Manifold Ventures

Manifold Ventures is the venture capital arm of Manifold Group, a Chicago-based venture holding company founded in 2010 by Joe Dwyer, Sean Johnson, and Matt Anarde — three practitioners in strategy, venture capital, and entrepreneurship. Originally founded as the digital consultancy Digital Intent, the organization rebranded and restructured in January 2021 into three divisions: Manifold Advisory (consulting), Manifold Ventures (VC fund), and Manifold Studios (incubation and acceleration). The venture arm targets pre-seed, seed, and pre-Series A technology companies in North America, with a notable no-fee management structure that aligns the firm's incentives with founder outcomes. The firm leads rounds. Key sectors include enterprise software, SaaS, data and AI, marketplaces, healthtech, insurtech, cybersecurity, proptech, and privacy. Manifold has invested in or created 26 companies with 3 exits, including 2 acquisitions, with MessageControl among the acquired companies. Recent notable deals include leading Yei Finance's $2 million seed round alongside Outlier Ventures and DWF Labs in 2024, and co-investing in Fantasy.top's $4.25 million seed round with Dragonfly in December 2024. The portfolio is heavily weighted toward enterprise B2B software companies. The Manifold Ventures fund size is not publicly disclosed. The integration of the consulting, VC, and studio arms within a single organization creates an unusual capability for portfolio companies: Manifold Advisory provides paid consulting work to external clients, generating revenue that funds operational costs and maintains the no-fee fund structure, while Manifold Studios can incubate ideas internally before spinning them out as funded companies. This vertically integrated model gives the firm both deal flow and post-investment support advantages within the Chicago technology ecosystem.