What Plains Ventures does

Plains Ventures is a private, for-profit venture capital fund management firm headquartered in Oklahoma City with a regional office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Formerly known as i2E Management Company Inc., the firm rebranded in 2024 and operates as the investment subsidiary of i2E, Inc., a nonprofit founded in 1999 to grow Oklahoma's innovation economy. Plains specializes in Seed and Series A stage funding, typically writing checks of $250K to $1M, and targets founders building companies in software, life sciences, advanced materials, and manufacturing sectors across the US heartland between the coasts. Since inception the firm has deployed more than $105 million into 250+ companies through 452 investments and manages $100 million in assets under management.

The firm's core service is early-stage capital combined with active partnership: it sources deals through the i2E pipeline, OCAST, and Life Science Oklahoma, then leverages a broad co-investor network (including Winrock International, The Venture Center Arkansas Fund, Cortado Ventures, Mercury Fund, Illinois Ventures, Advantage Capital, and the Oklahoma Angel Network) to syndicate rounds and add sector expertise. Beyond capital, Plains provides board participation, strategic guidance, and network introductions from pitch through exit. Complementary founder resources include a free Startup Toolkit with Data Room and Pitch Deck templates.

Plains generates revenue through standard venture fund economics: recurring management fees on its $100M AUM and lumpy carried interest from successful exits. The firm's historical exit portfolio demonstrates material return generation, with nine exits generating $4.25 billion in aggregate equity value, including Oklahoma's first unicorn Alkami ($3.1B at IPO in 2021), Selexys Pharmaceuticals ($665M acquisition by Novartis), and Crescendo Bioscience ($270M acquisition). Recent lead investments include Ordinal ($1M seed, 2025), Cadenza Bio ($2.44M Series Seed, 2024), and Firehawk Aerospace. The firm employs seven named professionals led by President & Managing Director Justin Wilson.

Name

Plains Ventures

Legal name

Plains Ventures

Website

https://plainsvc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Plains Ventures is an Oklahoma-based venture capital fund that invests Seed and Series A capital ($250K-$1M checks) into early-stage companies between the coasts, operating as the for-profit investment subsidiary of nonprofit i2E with $100M AUM and 250+ portfolio companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

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 stage investing
• Series A funding
• Startup equity investment
• Venture capital fund

Headquarters

HQ city

Oklahoma City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Fund Management: Plains Ventures generates returns through venture capital fund management, including management fees on assets under management and carried interest (performance fees) from successful portfolio company exits. The firm has achieved $4.25 billion in total equity value at exit across nine portfolio exits.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Plains Ventures is an early-stage venture capital fund management firm that provides Seed and Series A equity investment, typically with check sizes of $250K to $1M, into companies "between the coasts." Beyond capital, the firm delivers hands-on strategic guidance, board participation, and introductions to its network of co-investors and subject matter experts, working with founders from pitch through exit. The firm also offers free founder resources including a Data Room Example template and Pitch Deck Guidance toolkit.

Product overview

Plains Ventures operates as a venture capital firm offering a unified investment service that combines capital deployment with strategic partnership. Their core offering is early-stage funding (Seed and Series A) paired with hands-on support including network access, strategic guidance, and operational assistance. The firm also provides complementary resource tools including a Startup Toolkit with Data Room Example and Pitch Deck Guidance templates to support portfolio companies and prospective founders throughout the fundraising journey.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Venture Capital Investment Services Early-stage venture capital investment providing Seed and Series A equity funding typically sized between $250K and $1M, combined with strategic guidance, network access, board participation, and operational support to help founders grow companies from pitch to exit. Targeted at founders building companies in software, life sciences, advanced materials, and manufacturing sectors between the coasts.

Quantifiable outcome

• $4.25 billion in total equity value at point of exit across nine portfolio exits
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• i2E, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2007Plains Ventures operates in partnership with i2E, a nonprofit focused on fostering startup growth in Oklahoma. i2E provides access to support, investor connections, and serves as a key source of deal flow. Since 2007, i2E and Plains have invested more than $61 million of equity funding into 58 companies. i2E also developed early-stage companies that may not yet be ready for Plains investment.
• Life Science OklahomacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLife Science Oklahoma plays an active role in expanding the bioscience, medtech, and life science ecosystem in Oklahoma. Their efforts to position Oklahoma as a leader in sciences creates momentum and attracts innovative startups, which serves as a pipeline of investment opportunities for Plains Ventures.
• OCAST (Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOCAST is an Oklahoma state agency focused on growing and diversifying the economy through investment in technology. OCAST fuels research in the technology sector, which leads to the growth of technology-sector startups that serve as deal flow for Plains Ventures.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cortado Ventures: Oklahoma-based early-stage VC firm with overlapping geography, stage focus, and co-investment relationship (e.g., Cadenza Bio). Direct competitor for the same regional deal flow.
• Dundee Venture Capital: Midwest-focused early-stage VC investing in Seed and Series A rounds in non-coastal markets. Directly comparable stage, geography, and fund size profile to Plains Ventures.
• Hyde Park Venture Partners: Chicago-based early-stage VC firm focused on Midwest startups. Comparable regional heartland thesis, early-stage focus, and LP base to Plains Ventures.
• Revolution's Rise of the Rest: Steve Case's seed fund explicitly focused on startups "between the coasts." Shares the same regional thesis as Plains Ventures and competes for similar founders and LPs.
• Atento Capital: Tulsa/Oklahoma-focused VC affiliate of George Kaiser Family Foundation. Co-invests in same Oklahoma startups (e.g., Medefy Health) and competes for the same heartland deal flow as Plains Ventures.
• gener8tor: Midwest-based accelerator and early-stage investment platform. Comparable to Plains in targeting startups outside traditional coastal hubs and running programs that source Seed/Series A deals.
• Mercury Fund: Texas-based early-stage VC investing in startups between the coasts with a similar thesis. Co-invested alongside Plains Ventures in Medefy Health, making it a directly comparable heartland-focused peer.
• 1517 Fund: Early-stage VC firm focused on Seed-stage investing in young founders, including those outside traditional tech hubs. Comparable early-stage thesis and check size to Plains Ventures.
• Drive Capital: Midwest-focused VC firm investing in early-stage startups outside Silicon Valley. Comparable regional thesis, stage focus (Seed/Series A), and active LP base in non-coastal geographies.

Broad incumbents

• Techstars: Global accelerator and early-stage investor with significant heartland presence (Techstars Anywhere, Equitech programs). Larger and broader incumbent operating in the same early-stage space with overlapping portfolio categories.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/PlainsVentures
• Facebookfacebook.com/plainsvc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/plainsvc
• Instagraminstagram.com/plainsventures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments10 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Plains Ventures