2022 Indiana Venture Report

Venture capital investment surpasses $1 billion for the second consecutive year

Indiananpolis, Ind. (March 7, 2023) – Venture capital investment in Indiana reached $1.09 billion in 2022, the second-highest total ever, according to the 2022 Indiana Venture Report. The year-end assessment of venture investment activities in Indiana was released today by Elevate Ventures, a leader in U.S. venture capital. Indiana generated 190 deals in 2022, a 19% increase over 2021 despite not reaching last year’s record high of $1.4 billion invested. Pre-seed deals (less than $500,000) accounted for 27% of Indiana’s deal flow in 2022, with 52 transactions, but the majority of investments were in the $1-$4.9 million range (63 transactions). 

In 2022, the state also saw an uptick in the number of deals greater than $10 million. These 23 later-stage investments indicate a maturing venture ecosystem in Indiana. 

“I believe the market is more robust than ever. We’re seeing disparate stakeholders from across the state lean in with new ideas to help companies get started and grow. Companies in Indiana also grow more efficiently than other markets throughout the country, so we are expecting another record-breaking year,” said Christopher Day, CEO of Elevate Ventures. 

Other findings in the report include: 

• Indiana remained the second-highest state in deal activity in the Great Lakes and Midwestern regions, behind only Illinois. 
• Indiana accounted for 0.4% of U.S. venture capital dollars in 2022, the same as in 2021. 
• The business-to-business (B2B) tech sector attracted over 57% of all venture capital dollars invested in Indiana, followed by life sciences and ag sciences at 31.4%.
• Central and West Central Indiana led the state in VC activity, accounting for 134 deals and $943.7 million in investments.

“This is a golden opportunity for startups and scale-ups in Indiana. Elevate Ventures had 128 investments last year, accounting for $22.8 million. At Elevate, we believe Indiana has the opportunity to be the innovation capital of the world. We have all the ingredients to do it, and now we just need to execute,” Day said.

The Indiana Venture Report compares venture capital (VC) activity in Indiana across different sectors, firms, stages and geographic regions. The report also includes a review of national VC trends and an analysis of VC activity in the Great Lakes states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. 

Elevate Ventures partners who contributed to the development of the 2022 Indiana Venture Report included AgriNovus Indiana, Allos Ventures, BioCrossroads, Boomerang Ventures, Flywheel Fund, gener8tor, The Heritage Group, High Alpha, IU Ventures, Notre Dame, Purdue Ventures, TechPoint and VisionTech Partners. 

 Read the full Elevate Ventures 2022 Indiana Venture Report.