# Ceres Venture Fund

Ceres Venture Fund is a Venture Capital based in Northfield, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Venture Capital
- **Headquarters:** Northfield, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Northfield, IL, United States
- **Founded:** 1994
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** ceresventurefund.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/ceres-venture-fund-l-p

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

Ceres Venture Fund is a Chicago-based venture capital firm investing in early-stage companies in healthcare, information technology, and business services. The firm focuses on Midwest-based companies. Founded by Laura Pearl, Ceres Venture Fund has made 12 investments, including a Series B-II investment in Amplifinity on May 19, 2015.

## Sectors

- Enterprise Software
- Digital Health
- Industrial Tech
- FinTech

## People

- Laura Cohen — Managing Director
- Sona Wang — Managing Director

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at Ceres Venture Fund?

Managing Directors Laura Cohen and Sona Wang lead the firm's investment decisions. Cohen and Wang have been with Ceres for more than two decades and are widely recognized in the Midwest venture community for their long-tenured leadership. The firm operates with a small, senior team structure where both Managing Directors are actively involved in sourcing, diligence, and portfolio management.

### Which sectors and geographies does Ceres focus on?

Ceres concentrates on enterprise software, digital health, and industrial technology, investing primarily in the Midwest. The firm's portfolio activity is concentrated in Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan. Ceres has maintained an explicit geographic mandate to back Midwestern founders since its founding in 1994.

### What is Ceres's known posture on co-investments alongside external GPs?

Ceres routinely co-invests alongside other institutional venture firms in Midwest-based portfolio companies. The firm has historically participated in syndicated rounds rather than exclusively leading deals. Ceres's small team size and regional focus make collaborative co-investment a practical path to scaling deployment while maintaining underwriting discipline.

### What notable exits has Ceres Venture Fund achieved?

Ceres's portfolio has generated several notable exits: Cleversafe, an object-storage technology company, was acquired by IBM in 2015; Initiate Systems, a data management platform, was acquired by IBM in 2010; and GoHealth, the Chicago-based health insurance marketplace, went public through a SPAC merger in 2020. These exits span the firm's enterprise software and digital health verticals.

### How large is Ceres Venture Fund's current fund?

Ceres has not publicly disclosed its current fund size. The firm's most recently reported fund, Fund IV, was raised at $100 million (per Venture Capital Journal, 2007). Subsequent fund sizes have not been confirmed through public regulatory filings or press reports. Ceres's current AUM is undisclosed.

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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