What Origin Ventures does

Origin Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 1999 and headquartered in Chicago, with a partner-led presence across San Francisco, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, New York, Washington DC, and Colorado. The firm leads Seed and Series A rounds in technology companies, with its current mandate organized around three AI-centric investment themes: AI Infrastructure (compute, power, language models, security, quantum), AI-Native Software (logistics, supply chain, sales, operations, consumer), and AI Frontier Tech (robotics, defense, electrification, space, materials, manufacturing). Portfolio companies span logistics (Veho, ClearJet, Burq), energy storage (Torus), photonic computing (Opticore), audio AI (AudioShake), clinical AI (Century Health), defense (Swarmbotics), electric aerospace (H3X), and consumer marketplaces (Cameo, Kidizen).

The firm is led by founding partners Steve Miller and Bruce Barron alongside managing partners Brent Hill, Jason Heltzer, and Alex Meyer, supported by partners Scott Stern, Prashant Shukla, Jacquie Marshall Siegmund, investor Carolina Galdiz, and CFO Linda Watchmaker. Operating partners are senior operators from SAP, Google, Twitter, Deloitte, Goldman Sachs, and Bain. The firm derives revenue from management fees (~2% of committed capital) and carried interest (~20% of fund profits) across its fund vintages, with the October 2025 close of Fund VI at $140 million representing its largest disclosed fundraise to date.

Origin Ventures maintains a network-based GTM targeting AI-first founders from seed through Series A, deploying both as lead investor (Century Health, Kidizen) and as syndicate participant (AudioShake, Lemurian Labs, H3X, 15Five, Silkline). With ~9 core team members and 6 historical funds, the firm competes in the upper-mid-tier of US-focused early-stage venture capital, differentiating on partner operating credentials, geographic coverage, and thematic AI focus.

Name

Origin Ventures

Legal name

Origin Ventures Group LLC

Website

https://originventures.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Origin Ventures is a Chicago-based early-stage venture capital firm founded in 1999 that leads Seed and Series A rounds in AI infrastructure, AI-native software, and AI frontier tech, with offices across San Francisco, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, New York, DC, and Colorado, and a $140 million Fund VI closed in October 2025.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Early-Stage Venture Capital

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investors, Nec (6799)

akta.pro primary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA)

Keywords

• Early-stage venture capital
• Seed funding
• Series A investing
• AI startup investing
• Venture capital firm

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Returns: Origin Ventures generates returns through carried interest (typically 20% of profits) and management fees (typically 2% of committed capital) from their venture funds.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Origin Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that leads Seed and Series A funding rounds in technology companies, with a current focus on AI-driven businesses. The firm deploys capital through dedicated funds (most recently Fund VI at $140 million) and supports founders with operational expertise and a coast-to-coast network of operators and investors. Investments span AI Infrastructure (compute, power, language models, security, quantum), AI-Native Software (logistics, supply chain, sales, operations, consumer), and AI Frontier Tech (robotics, defense, electrification, space, materials, manufacturing).

Product overview

Origin Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in AI infrastructure, software, applications, services, and marketplaces. The firm focuses on bold founders leading humanity into the Artificial Intelligence Economy, with investment themes spanning AI Infrastructure (compute, power, language models, security, quantum), AI-Native Software (logistics, supply chain, sales, operations, consumer), and AI Frontier Tech (robotics, defense, electrification, space, materials, manufacturing). Origin Ventures does not develop or sell its own products; rather, it provides capital and partnership to early-stage companies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Origin Ventures Fund VI The firm's sixth venture capital fund, closed at $140 million in October 2025, used to make Seed and Series A investments in AI infrastructure, software, applications, services, and marketplaces. Limited partners commit capital to this fund and Origin Ventures deploys it into early-stage companies.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successful investments in multiple AI-focused companies across various stages and sectors
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers21 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• OCA Ventures: Chicago-based early-stage VC where Origin Managing Partner Jason Heltzer was previously a General Partner. Directly comparable early-stage focus and Chicago footprint.
• Lightbank: Chicago-based early-stage VC focused on Seed and Series A, similar geographic and stage profile to Origin Ventures, often operating in the same Midwest deal flow.
• Corigin Ventures: Early-stage VC that has co-invested with Origin Ventures (e.g., Kidizen Series A). Directly comparable in stage, check size, and Midwest network.
• M25: Chicago-based early-stage VC firm focused on Seed-stage technology companies, with overlapping Midwest deal flow and similar check sizes to Origin Ventures.
• 2048 Ventures: Early-stage VC that co-invested with Origin in Century Health's $5M seed round. Similar Seed-stage focus and AI/infrastructure thesis overlap.
• Hyde Park Venture Partners: Chicago-based early-stage venture capital firm leading Seed and Series A rounds, often co-investing with Origin Ventures in Midwest startup ecosystems. Directly comparable geographic focus and stage.
• 25madison: Venture studio and early-stage investor co-investing with Origin Ventures on AI seed deals. Operates adjacent early-stage model with similar Seed check sizes.

Broad incumbents

• Alumni Ventures: Large multi-stage venture firm with diversified fund-of-funds style operations that has co-invested with Origin Ventures. Broader, more distributed investment approach than Origin's focused early-stage model.
• Bain Capital Ventures: Larger multi-stage VC firm with significantly more AUM that participates across Seed through Growth stages. Competes for AI deals but with substantially larger funds than Origin Ventures.

Emerging players

• Chingona Ventures: Early-stage fund where Origin Investor Carolina Galdiz previously worked. Comparable Seed-stage approach with thematic focus, though smaller AUM than Origin Ventures.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/OriginVentures
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/origin-ventures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments136 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Origin Ventures