WI

Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF Ventures)

VC
Madison, WIWebsite

Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF Ventures) is a Pre-Seed, Seed venture capital firm based in Madison, WI investing in Other, Deep Tech, Healthcare. The firm typically writes $250K–$2.0M checks and has 65 portfolio companies in our records.

Check size
$250K–$2.0M
Portfolio
65 companies on record
Partners
18 listed
Stage
Pre-Seed, Seed
Sectors
Other, Deep Tech, Healthcare, AI / ML, Climate / Energy, EdTech
HQ
Madison, WI
AUM
Not in our records

Last verified: 2026-04-12

How to approach: warm intro preferred
Stage

Pre-Seed, Seed

Check Size

$250K – $2.0M

Portfolio

65+ companies

Team

18 partners

Investor activity
Investments in last 12 months: 0

Investment Thesis

Supports commercialization of UW–Madison innovations and Wisconsin-based technology startups, including deep tech and materials-derived IP.

How Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF Ventures) invests

Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF Ventures) is a vc firm based in Madison, WI. The firm invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed stages, with a focus on Other, Deep Tech, Healthcare, AI / ML, Climate / Energy.

Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF Ventures) typically writes checks of $250K–$2.0M per investment.

Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF Ventures) has backed 65 companies in our records, including NeuWave Medical (historic WARF-related), Exact Sciences (historic Wisconsin ecosystem), AIQ Solutions Inc..

Partners & Team

LT

Lysa Thoeny

Chief Financial Officer

GK

Greg Keenan

Senior Director

MF

Michael Falk

Chief Intellectual Property Officer

MP

Mike Partsch

Chief Strategy Officer

AH

Alain Hung

Deputy Chief Investment Officer

JB

Jeanine Burmania

Senior Director of Intellectual Property

MM

Maureen Miner

Director of Human Resources

JG

Jennifer Gottwald

Director of Licensing

SW

Stephanie Whitehorse

Director of Intellectual Property

BF

Beth Fischer

Director of Intellectual Property

AV

ARCH Venture Partners

Partner

SC

Sands Capital

Partner

NV

Northpond Ventures

Partner

WV

WARF Ventures Team

Investment Team

UW-Madison commercialization
Deep tech
WI

Wisconsin Investment Board

Partner

DK

Deborah Keller

Board Chair

Governance

WARF appoints Deborah Keller board chair

GN

Goutham Narla

Chief Scientific Officer

Drug Discovery
Translational Medicine

Physician-scientist and drug discovery leader to guide next phase of translational medicine program

JY

Jeanan Yasiri Moe

Principal

Communications
Public Relations

Director of Strategic Communications and Public Affairs

Industry Focus

Invests In

Other
Deep Tech
Healthcare
AI / ML
Climate / Energy
EdTech

Portfolio Companies (65)

Other

NE

NeuWave Medical (historic WARF-related)

Medical Devices
EX

Exact Sciences (historic Wisconsin ecosystem)

Diagnostics
AI

AIQ Solutions Inc.

Healthcare AI·Early-stage

Algorithm-enabled service improving care for late-stage cancer

AL

Alithic

Cleantech·Early-stage

Carbon capture and mineralization for restorative infrastructure

AL

AlfaLight

Photonics/Defense·Early-stage

Reliable, rugged and efficient laser and electro-optical systems for defense and security applications

AR

ArunA Biomedical Inc.

Biotech·Early-stage

Stem cell research tools

AS

Asterias Biotherapeutics Inc.

Biotech·Early-stage

Therapies based on pluripotent stem cells

AT

Atrility Medical

Medtech·Early-stage

Device to improve atrial arrhythmia diagnosis

BE

BellBrook Labs LLC

Life Sciences Tools·Early-stage

Innovative and optimization tools for researchers

BI

BioSentinel Inc.

Diagnostics·Early-stage

Rapid, sensitive tests for the detection of botulinum neurotoxins

How to pitch Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF Ventures)
  • Raising at Pre-Seed, Seed? You're squarely in their sweet spot.
  • Lead with your fit in Other, Deep Tech, Healthcare — the sectors they actively back.
  • Size your ask to their typical $250K – $2.0M check.
  • warm intro preferred
  • Address your outreach to a specific partner, such as Lysa Thoeny, Chief Financial Officer.
  • A warm introduction beats a cold email. Get matched and request an intro.

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