Delaware is known for its vibrant startup ecosystem and some amazing startups that have faced exceptional growth. However, Delaware isn’t well known for startup funding, especially when it comes to providing funding to early/seed-stage companies.

In an interview, Mehedi from CM Materials highlighted the limited presence of venture capitalists and seed-stage opportunities in Delaware. Sharing personal experience, Mehedi mentioned securing 95% of funding through Zoom calls from outside the state. He also compared the investment ecosystem of Delaware to the system of California and emphasized how easy it is to secure funding in other states.

To some extent, this might be true, but fear not!

In the following article, I have filtered out and prepared the list of the top 7 angel investors in Delaware.

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Top 7 Angel Investors in Delaware

Here are some of the top-ranked angel investors and venture capital firms in Delaware. 

Acorn Energy

Website: Acorn Energy

Investor Type: VC Firm

Investment Interests: Software, Tech, Consumer Products. 

Acorn Energy is a holding company that funds Delaware-based startups. It was founded by George Morgenstern in 1984 and is headquartered in Wilmington. Investing in around 10 companies, they usually fund startups related to the energy sector and fund at the early stages.

During the selection process, the investors highly focus on startups that provide innovative solutions and want to bring positive change. They do not organize specific pitching competitions but make private investments in startups that can present themselves as profitable.

The investment range of Acorn Energy, Inc can range upto $5M. Some of their notable investments are:

Comverge: Comverge is an American company that provides software, hardware, and services to electric utilities using demand response programs. In May 2017, Comverge was acquired by Itron.

Coreworx: Coreworx is an integrated system designed to manage many types of field development. It provides services related to engineering, and construction projects, including major capital, turnaround, and operations and maintenance projects. 

GridSense: GridSense provides innovative, cost-effective, smart grid monitoring systems to electric utilities and industrial facilities worldwide.

Velvet Sea Ventures

Website: Velvet Sea Ventures

Investor Type: VC Firm

Investment Interests: Tech, Healthcare, Media, Gaming, Energy, Bio, Software, SaaS, Marketing, Digital, E-Commerce, Consumer Products, Manufacturing

Investment Stage: Seed

Headquartered in New York, Velvet Sea Ventures also extends its funding support to Delaware-based startups. The network was founded in 2020 by the famous investors Kass Lazerow and Micheal Lazerow. Within 4 years of inception, Velvet Sea Ventures has funded 29 startups, with an average of 7 startups funded per year. 

Similarly, Velvet Sea Ventures is a multi-stage venture capital firm that provides seed-to-growth stage capital investments coupled with strategic support across many sectors. They have more than 80 years of combined experience as founders and venture investors and have invested over $2.2 billion.

The network arranges multiple pitching contests annually and funds startups that have the most unique ideas in their relevant sector. And since Velvet Sea Ventures invests in many fields, their investment range also varies depending on the startup sector. 

Some of their notable portfolio companies are:

Scopely: Scopely is an American interactive entertainment company and mobile-first video game developer and publisher.  Scopely has raised a total of $998.5M in funding over 10 rounds.

eToro: eToro is a social trading platform where you can invest in over 3,000 assets, including stocks, ETFs, crypto, commodities, and indices. eToro has raised a total of $692.7M in funding over 18 rounds.

Liquid Death: Liquid Death is a canned water company that aims to provide a sustainable alternative to plastic water bottles. Liquid Death has raised a total of $200.6M in funding over 7 rounds.

Limitless Ventures

Website: Limitless Ventures - Home

Investor Type: VC Firm

Investment Interests: Therapeutics

Investment Stage: Seed

Limitless Ventures is also one of the recent VC firms and funds Delaware-based startups. Founded in 2019 by Alexander Stinson Holt, Limitless Ventures has funded around 5 startups and is headquartered in Utah.

During the screening tests, the investors at Limitless Ventures are very careful with their investments and only fund startups that promise profitability. Aside from their investments, Limitless Ventures also takes an interest in arranging extra startup events to boost startup growth and engage investors with entrepreneurs.

The investment range of Limitless Ventures ranges from $50,000 to $750,000. Famous names in their portfolio are:

Quantified Citizen: Quantified Citizen is a mobile health research platform that powers scientific discovery through digitized health measures and a community of professional researchers. The app allows users to join research studies or track their health factors independently.

Robin (Educational and Training Services): Robin is a provider of social learning services designed to equip students with the skills, habits, and mindsets to cope with life’s challenges and achieve fulfillment.

Lyndra Therapeutics: Lyndra Therapeutics is pioneering long-acting oral therapies. Their LYNX™ drug delivery platform is designed to deliver medicine for a week or longer in an oral form.

Innovation Ventures

Website: Invention Disclosure | Innovation Ventures (ucsf.edu)

Investor Type: VC Firm

Investment Interests: Tech

Investment Stage: Early and Seed

Innovation Ventures is a venture capital firm headquartered in Wilmington. The network was founded by Manoj Bhargava and has focused on funding tech startups.

During the investment, Innovation Ventures focuses on startups that are focusing on unique ideas and have massive growth potential. Although they do not actively arrange pitching competitions, Innovation Ventures still invests in early and growth-stage scalable enterprises.

Similarly, once they have funded a startup, Innovation Ventures also guides them through different mentorship programs and team workshops. The investment range of Innovation Ventures isn't mentioned on their website. On average, they provide funding within the range of $2M.

Kevin Wren

LinkedIn: Kevin Wren, MPA - T1International | LinkedIn

Investor Type: Individual Investor

Investment Interests: Credit Cards,  Financial Services,  Mobile

Investment Stage: Early and Seed

Although not a famous name, Kevin Wren is also a Delaware-based individual investor. He has worked with many VC firms and was also appointed as the Vice chairman at MBNA. 

When it comes to investments, Kevin Wren isn't easy to convince and only funds startups that are going to make it big. This is evident from his previous investment as the company has generated 20x the initial investment within 5 years.

Aside from funding, Kevin Wren doesn't arrange any extra startup events. However, he strongly focuses on his portfolio companies and provides them with the required guidance.

The investment range of Kevin Wren can range upto $500,000. One of his famous portfolio companies that attracted a lot of attention due to its growth was:

Blispay: Blispay is a financial technology company that offers point-of-sale financing for online and in-store purchases. They provide special financing on all purchases over $199 and 2% cash back everywhere Visa is accepted. The company was valued at $12M in 2016 and has been growing ever since.

Arcanum Capital

Website: Arcanum Capital

Investor Type: VC Firm

Investment Interests: Decentralized Networks, Global Blockchain

Investment Stage: Seed

 

Arcanum Capital is one of the most prominent and active VC firms in Delaware. With headquarters in Dover, Arcanum Capital focuses on a lot of sectors with a primary focus on growth. It was founded by James McDowall, Karthik Bupathi, and Luchang Zheng in 2020 and has already funded around 40 companies. 

During the investment, Arcanum Capital focuses on networks that have massive growth potential and can easily make 4-5x ROI within 2 years. Once invested, Arcanum Capital also has an experienced network of mentors who guide their portfolio companies at different stages of a startup. They also arrange public workshops and networking events, allowing different investors to connect with new businesses.

The investment range of Arcanum Capital can range upto $3M, depending on the startup sector. Some recent investments in their portfolio are:

Biconomy: Biconomy is a Web3 developer and transaction infrastructure platform. They offer plug-and-play APIs for developers to create and scale their dApps. 

Arcana: Arcana is a UX-focused app-chain designed to supercharge your dApp. Arcana offers Web3 Authentication for all users, allowing them to use Email or Google, Twitter, Twitch, Discord, Github, or Steam.

PlayZap: PlayZap is a play-to-earn community-driven gaming platform where players can compete in skill-based tournaments and win crypto rewards. 

Leading Edge Ventures

Website: Leading Edge Ventures (leadingedgevc.com)

Investor Type: VC Firm

Investment Interests: business applications, enterprise infrastructure, medical devices, and tech.

Investment Stage: Early/Seed

After funding around 15 startups, Leading Edge Ventures is also a VC firm that takes an interest in funding healthcare-related startups.

Headquartered in Newark, Leading Edge Ventures only funds startups that present a unique solution to the market. They want to improve the healthcare and core science sectors of Delaware through funding startups.

The investment range of Leading Edge Ventures ranges from $50,000 to $750,000. Notable companies in their portfolio are:

Pliant.io: Pliant.io is a Massachusetts-based SaaS platform that provides solutions such as API-driven workflow automation. They have raised a total of $15M.

Ride Health: Ride Health is a New York-based online platform. It provides solutions such as ride scheduling and non-emergency medical transportation. They have raised a total of $16.2M.

Tangen Biosciences: Tangen Biosciences is a company that operates a molecular diagnostics platform. They have raised a total of $12.7M over 2 rounds from 5 investors.

Final Words

When it comes to angel investors, Yes! there aren't a lot of options startups can look up to. However, several VC, private equity firms, and investment networks are funding startups in the state.

When pitching to just programs, remember to prepare a decent pitch deck and pitch accordingly. 

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