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The Venture Codex

Lofty Ventures

110 North Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL, United States

Overview

Investing in Chicago’s future. We help passionate founders, disruptive startups & innovative orgs change the world

Total investments
15
Lead investments
1
Investments · 12mo
2
Active investors
3
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Investment portfolio

  • Theta Neurotech

    Participated · Seed · Mar 2026

    Theta Neurotech is developing a non-invasive wearable EEG patch aimed at forecasting seizures. The company pivoted from a broader consumer "Fitbit for the brain" concept toward a medical wedge focused on epilepsy after identifying clinical demand and behavioral considerations for EEG wearables. Theta has raised $2 million in pre-seed funding to support device development, machine-learning research, and an exploratory clinical study. Co-founders Truman Pierson and Christopher Fitz lead the company. The market for seizure monitoring includes invasive and non-invasive competitors, but non-invasive seizure forecasting remains early-stage and challenging. Several rivals are running exploratory studies, and none have yet reached patients.

  • Binsr Inspect

    Participated · Seed · Nov 2025

    Founded in 2023 by Mark Garcia and Aryash Dubey, Phoenix-based Binsr Inspect develops a proptech platform that applies AI voice, AI video, and automated pricing estimates to modernize the traditionally manual home-inspection workflow. The SaaS product helps inspectors complete reports faster, generate more revenue, and offer a smoother experience to homebuyers and agents. By integrating artificial intelligence throughout the inspection process, the company seeks to turn fragmented tasks into a unified, data-rich workflow. Binsr Inspect’s broader mission is to simplify home buying and ownership, starting with inspections and eventually expanding its toolset across other stages of the real-estate lifecycle. The newly secured capital will be directed toward growing its engineering and operations teams while accelerating nationwide adoption. Although still early, the firm has now raised $1.1 million in external financing to date. No user, revenue, or customer metrics were disclosed in the article.

  • Laxis

    Participated · Seed · Oct 2023

    Laxis offers an AI assistant tailored to revenue teams, with features that automate customer research, create real-time meeting notes and insights, and auto-generate customer requirements and action items. The platform also provides instantaneous AI chat support to assist revenue-generating workflows. Led by CEO Eric Xiao, the company positions its product to help teams enhance productivity and drive accelerated growth. Laxis intends to use new funding to accelerate product development and expand user acquisition. The company raised a seed round reported in October 2023, indicating early-stage external financing and a focus on scaling the product and go-to-market efforts. No operating metrics were disclosed in the article.

  • CutStruct

    Led · Seed · Nov 2022

    CutStruct Technology is building LiveVend, a B2B construction procurement platform that connects buyers (real estate developers, contractors) with vetted vendors while bundling services such as transportation, goods-in-transit insurance and trade credit via Sterling Bank’s Specta for Business. The platform handles vendor vetting, logistics, insurance, fulfilment guarantees and financing behind a simple user interface. CutStruct is led by second-time founders John Oamen (CEO) and Tayo Odunsi. The company has raised $600,000 in pre-seed funding to build and scale the LiveVend product. The round was led by Zedcrest Capital, DFS Lab and Lofty Inc, with participation from angel investors including Kola Aina. Investors cited the large, underdeveloped construction and real-estate vertical in Africa and the opportunity to digitize procurement and improve buyer and seller experiences. The funds will be used to develop the procurement product and expand the platform's services; no revenue or user metrics were disclosed in the article.

  • OmniBiz

    Participated · Series A · Aug 2022

    Omnibiz operates an asset-light B2B e-commerce platform and retail operating system that connects FMCG manufacturers, partner distributors and last-mile logistics to informal retailers via a mobile app, WhatsApp channel and phone ordering. The company offers the MyStore bookkeeping app that integrates procurement, inventory, sales tracking and BNPL working-capital services to improve retailer retention and operations. Omnibiz serves over 3,000 daily active retailers, reports an annual GMV of $130 million, and has expanded to 12 Nigerian cities and into Ghana. The platform partners with more than 70 logistics providers and delivers products from over 200 brands. Founded in 2019 by Deepanker Rustagi and based in Lagos, Omnibiz focuses on retailer loyalty and unit economics rather than broad registered‑merchant counts. The company plans regional expansion into Abidjan, Takoradi, Kumasi and Accra and aims to grow daily active retailers to 10,000 next year. Omnibiz digitizes the informal B2B FMCG supply chain by connecting manufacturers with retailers through a mobile app, WhatsApp channel and a phone number for orders. The company uses an asset-light model: partner distributors warehouse goods while Omnibiz contracts third-party logistics to deliver orders to retailers within 24 hours. It serves more than 20 brands, including Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Kellogg’s, Unilever, Procter & Gamble and Kimberly‑Clark, with top categories of food, non-alcoholic beverages, personal care and baby care. Omnibiz currently operates in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kaduna and plans to add Ibadan and Kano before the end of August, then expand into West African cities such as Abidjan, Takoradi, Kumasi and Accra. The company plans new tech products, expanded category coverage (alcoholic beverages and OTC pharmaceuticals) and tools to improve retailers’ access to working capital and business management. Management reports 30% month-on-month growth over the past 12 months and has raised fresh capital to support expansion.

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