Great North Ventures Leads $2M Seed Round for NROC Security to Secure Employee Use of GenAI
Minneapolis and New York – September 29, 2025 – Great North Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm, today announced it is leading a $2 million seed funding round for NROC Security, an innovative AI security company headquartered in New York and Helsinki, Finland. Additional investors in the round include Icebreaker.vc and Hannu Turunen (cofounder of […]
APIs, AI and Embedded Finance: What We’re Watching at Money 20/20
As the industry converges on Las Vegas, we’re focusing on infrastructure that helps launch products faster, supports new use cases and durable companies. With Money 20/20 around the corner, the conversation is shifting from front-end apps to the infrastructure shaping fintech’s future. Fintech’s next wave won’t be defined by the next consumer-facing app. It will […]
Our Strategy: Vertical AI + Embedded Finance
At Great North Ventures, we back founders who can turn new technology into measurable business results. As former operators ourselves, we’ve built and scaled companies through multiple technology cycles — and we know the difference between hype and execution. With this in mind, we’ve sharpened our focus around two themes: Vertical AI and Embedded Finance. […]
Recap: 2025 Great North Ventures Annual Reception
At our 2025 Great North Ventures Annual Reception, the fireside chats were the centerpiece of the evening. For me, being on stage with our founders and partners was a chance to highlight not only their journeys but also the optimism and resilience of our community. Each conversation offered a unique window into how we are […]
How Two Midwest VCs Have Mastered Success Through Multiple Tech Cycles
by Graeme Thickins For twin brothers Rob and Ryan Weber, founding partners of Great North Ventures in Minnesota, entrepreneurship began in college, just as the Internet was taking off in 1996. As computer science majors (and Rob later switching to entrepreneurial studies), they learned quickly that Internet traffic could be monetized. Over a few years, […]
Great North Ventures Promotes Grant Gibson to Principal
Minneapolis – September 8, 2025 – Early-stage venture capital firm Great North Ventures announced today it has promoted Grant Gibson to Principal. Gibson joined the firm in 2023 as an Associate after receiving a JD Degree from the University of St. Thomas Law School, passing the Bar, and doing a brief stint at a local […]
Branch: A fintech growth story powered by instant payments
Branch has made instant payments a core workforce benefit, pairing capital-efficient growth with a mission to give working Americans quicker, easier access to earnings. Transformative workforce payment solutions don’t happen overnight. They’re built through a relentless focus on solving real problems for working Americans. Branch, a fintech led by founder and CEO Atif Siddiqi helps […]
‘Embedded Everywhere’: Tim Li on the future of lending, AI, and VC scrutiny
Tim Li is a fintech veteran with two decades of experience working at the intersection of banking and technology. After earning a master’s in engineering and building microprocessors at Intel, he pivoted to financial services in the early 2000s, joining JPMorgan Chase to help launch its first digital banking platforms. As the financial crisis hit […]
From Frustration to 1109% Revenue Growth: The WithMe Inc. Story
It all started with Jonathan Treble facing a problem everyone can relate to. More than a decade ago, he had trouble printing concert tickets. That frustration led him to start a new company in 2014 that evolved into providing tech-enabled services for apartment buildings. As CEO, he’s grown WithMe Inc. to become a highly successful, […]
HLRBO ‘Unlocks Land’ and Sees Growth Surge 240%
In March 2024, when Great North Ventures took the lead in an investment round of $1.6 million in HLRBO (Hunting Land Rentals By Owner), the company already had shown promising growth, with 57,000 users. Its platform is a marketplace that connects hunters and landowners. Fast forward, HLRBO now boasts 143,000 users. That’s a growth rate […]