InvestHER Ventures

InvestHER Ventures is a Chicago-based venture capital firm founded in 2016 by Gerri Kahnweiler and Cayla Weisberg, and is the first and only venture fund solely dedicated to female-founded technology startups in the Chicago market. The firm invests $50,000 to $250,000 per deal at the seed stage, with follow-on capacity into Series A rounds, in data-driven technology companies with a business-to-business component targeting untapped markets. The core investment criterion is that at least one female executive must hold equity in the company. Kahnweiler drives sourcing through her mission to fund women focused on technology-enabled business services and data-driven solutions, while Weisberg focuses on identifying strong female founders with technology-enabled solutions from within the Chicago startup community. Over its decade of operation, InvestHER has invested in 14 companies with 3 portfolio acquisitions. The portfolio includes PartySlate, an events platform; BallotReady, a civic technology and election information company acquired by Civitech in May 2025; Caribu, an interactive video calling platform for families; CNote, an impact investing platform; KnowledgeHound, a market research search engine that was acquired; Wisr Inc., an alumni engagement platform that was acquired; Codeverse, a kids coding education platform that was acquired; Bridgit in construction management; Drive My Way in the truck driver marketplace; and Artemis in real estate technology. InvestHER provides portfolio companies with active mentorship and network access within the Chicago tech ecosystem, positioning itself as a hands-on partner beyond capital. The firm is recognized among the top female-led venture capital firms nationally and plays a distinctive structural role in directing institutional seed capital toward female-led founders in a market where that category has historically been significantly underfunded.