rows carry an SEC filing (Form D or Form ADV). All 16 have a website we checked. Filing date and fund size are SEC data where a filing exists. Stage, sector and check size are our research.
- Inclusion rule: Organizations that back startups. Individuals, buyout funds and firms we found to be inactive are left out. Stage: the firm states that it invests at pre-seed. Place: head office in Illinois.
- Order: Activity score out of 100: recency of the latest fund filing or dated deal (40: full marks within 3 months, then stepping down at 6, 12 and 24 months), stage focus (15: all of it when pre-seed is the only stage the firm states, split evenly when it states more), stated focus on the US (15: full marks when the firm names the US as where it invests, half when it says global), size of the fund on file on a log scale (20) and completeness of the public record (10). Stage and regional focus are our research, not an SEC figure. It is a measure of activity and fit, not of quality or returns.
- Fill rates: Of 16 rows: stage 16, sector 16, fund size 14, website 16. In the paid file: named decision-makers on 16 rows, firm email on 5, LinkedIn page on 11, check size on 2.

## Questions
### How many pre-seed investors in Illinois are there?
We list 16 as of November 2026. 13 of the 16 have a fund filing or a dated deal in the last 12 months. The cities with the most are Chicago (12), Winnetka (2) and Morton Grove (1).

### Which pre-seed investors in Illinois raised a new fund in the last 12 months?
8 of the 16 have a fund filing dated in the last 12 months. The most recent on this list are LightX Capital (Nov 2026), New Stack (Sep 2026) and ARCH Venture Partners (Aug 2026).

### What is the typical fund size of pre-seed investors in Illinois?
The median fund size on file for this list is $51M, across the 14 firms with a size on an SEC Form D. The fund on file is each firm's main fund, which is not always its newest. The other 2 do not disclose a size there.

### How do I contact pre-seed investors in Illinois?
The paid file holds 89 named decision-makers across 16 of these 16 and a firm email for 5. We publish the address a firm lists itself, never a personal email. Each free row links to a profile with the firm's website.

### Where does the data on pre-seed investors in Illinois come from?
All 16 rows have an SEC filing on file (Form D or Form ADV). Filing date and fund size come from the filing. Stage, sector and check size are our research. Rows on this list were last checked on 6 Nov 2026 at the latest. The whole file is re-verified twice a year.