Insider Brief
- MFV Partners has launched Harper Court Ventures Fund I, a $25 million early-stage fund to support deep tech startups emerging from the University of Chicago ecosystem.
- The fund will invest in approximately 40 pre-seed and seed-stage companies over three years, focusing on quantum computing, AI, life sciences, and energy.
- Initial investments include Flow Medical, SimCare AI, and Beacon—startups led by UChicago affiliates developing technologies for healthcare training, illness prevention, and medical treatment.
MFV Partners, a leading deep technology venture capital firm, today announced the launch of Harper Court Ventures Fund I, a new $25 million early-stage fund dedicated to identifying, investing in, and scaling transformative startups from the University of Chicago ecosystem.
Harper Court Ventures Fund I will focus on pre-seed and seed-stage companies leveraging breakthrough research and innovation originating from UChicago labs, the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation’s programs, faculty and student ventures, and the extensive UChicago alumni network.
The fund, independently managed by MFV Partners, has a formal, exclusive cooperation agreement with the University and aims to bring MFV Partners’ proven investment approach and portfolio support to these early-stage ventures. The fund will target companies in high-impact sectors, including quantum computing, life sciences, energy, and artificial intelligence.
Harper Court Ventures seeks to back visionary entrepreneurs with deep domain expertise and unique, often patented, technology poised to create or lead new categories in large markets. The fund plans to back approximately 40 startups over the next three years.
Investors in the fund include the UChicago Endowment and several members of the University’s Board of Trustees, including Andy Alper, Ken Jacobs, Ashley Duchossois Joyce, Rachel Kohler, Michael Polsky, Emmanuel Roman, and Donald Wilson, among others.
The fund has already made initial investments in three promising UChicago-related companies:
- Flow Medical: Founded by UChicago Medical Center physicians and led by a Chicago Booth alum, Flow Medical is developing a next-generation catheter-based therapy to treat acute pulmonary embolism.
- SimCare AI: Founded and led by former UChicago students, SimCare AI is developing a safe and scalable platform for clinical skills training and evaluation using realistic AI-generated patient conversations.
- Beacon: Founded and led by a Chicago Booth alum, Beacon is reimagining real-time illness prevention with technology that eliminates viruses, bacteria, and molds from air and surfaces.
MFV Partners, founded in 2018 and based in Silicon Valley, has a track record of investing in early-stage deep tech startups that have become category leaders, including companies in quantum computing, robotics, AI, and energy and climate technologies. Karthee Madasamy, a University of Chicago Booth School of Business alum, leads the MFV team, bringing decades of experience in technology leadership and deep tech investing with many successful exits.
“Through this partnership, we aim to cement Chicago’s position as a deep tech hub in the Midwest by bringing our proven approaches to early-stage ventures in the University of Chicago’s ecosystem,” said Madasamy. “Our collective strength will add to the University’s globally recognized leadership position in research and benefit society by scaling promising ventures to commercial success.”
UChicago is uniquely positioned to develop and scale technologies that address some of humanity’s greatest challenges. The University ecosystem features more than 160 interdisciplinary institutes and centers, 50 state-of-the-art core facilities, and 101 affiliated Nobel laureates. It is also home to a world-renowned business school and is the steward of two U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories: Argonne National Laboratory and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.
“We are pleased to have a new partner in Harper Court Ventures,” said University of Chicago President Paul Alivisatos. “Their support stands to provide strong momentum to the University’s efforts to translate the most high-potential deep tech ideas into real-world applications – and to enhance the potential of achieving breakthroughs to shape the future in service to society.”
The Harper Court Ventures team will work closely with leadership at the University’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation to identify promising startups.
“As a deep tech startup founder, I know how difficult it can be to raise early-stage capital, without which even the best ideas can stall,” said Samir Mayekar, Managing Director of the Polsky Center. “The launch of Harper Court Ventures will help ensure innovations in the University of Chicago ecosystem have the best chance of succeeding – giving entrepreneurs the runway needed to hit key milestones and accelerate their path to market. This announcement is testament to the collaboration and power of the University and Chicago Booth network and the work happening here across the quantum, AI, clean energy, and life sciences spaces.”
