- Grit Road Partners, a Nebraska-based agtech VC, launched Fund II targeting $35 million, has completed an initial close, and is already investing.
- Fund I raised about $11–$11.25 million and built a 23-company seed-stage portfolio, including eight companies now headquartered in Nebraska.
- Fund II will enable larger initial and follow-on checks so the firm can lead more rounds and support winners longer.
- The strategy remains seed-stage agtech with traction and formal raises of at least $500,000, prioritizing Midwest founders without a hard geographic limit.
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Grit Road Partners now entering its second fundraising chapter with Fund II at a $35 million goal signals growing confidence in agtech investment opportunity within the Midwest. This represents over a threefold increase from its first fund—$11.25 million as reported in early January 2026—or $11 million according to earlier announcements. The increased fund size reflects both ambition and an operational need for larger check sizes and follow-on capacity, which Fund I’s average check size of about $250,000 could not always support when leading deals.
Strategic focus continues to be seed-stage companies showing early indicators of product-market fit, with formal financing rounds of at least $500,000. Foundations are being laid for leadership in both value-chain diversity—from livestock sensors to food processing—and geographic depth in the Midwest, with eight out of twenty-three Fund I companies being headquartered in Nebraska; others are moving in to benefit from ecosystem proximity. This aligns with Grit Road’s mission to grow agtech innovation hubs outside of traditional coastal venture hotbeds.
By raising most of Fund I from agriculture companies, trade associations, and producers, Grit Road anchored its capital base deeply within the industry it intends to serve, potentially giving portfolio companies access to domain knowledge and customer relationships. The firm also plays an ecosystem connector role—through partnerships like Invest Nebraska and The Combine—and is addressing founders’ unmet needs in operational support, HR, finance, and sales.
However, several open questions persist: how quickly Fund II will reach full close; whether Grit Road can source sufficient deal flow to deploy larger checks while maintaining selectivity; how follow-on funding will come from other investors; and whether the increased financial stakes will translate into higher returns while remaining true to the firm’s industry-centric, mission-driven identity.
Supporting Notes
- Grit Road’s Fund II target is $35 million; initial close completed and deployment has begun.
- Fund I was sized at $11.25 million (or $11 million as originally announced in 2023), and built a portfolio of 23 companies.
- Of those 23 companies, eight are now headquartered in Nebraska; six formed there, plus two relocated (HerdDogg and Cattler) to Nebraska.
- Typical investments in Fund I were about $250,000; Fund II is intended to support larger checks and more substantial follow-on allocations.
- Investment focus: seed stage, early signs of product-market fit, teams raising at least $500,000 formal rounds. Geography: Midwest priority, not exclusive.
- Leadership includes co-founders Ben Williamson and Mike Jung; Williamson was previously principal & general counsel at Invest Nebraska until full-time at Grit Road from July 2025.
- Portfolio span across agriculture and food value chain, addressing livestock monitoring, crop yield, processing plants, business management.
- Grit Road’s role in the ecosystem includes mentorship-, advising-, connection-, and operations-support for founders.