RiseChain Ventures Closes $120M Seed Round

We are thrilled to announce the official close of RiseChain Ventures' inaugural fund: a $120 million Seed Round vehicle anchored by Battery Ventures, one of the world's most respected technology investment firms. This milestone marks the beginning of a new chapter for seed-stage investing in B2B SaaS and consumer technology — and a commitment to the exceptional founders building the future.

The Origin of RiseChain Ventures

RiseChain Ventures was founded on a simple but powerful conviction: the earliest stage of a company's life is also the most consequential. The people, culture, and product decisions made between zero and one define whether a startup will become a category leader or a footnote. Too many talented founders have lacked access to the capital, operational guidance, and network needed to maximize that critical early window.

Our founding team has spent decades operating and investing in technology companies. Collectively, we have built and scaled software businesses from inception through public market exits, and we have seen firsthand what separates the companies that break through from those that stall. That experience forms the foundation of everything RiseChain does.

Based in Chicago, Illinois, we believe that exceptional founders exist everywhere — not just in the corridors of Sand Hill Road. The Midwest has produced some of the most enduring technology companies of the last two decades, and we are proud to be planting our flag at the center of that ecosystem while investing nationally.

What the $120M Seed Round Means

With $120 million in committed capital, RiseChain Ventures is positioned to write meaningful seed checks — large enough to provide genuine runway, small enough to remain appropriately stage-appropriate. Our typical first check ranges from $1 million to $4 million, with reserve capital allocated for follow-on participation in our highest-conviction portfolio companies.

This fund size is deliberate. We are not trying to be all things to all founders. We are a focused, high-conviction seed fund that concentrates attention and resources on two verticals: B2B SaaS and consumer technology. Within those lanes, we bring pattern recognition built over hundreds of investments, operating roles, and board seats.

The capital closed in June 2021 came from a diverse set of institutional limited partners, family offices, and strategic individuals — anchored by Battery Ventures, whose participation reflects deep alignment on thesis, team, and approach. Battery's involvement is not merely financial; it brings access to one of the most powerful networks in global technology investing.

For our portfolio companies, the Battery Ventures anchor means privileged access to enterprise customer introductions, connections to growth-stage investors for future rounds, and a bench of operating partners who have scaled companies through every stage of growth. This is a structural advantage that very few seed funds can offer.

Our Investment Thesis: Why B2B SaaS and Consumer Tech

We have made a conscious choice to focus our thesis rather than dilute attention across every category of software. B2B SaaS and consumer technology represent two of the most durable, high-margin, and scalable models in the history of venture-backed companies. Here is why we have conviction in both.

B2B SaaS: The Infrastructure of Modern Business

Software-as-a-Service for businesses has fundamentally reshaped how enterprises operate. Workflow automation, revenue intelligence, customer success platforms, data infrastructure, and vertical SaaS solutions are no longer nice-to-haves — they are the operating systems of modern organizations. The total addressable market for B2B SaaS continues to expand as every industry digitalizes and as cloud adoption matures from early adopters to mainstream enterprises.

At the seed stage, we look for B2B SaaS companies with three things: a founder with genuine domain expertise and insight into an underserved problem, early evidence of product-market fit in the form of customer traction even if pre-revenue, and a business model with a credible path to strong net revenue retention. We do not require a polished product or a full sales team — we invest in the earliest signal that something real is happening.

Consumer Tech: Building Platforms with Behavioral Gravity

Consumer technology investing has a reputation for being hit-or-miss, and that reputation is not entirely undeserved. The graveyard of failed consumer apps is vast. But the companies that succeed — the ones that build genuine behavioral habits at scale — create some of the most valuable businesses in history. We invest in consumer technology with a rigorous framework: strong viral loops, measurable retention mechanics, and a clear monetization pathway that does not depend solely on advertising.

Our sweet spot in consumer tech includes marketplace platforms, FinTech and payments, social commerce, and location intelligence. These are categories with proven business model precedents, large total addressable markets, and the ability to create winner-take-most dynamics when executed with excellence.

The Battery Ventures Partnership: What It Means in Practice

Being anchored by Battery Ventures is not a logo on a website. It is a living, operational partnership that benefits every company in our portfolio. Battery Ventures has invested in over 300 companies across multiple decades and has a portfolio that includes some of the most consequential software companies ever built. Their network spans enterprise CIOs and CTOs, growth-stage venture funds, investment banks, and talent communities.

For RiseChain portfolio companies, this means concrete advantages. When a founder needs an enterprise customer introduction, we can open doors that would otherwise take years to reach. When a company is ready to raise its next round, we have warm relationships with the best growth-stage funds. When a founding team needs to hire its first VP of Sales or VP of Engineering, we can connect them with tested operators from Battery's extended network.

We believe that the best venture partnerships are ones where every party wins together. Battery Ventures' anchor in RiseChain reflects mutual conviction that the seed stage is where the most important value creation begins — and that backing the right founders at the earliest moment is the most leverage any investor can have.

Who We Are Looking For

We do not have a rigid checklist for the founders we back. What we do look for, consistently, is a combination of depth and drive. By depth, we mean founders who have lived the problem they are solving — who have domain expertise, customer empathy, and a point of view on the market that is not available to an outside observer. By drive, we mean founders who are unreasonably committed to their mission, resilient in the face of setbacks, and capable of recruiting a team around a vision.

We love technical founders who understand their market, and we love domain-expert founders who have found strong technical co-founders. We are stage-agnostic in the truest sense: we will invest pre-product if the founder and market are compelling, and we will invest in companies with early revenue if the trajectory is exceptional. What we do not invest in is unexamined ideas with no customer validation and no differentiated insight.

Geography is not a constraint. While Chicago is home base, we invest nationally and look for the best founders wherever they are building. We have a particular appreciation for founders outside of the traditional coastal hubs who may be underserved by the existing venture ecosystem.

Key Takeaways

• RiseChain Ventures has closed a $120M Seed Round fund, anchored by Battery Ventures, in June 2021.
• The firm focuses exclusively on seed-stage B2B SaaS and consumer technology investments.
• Typical first checks range from $1M to $4M, with reserves for follow-on participation.
• The Battery Ventures anchor provides portfolio companies with privileged access to enterprise networks and growth-stage investors.
• RiseChain invests nationally with a home base in Chicago, IL.
• The fund is designed to serve founders at the critical zero-to-one stage with capital, network, and operational guidance.

What Comes Next

With the fund close behind us, the work of building a great portfolio begins in earnest. We are actively meeting founders across B2B SaaS and consumer tech, evaluating opportunities against our investment thesis, and writing first checks into companies we believe have the potential to define their categories.

We will be sharing our thinking publicly through the RiseChain Insights platform — publishing perspectives on seed-stage investing, B2B SaaS growth, consumer tech trends, go-to-market strategy, product-led growth, and the craft of building exceptional companies. We believe transparency builds trust, and we want the founders we have not yet met to understand how we think before they walk in the door.

If you are building a B2B SaaS or consumer technology company and are preparing to raise a seed round, we would love to hear from you. Visit our contact page or reach out directly to any member of our investment team. We move fast, give honest feedback, and respect your time regardless of whether we invest.

This is the beginning of something we are building for the long term. We are grateful to our limited partners for their trust, to Battery Ventures for their partnership, and above all to the founders who will entrust us with their earliest and most important capital. We do not take that responsibility lightly.