Heartland Ventures is a strategic venture capital firm specifically designed to bridge the gap between coastal technology innovation and the industrial heartland of the United States. Founded in 2016, the firm operates as a unique liaison between high-growth technology startups and legacy industrial corporations. By leveraging a massive network of midwestern business leaders, Heartland Ventures provides a platform for "reindustrialization," helping traditional companies modernize their operations while giving startups a direct path to high-value commercial contracts. The firm’s model is built on the belief that the most valuable technology is that which solves the practical, high-stakes problems found in the workshops, warehouses, and construction sites of Middle America.
In January 2026, Heartland Ventures announced the first close of its third fund, Heartland Ventures Fund III, with a target of 60 million dollars. This latest vehicle brings the firm’s total capital managed to over 140 million dollars. Fund III is specifically timed to capitalize on the broader American trend of reindustrialization and the integration of AI into physical labor sectors.
The fund is notable for its investor base, which consists of nearly 1,000 Midwestern industrial owner-operators rather than traditional institutional entities.
This capital is being deployed into early-stage startups that can benefit from Heartland’s ability to secure rapid revenue growth through direct commercial introductions to the firm’s expanded network in cities like Chicago, Cleveland, Louisville, and Milwaukee.
Leadership
The firm is led by Managing Director Max Brickman, who founded Heartland Ventures with the goal of connecting his Midwestern roots with the venture capital ecosystem. Brickman and his leadership team are known for their "boots on the ground" approach, spending significant time within the industrial facilities of their LPs to understand their pain points. The team includes experts in both industrial operations and venture finance, allowing them to translate complex technical specifications into clear business value for their corporate partners.
Investment Strategy
Heartland Ventures employs a customer-led investment strategy that is highly differentiated from typical VC models. Before a check is written, the firm utilizes its network of nearly 1,000 owner-operators to perform deep diligence and stress-test the startup’s product-market fit. This "Customer-Led Diligence" ensures that Heartland only invests in solutions that industry leaders actually want to buy.
Once an investment is made, the firm acts as a powerful business development engine, facilitating warm introductions that often lead to the startup’s most valuable early customers. This strategy reduces the risk of market rejection and significantly accelerates the startup’s path to profitability.
Notable Investments
The firm has built a portfolio of companies that modernize the physical world, including Grabango, StrongArm Tech, 1910 Genetics, and several other undisclosed leaders in industrial automation and supply chain technology.
Notable Exits
While Heartland Ventures is primarily focused on scaling its current portfolio through industrial adoption, it has seen its early-stage bets gain significant follow-on traction from major coastal VCs and strategic acquirers as their portfolio companies become the standard for Midwestern industrial operations.
Other
Heartland Ventures is essentially a "sales-channel-in-a-box" for industrial tech. If your product is ready for a pilot or a large-scale commercial rollout in a manufacturing or construction environment, Heartland can provide a level of market access that is nearly impossible to replicate.
They are less interested in theoretical white papers and more interested in technology that can survive a "real-world" industrial setting. For startups based on the coasts, Heartland serves as the essential gateway to the massive, and often overlooked, industrial economy of the Midwest.
United States
