Company lists · Data refreshed September 2026

Top 25 Education-focused investment firms based in Chicago, United States

RevenueBase identified 52 education-focused investment firms headquartered in Chicago, United States as of September 2026 and tracks 573 professional contacts across them, including 258 with verified work emails. Across the United States, New York is the largest hub for this category (187 companies); Chicago has 52.

This list covers education-focused investment firms headquartered in Chicago, United States, matched on what each company actually does as described in its own words. Ranked by team size, largest first. Every row shows the company's own description, its RevenueBase Smart Search rating, and when it was last checked. Data refreshed September 28, 2026.

Published by RevenueBase, a B2B data infrastructure company. This list was built with RevenueBase Smart Search, the natural-language company search RevenueBase customers use to build their own targeted lists and unlock verified emails and direct dials at the companies on them. How these lists are built and judged.

How to read this list HQ checked on every row RevenueBase Smart Search rating on every row Refreshed Sep 28, 2026 86% judged on-target in blind review
52Companies
573Contacts tracked
258Verified emails
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The 25 largest education-focused investment firms based in Chicago, United States

Ranked by team size
Top 25 of 52 education-focused investment firms based in Chicago, United States, ranked by team size, largest first. Data refreshed Sep 28, 2026. RevenueBase Smart Search rates how each company's information relates to education-focused investment firms: strong evidence (its own description names it), partial (names part of it), indirect (matched on the rest of its profile rather than the description shown). Click a contact count to view that company's people.
#CompanyRevenueBase Smart SearchHeadquartersEmployeesContacts
1Partial evidenceChicago, IL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 28, 202651-200147 contacts →

Partial evidence

“The Vistria Group is building a new kind of private investment firm that seeks to deliver both financial returns and societal impact.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 28, 2026
2Partial evidenceChicago, IL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 28, 202651-20065 contacts →

Partial evidence

“Founded in 2003, The Blue Chips is the University of Chicago's premier investment club.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 28, 2026
3Partial evidenceChicago, IL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 28, 202611-5029 contacts →

Partial evidence

“A Better Chicago is a venture philanthropy fund devoted to dramatically improving educational opportunities for low-income students.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 28, 2026
4Strong evidenceChicago, IL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 28, 202611-5028 contacts →

Strong evidence

“New Harbor Capital is a Chicago-based private equity firm focused on investing in lower middle market, growth-oriented healthcare, education, and business services companies.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 28, 2026
5Partial evidenceChicago, IL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 28, 202611-5025 contacts →

Partial evidence

“As one of the largest student-led impact investment funds, we make investments into pre-seed and seed ventures that seek to generate impact and financial returns.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 28, 2026
6Partial evidenceChicago, IL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 28, 202611-5016 contacts →

Partial evidence

“Avathon Capital is a private equity firm specialized in investing in lower middle-market companies in the education and workforce markets.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 28, 2026
7Partial evidenceChicago, IL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 28, 20261-1013 contacts →

Partial evidence

“87 is an affiliate of Sterling Partners, a multi-strategy investment firm founded over 35 years ago.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 28, 2026
8Strong evidenceChicago, IL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 28, 20261-109 contacts →

Strong evidence

“Charles Thayne Capital is a growth-oriented private investment firm focused on collaboration with world-class leaders to transform industries.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 28, 2026
9Partial evidenceChicago, United StatesHQ checked Sep 28, 202611-508 contacts →

Partial evidence

“Cane Investment Partners is a private investment firm dedicated to investing in people, ideas and opportunities.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 28, 2026
10Partial evidenceChicago, IL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 28, 20261-108 contacts →

Partial evidence

“Phoenix Sports Partners is more than an investment fund or venture capital firm.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 28, 2026
11Partial evidenceChicago, IL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 28, 20261-107 contacts →

Partial evidence

“Vanta Global is a private firm focused on creating stakeholder value by driving operational excellence and favorably impacting learners’ lives around the globe.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 28, 2026
12Indirect evidenceChicago, IL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 28, 20261-107 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“New Stack was founded in 2015 with a mission to invest in the Outsiders.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 28, 2026
13Indirect evidenceChicago, IL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 28, 20261-105 contacts →

Indirect evidence

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 28, 2026
14Strong evidenceChicago, IL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 28, 20261-105 contacts →

Strong evidence

“Alliance Growth Partners is an entrepreneurial focused investment firm with the goal to acquire and grow one quality business.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 28, 2026
15Indirect evidenceChicago, IL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 28, 20261-104 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“WE INVEST IN BREAKOUT POTENTIAL.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 28, 2026
16Partial evidenceChicago, United StatesHQ checked Sep 28, 20261-103 contacts →

Partial evidence

“The Black Phoenix Group is a private investment firm that invests in companies located in or near large American cities and their surrounding communities.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 28, 2026
17Indirect evidenceChicago, IL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 28, 20261-103 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“We advise, mentor and invest in exceptional founders of early stage companies.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 28, 2026
18Strong evidenceChicago, IL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 28, 20261-103 contacts →

Strong evidence

“Fēnom Ventures is a private investment group that focuses on early-stage SaaS and Tech-Enabled Service companies, including- Fēnom Digital - BambuMeta - SnapFunds”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 28, 2026
19Strong evidenceChicago, United StatesHQ checked Sep 28, 20261-103 contacts →

Strong evidence

“We provide Institutional Caliber Investment Research and Investor Education/Training Services to engaged investors of all skill levels.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 28, 2026
20Indirect evidenceChicago, IL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 28, 20261-102 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“WE INVEST IN HIGH-POTENTIAL COMPANIES.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 28, 2026
21Strong evidenceChicago, IL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 28, 20261-102 contacts →

Strong evidence

“We are an investment and business development company with a focus on early stage startups and capital markets”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 28, 2026
22Partial evidenceChicago, United StatesHQ checked Sep 28, 20261-101 contacts →

Partial evidence

“At K4 Capital we focus on investing in what we know.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 28, 2026
23Strong evidenceChicago, IL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 28, 20261-101 contacts →

Strong evidence

“Educated Ventures is an education industry focused seed investment and strategic and investment banking advisory firm, with extensive buyside experience across both emerging…”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 28, 2026
24Strong evidenceChicago, IL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 28, 20261-101 contacts →

Strong evidence

“Fremont is an experienced investment firm, focused on growing lower middle market companies looking for a majority or minority equity transaction.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 28, 2026
25Strong evidenceChicago, IL, United StatesHQ checked Sep 28, 20261-101 contacts →

Strong evidence

“Aktion Partners is an Information Technology focused investment vehicle that provides capital, strategic oversight and administration services to target entities.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 28, 2026

Showing 25 of 52 education-focused investment firms based in Chicago, United States

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Education-focused investment firms based in Chicago, United States at a glance

As of Sep 28, 2026
45.0%Verified-email coverage
11.0Average contacts per company
1-10Median size (employees)
Sep 28, 2026Page data refreshed

Companies by employee count

1-10
40
11-50
8
51-200
4

Email recency for this list is measured across the whole United States list rather than for Chicago, so it is reported there. Company counts and contact totals on this page are exact for Chicago, over 52 companies.

How this list was built

Company categories are rarely black and white. RevenueBase reads each company's own description of its business to decide whether it belongs among education-focused investment firms, so some rows will be adjacent to the category rather than pure plays. The description and RevenueBase Smart Search rating on every row are there so you can check each match yourself.

Source
The RevenueBase company graph: 60 million companies and 398.9 million professional contacts resolved from primary sources, queried with RevenueBase Smart Search, the natural-language company search available to every RevenueBase user.
What qualifies
Companies headquartered in Chicago, United States whose own description of what they do matches “education-focused investment firms”. Matching reads each company's description, not its industry code or its name.
RevenueBase Smart Search
RevenueBase Smart Search is how this list is assembled and how each row is rated. RevenueBase's data engine and AI assess a company's LinkedIn profile, information supplied directly by the company, its website and other publicly available information, then relate it to a category defined in a user's own words. Each row is rated strong evidence (its own description names education-focused investment firms), partial evidence (it names part of the category) or indirect evidence (the description shown names none of it and the match rests on the rest of the company's profile). The description supporting each rating is quoted on the row.
What we exclude
Companies whose own description does not clearly place them among education-focused investment firms, and records with no verified work email. Companies headquartered outside Chicago are excluded even when they keep an office there.
Match quality
In blind human judging of this matching method, 86% of matched companies were on target. Expect roughly 1 in 7 rows to be adjacent to the category rather than a pure play. Every row shows the company's own description and its RevenueBase Smart Search rating so you can judge each match yourself. Read the full methodology: how the lists are built, how the judging worked, and what the figure means.
Ranking
Team size, largest first: companies are ordered by the number of professionals RevenueBase tracks at each one. Employee ranges shown are reported bands, for context.
Verification
Every listed company carries at least one verified work email, 258 across the full list. Contacts re-verify on a rolling cadence, and each contact's own verification date is shown inside RevenueBase.
Refresh
This page's figures were pulled from the company graph on September 28, 2026. Lists refresh periodically as the graph is re-checked.
Corrections
Wrong category, wrong headquarters, or a company that has closed? Use “Report an issue” on any row. Reports go to the RevenueBase Data Team and feed back into the company graph.

Frequently asked

What is RevenueBase Smart Search?

RevenueBase Smart Search is how RevenueBase decides which companies belong on this list and how strongly each one fits. Its data engine and AI assess a company's LinkedIn profile, information supplied directly by the company, its website and other publicly available information, then relate it to the category the list is about. Each row is rated strong evidence when the company's own description names education-focused investment firms, partial evidence when it names part of the category, and indirect evidence when the description shown names none of it and the match rests on the rest of the company's profile.

How many education-focused investment firms are there based in Chicago, United States?

RevenueBase identified 52 education-focused investment firms headquartered in Chicago, United States as of September 2026, matched on each company's own description of what it does rather than its industry code.

What is the largest company on this list?

The Vistria Group, headquartered in Chicago, tops this list with the largest team on record.

Which city in the United States has the most education-focused investment firms?

New York leads the United States with 187 headquartered companies, followed by San Francisco (67) and Chicago (52).

How do I get contact information for these companies?

A free RevenueBase account lets you run this exact search and work the top results, verified emails and direct dials included. Upgrading unlocks all 258 verified decision-maker contacts tracked across these 52 companies.

How current is this list?

The list refreshes periodically as the company graph is re-checked. This page's figures were pulled on September 28, 2026.

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About this data

RevenueBase is a B2B data infrastructure company. Its company graph covers 60 million companies and 398.9 million professional contacts, with emails verified on a rolling cadence rather than scraped once and left to decay. These company lists are generated directly from that graph with RevenueBase Smart Search, the same natural-language company search every RevenueBase user has: describe a market in plain words, get the companies that match, and add verified emails and direct dials for the people at them. It is the same data that powers RevenueBase's B2B data products, and a free account includes 500 credits to start. How these lists are built and judged.