8 Best Angel Investors in Chicago, Illinois
The best angel investors in Chicago include Hyde Park Angels, IrishAngels, Cornerstone Angels, Heartland Angels, MD Angels, Chicago ArchAngels, Chicago Media Angels, and West Suburban Angels. Chicago, otherwise known as the Windy City, is one of the largest cities in the United States and the Midwest's primary hub for startup innovation.
With early-stage funds and founder programs like LongJump and P33's TechRise pitch competitions supporting new companies, it's no surprise that Chicago is among the best places to create a startup in the United States.
Angel investors in Chicago are also some of the best in the United States. In fact, more than 2,000 of the angel investors and other startup investors in the AngelMatch database are based in Chicago alone. We're going to take you through a handful of the best angel investors in Chicago to help you get the funding you need. Read on to learn more below.
The 8 Best Angel Investors in Chicago
1. Chicago ArchAngels
The Chicago ArchAngels are a group of Chicago-based angel investors who provide risk capital to early-stage and seed-stage companies, both in the Midwest and around the country. The group accepts companies through a referral process within its network and covers a wide range of industries, including life sciences, technology, green technology, energy, and manufacturing.
While the Chicago ArchAngels function as a group, they consist of many individual angel investors, and the group is led by president Suzanne Reade. In a typical year, the ArchAngels invest in around 8 to 10 companies for a combined total of roughly $1.5 million, and the group has a sister organization in Washington, DC.
One recent example of the group's activity is its participation in a $1.6 million seed round for SetBone Medical in 2022.
2. Cornerstone Angels
Cornerstone Angels is another great angel group in the Chicago area. Founded in 2006 by Michael Gruber and based in Northbrook, Illinois, the group focuses on covering the funding gap between startup capital and institutional capital. In short, Cornerstone Angels invests financial resources and provides mentorship and advisory support to developing startups. The group typically invests during the seed round of funding and Series A round of funding.
Cornerstone Angels is a member of the Angel Capital Association and syndicates deals with angel groups nationwide, which helps startups fill out larger rounds.
While Cornerstone Angels doesn't have one specific industry it prefers, the group frequently invests in software, healthcare services, consumer products, manufacturing, and clean technology. One of its better-known portfolio companies is the food ordering platform EatStreet.
3. Heartland Angels
The Heartland Angels are another group that invests in startups in the Chicago area. Founded in 2003 by Ronald Kirschner, M.D., and based in Skokie, Illinois, the group helps startups in a few ways.
First and foremost, the group invests in seed-stage and early-stage companies. The Heartland Angels also look for startups with a unique technology or intellectual property, such as patents, and support their portfolio through mentorship, educational seminars, and internship programs.
The group's mission is to be a catalyst in the process of innovation, and its portfolio spans Midwestern tech, healthcare, and consumer products. One example is the medical device company Attune Medical, which the Heartland Angels backed through its Series C round.
4. Hyde Park Angels
The Hyde Park Angels (HPA) was formed in Chicago. It's been around since 2007, when it was founded by classmates from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and Midwest startups are a priority for the angel group.
HPA invests in enterprise, consumer, and healthcare companies, and its portfolio includes names like Clearcover, Chowbus, and Factor, which was acquired by HelloFresh in a deal worth up to $277 million.
When it comes to track record, the Hyde Park Angels are some of the best angel investors in Chicago. The group is widely regarded as the largest and most active angel group in the Midwest, with a membership of more than 100 entrepreneurs, executives, and venture capitalists and more than 200 investments to date.
5. MD Angels
MD Angels was founded in 2015, so it's one of the newer angel groups in Chicago. Formerly known as TiE Angels Midwest, the group is made up of accredited physician investors, making it the leading physician-based angel group in the Midwest.
MD Angels only invests in the healthcare industry, which does restrict who gets funding. The group targets seed to Series A startups in medical devices, digital health, diagnostics, therapeutics, and health IT, and pools member capital through special purpose vehicles. Companies in the group's portfolio include Packback and Raydiant Oximetry.
MD Angels also co-invests with other investors like VCapital and AngelMD, and the group has already seen an exit: portfolio company BrightWater Medical was acquired by Merit Medical Systems in 2019.
6. Chicago Media Angels
Chicago Media Angels is a media-focused investor group. The group finances and executive-produces media content developed and produced in the Midwest, which is a niche that's often untouched by larger angel groups. While the Chicago Media Angels have a specialized niche, that doesn't mean they don't invest real capital.
Furthermore, the Chicago Media Angels have some of the best angel investors in Chicago for mentorship and collaboration in film. For example, the group backed Once Upon a River, which earned a glowing review from critic Richard Roeper, along with festival features like Adult Children and The Year Between. Aside from capital, the group provides hands-on executive production support.
Depending on the project, Chicago Media Angels invests between $50,000 and $1 million.
7. West Suburban Angels
The West Suburban Angels is a collective of angel investors based in Naperville, Illinois. It has several of the best angel investors in the Chicago area and strives to offer the most value. The group invests across information technology, business services, industrial technology, financial services, consumer products, and healthcare.
The West Suburban Angels held their first investor forum in 2013 and have invested in more than 20 companies since 2014.
What sets this group apart from the other best angel investors in Chicago is how the group invests. Instead of only investing money, the West Suburban Angels also invest in mentorship, drawing on members who are executives and entrepreneurs willing to lend their expertise to startups.
8. IrishAngels
IrishAngels is an investment group that was founded in 2012. The angel network is affiliated with Notre Dame and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, though a Notre Dame connection is not required for the companies it funds. Overall, the goal of IrishAngels is to invest in both people and startups; the mission is to help people and companies grow into a thriving community. Core values of the group include service and transparency.
IrishAngels is also a big angel group. The network consists of roughly 300 Notre Dame-affiliated investors and has deployed more than $53 million into over 80 companies since its inception, including two unicorns and seven successful exits.
In most cases, IrishAngels invests at seed and Series A stages. They're known to be some of the best angel investors in Chicago for early-stage startups.
What's the Most Popular Startup Industry in Chicago?
In Chicago, some of the most prominent startup industries are fintech, healthcare, and logistics. One landmark example comes from healthcare: Glen Tullman, cofounder of Chicago-based 7wireVentures, founded the chronic care company Livongo, which merged with Teladoc Health in 2020 in a deal that valued Livongo at $18.5 billion.
How Do You Connect with Investors in Chicago?
One of the best ways to connect with investors in Chicago is to get involved with the city's startup ecosystem. Hubs like 1871, one of the country's best-known independent innovation centers, and programs like TechRise, which runs pitch competitions awarding non-dilutive grants to Chicagoland founders, put you in the same rooms as active investors.
That said, networking is often challenging and you're not guaranteed to get the startup funding you need at an event. Therefore, one of the best methods to find investors in Chicago is to use AngelMatch's vast database. It contains 125,000+ investors, including more than 2,000 investors based in Chicago.
Connect with the Best Angel Investors in Chicago Today
There are many angel investors in Chicago and AngelMatch has everything you need to connect with them. When you work with AngelMatch, you're connected to a database of 125,000+ potential investors, plus a fundraising CRM and tools like our investor outreach email generator to make your first contact easier. Overall, we remove the hardest part of connecting with investors, which is networking.
