Harper Court Ventures Fund I launched today with $25 million to back pre-seed and seed-stage startups emerging from the University of Chicago ecosystem, having secured the university endowment as a limited partner.
Several members of the UChicago board of trustees – including Andy Alper, Ken Jacobs, Ashley Duchossois Joyce, Rachel Kohler, Michael Polsky, Emmanuel Roman, Donald Wilson, and others – have also backed the fund.
In a move that emulates a model pioneered by UC Berkeley, a sizeable portion of the fund’s carry will be donated back to the university and the Polsky Center to drive faculty and student innovation.
Although it is an independent investment vehicle, fund manager MFV Partners has signed a formal, exclusive cooperation agreement with the university to gain access to companies originating from UChicago laboratories and programmes run by the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation – including faculty, student and alumni 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.
“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.”
Samir Mayekar, managing director of the Polsky Center
Harper Court Ventures will target sectors including life sciences, energy, artificial intelligence and quantum computing, following Silicon Valley-based MFV Partners‘s existing focus on these deep tech areas. MFV will collaborate closely with the Polsky Center to identify potential investees.
The fund envisages making 40 investments over the next three years. It has already made three initial commitments:
- Flow Medical was founded by UChicago Medical Center doctors and is working on a catheter-based treatment for acute pulmonary embolism;
- SimCare AI was founded by UChicago alumni and is developing a safe and scalable platform for clinical skills training and evaluation using realistic AI-generated patient conversations; and
- Beacon, founded by a UChicago alumnus, is using an ultraviolet germicidal irradiation called Far-UVC to eliminate viruses, bacteria, and moulds from air and surfaces.