What Inoca Capital does

Inoca Capital is a privately-held investment firm founded in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Operating under the name "Inoca Capital Partners" in deal-related disclosures, the firm functions as a venture capital investor focused on early-stage technology companies, with a documented thematic emphasis on artificial intelligence and data infrastructure. The firm is led by founder and managing director Chris Sheffert and operates with a small team of 1–10 employees.

The firm's recent disclosed activity consists of two investments within a five-month window: a $5 million lead investment in the Series A of 7Rivers, an AI-driven data modernization technology services company operating as a Snowflake Elite Partner (announced February 2026), and a $4.9 million co-led Seed round in DataJoint, a data management and AI SaaS platform serving academic and life sciences sectors, syndicated with Nina Capital and Capital Factory (announced September 2025). No additional portfolio companies, fund vintages, AUM, LP base, or team members are disclosed in the available source data.

The business model is that of a traditional venture capital firm, generating revenue through management fees on committed capital and carried interest on realized gains. However, no fund size, fee structure, or performance data is publicly available. The firm has no disclosed products, services, technology stack, pricing model, or operational metrics beyond its investment activity, and there is no evidence of a public-facing technology platform, SaaS offering, or proprietary deal-sourcing infrastructure.

Name

Inoca Capital

Website

https://inocacapital.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Inoca Capital is a privately-held Chicago-based venture capital firm founded in 2012 by Chris Sheffert, investing in early-stage AI and data infrastructure companies through lead and co-lead positions in seed and Series A rounds.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Core offering

Inoca Capital is a private investment firm that provides venture capital funding to early-stage and growth-stage technology companies. The firm, operating as Inoca Capital Partners, focuses on technology and data-focused companies, particularly those leveraging AI and data modernization platforms, having led a $5 million Series A in 7Rivers and co-led a $4.9 million Seed round in DataJoint.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Venture Capital Investment
• Series A Growth Investment Provision of $5 million Series A minority stake investment for AI-driven data modernization technology services companies, as demonstrated by the 7Rivers investment.
• Seed Stage Co-Investment Co-leadership of $4.9 million Seed funding rounds for SaaS data and AI companies serving academic, life sciences, and pharmaceutical sectors, as demonstrated by the DataJoint investment.

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Cleveland Avenue: Chicago-based venture firm backing early-stage technology and growth companies. Comparable to Inoca as a Chicago-anchored, founder-led fund with similar check sizes and stage orientation.
• Sandbox Industries: Chicago-based venture and growth firm focused on technology and innovation. Comparable as a Midwest-anchored, small-team venture investor with overlapping enterprise/data thesis.
• Hyde Park Venture Partners: Chicago-based early-stage venture firm investing in enterprise and consumer tech. Directly comparable to Inoca as a small, founder-led Midwest VC writing Seed and Series A checks in similar categories.
• Drive Capital: Midwest-based growth and early-stage venture firm with a strong enterprise software and data infrastructure focus. Comparable to Inoca given shared regional Midwest base and similar category emphasis on data/enterprise tech.
• M25: Chicago- and Midwest-focused seed venture firm investing in early-stage tech startups. Comparable to Inoca on geography, stage, and lean-team orientation.
• Lightbank: Chicago-based venture firm focused on early-stage enterprise and consumer tech. Directly comparable as a Midwest VC with overlapping enterprise SaaS and data deal profile.
• Foundry Group: Boulder-based venture firm focused exclusively on early-stage software, Internet, and data companies. Comparable to Inoca on AI/data infrastructure thesis and Seed-to-Series A stage focus.

Broad incumbents

• Bain Capital Ventures: Established multi-stage venture firm with strong enterprise/data/AI investment activity. Comparable as a deep-pocketed VC investing in the same AI/data infrastructure categories that Inoca targets.
• Accel: Global venture firm with a long-standing enterprise/cloud/data investing franchise. Comparable as a leading VC competing for the same AI/data infrastructure and SaaS deals Inoca pursues.
• Bessemer Venture Partners: Long-tenured venture firm with a renowned cloud and data infrastructure practice. Comparable on the enterprise data-platform investment thesis that aligns with Inoca's portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/inoca-capital-partners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments6 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Inoca Capital