Central Illinois Angels
801 W Main St, Peoria, IL, 61606, United States
Overview
Central Illinois Angels is a membership-based angel investment organization composed of business leaders and professionals in Central Illinois. Central Illinois Angels were launched in late 2009 as an angel investment organization focused on providing equity to opportunities that show a promise of a significant return to its members. Since its inception, the members of Central Illinois Angels have invested over $4.1 million in our 14 portfolio companies. Additionally, Central Illinois Angels are also looking for companies that have a strong management team with relevant experience, an exit strategy for investors, a desire for advice and coaching from investors, and a valuation that fits our risk/reward expectations.
- Total investments
- 2
- Lead investments
- 0
- Investments · 12mo
- 0
- Active investors
- 4
Sector focus
- Business Development
- Finance
- Financial Services
Investment portfolio
- Natural Fiber Welding
Participated · Series B · Apr 2022
Natural Fiber Welding (NFW) is a Peoria, Illinois–based materials-science company that engineers high-performance, plant-based alternatives to petroleum-derived plastics. Its proprietary green-chemistry platform powers two flagship products: MIRUM, an all-natural, plastic-free leather replacement, and PLIANT, the world’s first naturally cured performance rubber outsole. Together these materials form a regenerative, circular platform aimed at footwear, fashion, automotive, and industrial markets. The company positions its solutions as drop-in replacements that match or exceed conventional materials on performance, durability, and aesthetics while radically lowering carbon footprints. NFW is seeing rising demand from global brand partners and has secured strategic backing from investors such as BMW iVentures, Ralph Lauren Corporation, Allbirds, and Asahi Kasei. The latest capital will be used to accelerate commercialization, expand manufacturing capacity, and support ongoing product innovation. No revenue or user metrics were disclosed in the article.
- Aker Technologies
Participated · Equity · Sep 2019
Aker Technologies operates a remote monitoring and analytics platform for precision farming, centered on its TrueCause autonomous crop-scouting platform and Pest Network for under-the-canopy diagnostics. The company began with a surveillance drone network and high-resolution multispectral sensors to serve plots as small as 120 acres. Aker emphasizes detailed analytics and diagnostics under the crop canopy to differentiate from drone, manned aircraft, and satellite image competitors such as Terravion and Taranis. Use cases cited include assessing subterranean soil moisture and drainage to inform tile placement, gauging residue impacts on soil temperature, and documenting crop damage for insurance claims. Aker has early partnerships with several large chemical suppliers and the Danforth Plant Science Center. The company launched in 2016 and plans to use new capital to enhance its platforms, accelerate sensor research and hardware manufacturing, and expand geographically.