Great North Ventures Opens Applications for 2026 VC Analyst Summer Program in Minneapolis MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — November 3, 2025 — Great North Ventures, a Minnesota-based venture capital firm, has announced that applications are open for its 2026 VC Analyst Summer Program, offering two paid internship tracks beginning next spring. The program provides hands-on experience in venture capital investing and firm operations. Interns will be based Next In the North • VC News
Great North Ventures Leads $2M Seed Round for NROC Security to Address GenAI Workplace Risks Minneapolis, MN – September 29, 2025 — Great North Ventures, a Minnesota-based early-stage venture capital firm, has led a $2 million seed round for NROC Security, an AI security startup. Additional investors in the round include Icebreaker.vc, Hannu Turunen (cofounder of Stonesoft), and Leo Capital. The funding will support NROC Security’ Next In the North • VC News
Groove Capital Invests in Minneapolis Ag-Tech Startup Vireo Ag The Minnesota venture firm adds Vireo Ag to its portfolio, backing the company’s mission to accelerate crop breeding through faster, more efficient genome editing. Next In the North • VC News
Austin AI Startup Mentium Raises $3.2M Seed Round with Participation from Matchstick Ventures The round was led by Lerer Hippeau, with participation from Matchstick Ventures, Tower Research Capital, Antler, MBA Ventures, and angel investor Michael Witte. Next In the North • VC News
Groove Capital Invests in St. Paul Startup Maxwell Labs, Building on $500K U.S. Army Energy Tech Grant Groove Capital announced that it has added Maxwell Labs, a St. Paul–based startup pioneering laser cooling technology for AI hardware and high-performance computing (HPC) systems, to its investment portfolio. Next In the North • Tech
AI Startup Blank Metal Raises $3M to Accelerate Enterprise AI Deployment Blank Metal, an AI-native engineering company, has raised $3 million in seed funding to help enterprises move artificial intelligence projects from pilot to production in under 90 days. Next In the North • Funding
