M25 Research
Investment Thesis
M25 is an early-stage venture capital firm based in Chicago, founded in 2015 by Managing Partner Victor Gutwein. The firm invests exclusively in tech startups headquartered in the Greater Midwest, a region it defines expansively to include 13 states and provinces beyond the 12-state U.S. Census definition, adding western Pennsylvania, Kentucky, front-range Colorado, northwest Arkansas, northwest New York, Oklahoma, and Manitoba. Since launch, M25 has become one of the most active institutional investors in the region, backing 150-160+ companies over roughly 11 years. The firm's name is drawn from the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30, which the founders describe as a Biblical framework for wise entrepreneurship and faithful stewardship of capital, a philosophy that shapes both how M25 invests its own capital and how it manages capital entrusted to it by LPs.
Sector Focus
M25 invests broadly rather than in a single vertical. Its own portfolio taxonomy groups companies into Finance & Insurance, Healthcare IT, Horizontal Software (B2B/B2C SaaS), Supply Chain & Industrial, and a broad "Other" catch-all spanning consumer, edtech, proptech, security, legal/regtech, gaming/esports, crypto and hardware. Recent bets include AI-native tools (Prediction Guard for secure enterprise GenAI, Chipp for no-code AI tools, Qwyn AI for pharma manufacturing quality, SweptAI for agentic-system oversight, Promota AI for B2B outreach automation, eGalvanic as an AI copilot for electrical contractors), fintech/insurtech (Oath, Under, Convr, Kin, Breeze, LeverageRX), and healthcare IT (OneDose, Carefeed, Redi.Health, Ripple Science, ITLiti Health).
Stage Focus
M25 invests at Pre-Seed and Seed. The firm runs every prospective investment through a formal scorecard that scores team, market, product, traction, exit & growth potential, funding, and business plan as objectively as possible, with some factors weighted more heavily than others. Diligence is deliberately fast and "no-nonsense" relative to larger coastal firms.
Check Size
Third-party sources (WaveUp, Capboard, VC Beast, EarlyNode) converge on an initial check range of roughly $250K to $2M, with a historical average first check cited around $250K-$275K. M25 frequently participates alongside other investors rather than being the sole check in a round, leaning on its network to help syndicate financings.
Lead Tendency
M25 emphasizes its "expansive networks" and describes itself as thriving on collaboration — helping syndicate deals, encouraging fair terms, and prioritizing long-term relationships over deal control. This, combined with a modest average check size relative to typical seed round sizes, suggests M25 both leads and follows depending on the situation, but is not exclusively a lead investor.
Recent Activity
M25 closed its largest fund to date, a $36.5M Fund IV, in May 2025 to mark its 10-year anniversary (Fund III was $31.8M, closed 2021). The firm has kept up an active pace of new bets into 2026: Immigify (AI-powered U.S. immigration platform, July 2026), Oath (independent verification for AI-native finance, May 2026), Stock (supply-chain platform for excess inventory, May 2026), OneDose (emergency treatment platform, March 2026), Entravia (HR/insurance matching for SMBs, February 2026), Qwyn AI (pharma manufacturing deviation resolution, October 2025), Moonnox (AI for professional services delivery, June 2025), and Prediction Guard (secure enterprise GenAI, May 2025). In May 2025, Abhinaya Konduru was promoted to Partner and several new Venture Partners joined the platform team.
Portfolio Highlights
M25's portfolio spans 120+ identifiable active and exited companies. Notable exits/acquisitions referenced on the firm's own site include SteadyMD, Loop Returns, Metafy, Blumira, Astronomer, PactSafe, Ryvit, BallotReady, and Skyepack-adjacent edtech names, alongside a long tail of smaller exits (Whistle, Playbite, Rentgrata, Yottled, Joshin, Mission Control, Abre, 86 Repairs, and others marked "Exit" on the live portfolio filter). Active, higher-profile names include Authenticx, Rheaply, Axuall, Metafy, Opendorse, Astronomer, Kin, and a growing cluster of applied-AI companies from the last 18 months.
Team
- Victor Gutwein, Managing Partner — Founded M25 in 2015; Kauffman Fellow (Class 22); former leader in Hyde Park Angels; based in Chicago.
- Mike Asem, Founding Partner — Over 150 investments across the Midwest; Kauffman Fellow (Class 24); former board member of BLCK VC; based in Denver.
- Abhinaya Konduru, Partner — Nine years at M25; Kauffman Fellows Class 28; leads M25's internal AI tooling/workflows; based in Chicago.
- Arianna Thornton, Director of Operations — Runs firm operations; previously Community Coordinator for BLCK VC's Midwest Chapter.
- Ruth Brungard, Platform Associate — Joined as an intern in 2021, now full-time on the platform team.
- Ryan Coon, Venture Partner — Former CEO of Avail (rental platform, sold to Realtor.com) and led Realtor.com's Rentals business; 50+ angel investments.
- Guy Friedman, Venture Partner — Co-Founder & CEO of SteadyMD (digital-health telehealth infrastructure); focuses on healthtech and GTM.
- Jonathan Poma, Venture Partner — Director of Go-to-Market Initiatives at Shopify; founder of Loop Returns; scouts Central Ohio.
- Brian Powers, Venture Partner — Founder of PactSafe (acquired by Ironclad); joined Ironclad's leadership post-acquisition.
- Tom Stemm, Venture Partner — Founder of Ryvit (acquired by Trimble); St. Louis-based.
Decision Process
M25 operates as a small partnership (Managing Partner, Founding Partner, and Partner) supported by a bench of Venture Partners who source and advise in their home markets, plus a scorecard-driven diligence process that standardizes evaluation across team, market, product, traction, and business plan.
Founder Preferences
M25 backs technical and operating founders building tech companies headquartered in the Midwest — explicitly excluding companies headquartered in coastal hubs like San Francisco regardless of team quality, "for a variety of strategic and practical reasons." The firm favors founders solving real go-to-market and vertical-software problems across finance, healthcare, industrial/supply chain, and horizontal SaaS.
Geographic Focus
Exclusively the Greater Midwest: Illinois (Chicago, Champaign), Indiana (Indianapolis, West Lafayette), Ohio (Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Akron), Michigan (Detroit, Grand Rapids, Saginaw), Minnesota (Minneapolis), Missouri (St. Louis, Kansas City), Wisconsin (Milwaukee, Madison), Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh), Kentucky (Louisville, Lexington), Nebraska (Omaha, Lincoln), Iowa (Des Moines), and Manitoba, Canada (Winnipeg).