Flyover Capital leads $1.5M round in Illinois startup

Overland Park-based venture capital firm Flyover Capital has led a $1.5 million Series A round in an Illinois-based tech firm.

Flyover led the investment round — which included Serra Ventures and other private investors — in Inprentus Precision Optics, which designs and manufactures X-ray and EUV diffraction gratings for “synchrotron radiation” facilities. The technology is used for a variety of scientific and commercial applications by businesses, academic institutions and government laboratories around the world.

The $1.5 million will allow the firm to add manufacturing capacity to meet demand for its products, according to the company, which is based in Champaign, Ill.

“We were impressed by the value that Inprentus has developed with its high precision diffraction grating,” Flyover general partner Keith Molzer said in a release. “With revenue growing steadily and an experienced team in place, we immediately saw that Inprentus was the type of investment opportunity we were looking for as we believe it highlights the innovative technology startups coming out of the US mid-west region.”

Flyover Capital has invested in a variety of Midwest startups, including Kansas City-based EyeVerify, Mission-based ClaimKit, Olathe-based Innara Health, Lincoln-based Bulu Box and more.

Founded in 2014, Flyover was acquired by Leawood-based Mariner Holdings later that same year. Flyover was founded by Tom DeBacco, Molzer, Michael Peck and Thad Langford with the mission to “create the next generation of technology success stories in the Flyover region.”

Flyover’s investments range from about $500,000 to $3 million. Learn more about the firm here.