CHAMPAIGN, ILL (WAND) - Illinois Ventures, the University of Illinois System's venture capital arm, and prominent University of Illinois alumni will join to help finance, support, and mentor early-stage companies with university roots through the Illini Angel Network.
It will support early-stage companies that have founders or leadership who are connected to the U of I System family – faculty, alumni, or students from any of the three universities, as well as companies that license university technology.
"It's hard to raise money for an early stage company but there are many many alumni out there who have been very successful as entrepreneurs and are interested in making investments in early stage companies, including ones that are connected to the university, their alma mater." Tom Parkinson, the Senior Director of Illinois Ventures says about Illini Angels. "We're creating Illini Angels to create a vehicle to make that possible in an organized way." He ads.
That support will include seed funding, advice, and mentorship. The angel network plans to focus on innovative companies that leverage the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s expertise in fields like engineering, computer science, healthcare, ag tech, and energy.
“There’s been such pent-up demand for this idea. Illinois entrepreneurs, faculty, and staff are regularly approached by alumni who would like to invest in or engage with our university startups. They know that great opportunities are born there every day,” said Nancy Sullivan, CEO and managing director of Illinois Ventures.
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is the number three public university for raising capital, according to PitchBook. Its alumni have started nearly 550 companies that have raised more than $21 billion.
