The 81 Collection, a Chicago-based venture capital firm best known for backing the mammoth-reviving startup Colossal Biosciences, has raised $82 million for its second fund. General partner Vijen Patel says the new vehicle will stick to the exact same playbook that defined the firm's first fund.
According to Bloomberg, Patel described the strategy behind the new fund as “exactly the same” as its predecessor. That strategy centers on boosting industries including manufacturing, real estate, retail and construction, the outlet reports, a mix that stands out in a venture landscape typically dominated by software and biotech bets. The report was also covered locally by Crain's Chicago Business, which noted the fund's ties to the Colossal Biosciences investment that put 81 Collection on the map.
What the Filing Shows
A regulatory filing identifies the vehicle as 81 Collection Fund II, L.P., according to a disclosure reproduced by streetinsider.com. That same filing states that the general partner is entitled to a carried interest and the management company to a management fee — standard fund structure terms, though the filing does not spell out the fund's investors or closing date.
A Tough Climate for New Entrants
The $82 million raise lands in a year when established venture firms are soaking up an outsized share of available capital. Through the third quarter of 2026, US venture deal value hit $515.8 billion, roughly 44% above 2021's full-year record, per the Q3 2026 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor. Established firms have commanded 88.2% of all capital raised so far this year, the highest share in PitchBook's dataset, with Andreessen Horowitz alone closing $23.8 billion across multiple funds — more than 20% of total US VC fundraising in 2026.
PitchBook's report frames the dynamic as a consolidation story: limited partners starved for distributions are re-upping with the managers who have delivered returns before, rather than spreading bets to newer entrants. For a firm like 81 Collection raising a second fund rather than a first, that climate could cut both ways — favorable to a manager with a track record, but still competing against giants for the same shrinking pool of first-time LP dollars.
How It Stacks Up Locally
81 Collection's $82 million raise is modest next to other Chicago-area fundraising this year. Jump Capital raised $350 million for its eighth institutional fund, matching the size of its 2021 vehicle, according to the Chicago Business Journal. The contrast underscores how varied fund sizes can be even within the same regional venture ecosystem, with smaller, sector-focused shops like 81 Collection pursuing a narrower bet on physical-economy industries rather than the broader tech plays favored by bigger funds.
