Utah raised $3.1B across 285 deals in 2025. Most capital went to enterprise SaaS and healthcare tech. The ecosystem is concentrated in Salt Lake City and Provo with strong university ties. You won't find many consumer investors here - B2B dominates.
Pelion Venture Partners (Salt Lake City): Led Weave's $130M Series D before their IPO prep in Utah's healthtech surge
Kickstart Fund (Salt Lake City): Backed Divvy at seed stage, watched it sell to Bill.com for $2.5B from their Lehi office
Peterson Partners (Salt Lake City): Invested in Entrata's $507M growth round, Utah's largest proptech deal in 2024
Album VC (Salt Lake City): Backed Podium at Series A, now worth $2B+ in Lehi's SaaS corridor
Signal Peak Ventures (Salt Lake City): Led MX's $300M Series C in Utah's fintech wave
Sorenson Capital (Salt Lake City): Backed Pluralsight through multiple rounds before $3.5B Vista acquisition
Mercato Partners (Salt Lake City): Led Recursion Pharmaceuticals rounds before NASDAQ listing
Epic Ventures (Salt Lake City): Invested in Domo's growth rounds before their public offering
Rev1 Ventures (Provo): Backed BambooHR at early stage in Utah County's HR tech cluster
Groove Capital (Salt Lake City): Led Divvy's Series A, strong in Utah fintech
Viewpoint Venture Partners (Draper): Invested in Qualtrics before SAP's $8B acquisition
Springboard Fund (Provo): Backed multiple BYU spinouts in enterprise software
SaaS Venture Partners (Salt Lake City): Led rounds for Pattern and other Utah commerce tech
Stride VC (Salt Lake City): Backed Utah's vertical SaaS companies in their seed rounds
Summit Partners (Salt Lake City office): Late-stage investor in Utah tech companies going public
Tamarak Ventures (Lehi): Local seed fund focused on Utah County deals
Zions Bank Ventures (Salt Lake City): Corporate VC backing Utah companies with banking relationships
University Venture Fund (Salt Lake City): Connected to University of Utah, backs spinouts and local founders
Utah closed 285 deals in 2025 with average seed rounds at $2.1M and Series A at $12M. That's lower than SF but higher than most mountain west markets. The state produces more enterprise SaaS per capita than anywhere except the Bay Area.
Salt Lake City and Provo dominate deal flow. Lehi's "Silicon Slopes" corridor has 90+ funded companies within 15 miles. You'll find lower burn rates here - $800K/month runway goes much further than coastal equivalents.
Utah investors strongly prefer profitable business models over growth-at-all-costs. If you're pre-revenue consumer, raise elsewhere. The state has limited late-stage capital above $50M rounds. Plan your Series C in SF or NYC.
Local presence: Utah VCs expect founders to be in-state or willing to relocate. Remote companies get funded but at lower valuations. Salt Lake City investors want quarterly in-person board meetings. Provo funds are more flexible but still prefer local teams.
Portfolio companies: Check if they've backed companies in your specific city. Kickstart and Pelion have deep Salt Lake networks. Rev1 and Springboard know Provo better. Cross-city investments happen but relationships matter.
Check sizes: Seed rounds run $500K-$3M. Series A typically $8-15M. Series B hits $20-40M but options narrow significantly. Utah has maybe 5 funds that can lead $50M+ rounds. Most founders leave the state for growth capital.
Local network: Utah investors connect you to Qualtrics, Adobe, and Oracle alumni. The "PayPal mafia" equivalent here is ex-Omniture and ex-Domo folks. BYU and University of Utah networks open enterprise sales doors. LDS church connections matter more than people admit publicly.
Communication: Share your deck with Ellty trackable links. You'll see which Utah investors actually open your financials versus just taking meetings. Most Utah VCs respond within a week if they're interested.
Follow-on capacity: Only a handful of Utah funds have $100M+ to deploy. Pelion, Peterson, and Sorenson can follow through Series C. Everyone else will bring in coastal venture capitals for later rounds. Ask about their typical syndicate partners early.
Research local deals: Check Silicon Slopes' Tech Summit attendee lists and Utah Business magazine's deal coverage. PitchBook shows which funds are actually closing Utah deals versus just talking about it. Most active investors speak at University of Utah's Lassonde Institute events.
Leverage local ecosystem: BoomStartup and Techstars Utah accelerators in Salt Lake City place 60%+ of graduates with local VCs. The Utah Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity tracks funded companies. Join Silicon Slopes organization - their Slack channel is where deals get discussed before they're public.
Build relationships first: Utah investors want 3-5 meetings before term sheets. Plan on 90-120 days from intro to close for seed rounds. Series A takes 4-6 months. That's slower than SF but consistent. Don't expect term sheets from conference booth conversations.
Share your pitch deck: Upload to Ellty and create unique links for each Utah fund. You'll notice Utah investors spend more time on team slides and unit economics than market size. They typically skip vision slides and go straight to your financial model. Track who's actually engaged versus being polite.
Attend local events: Silicon Slopes Tech Summit in January draws every active Utah investor. Skip the small meetups and focus on that one event. University of Utah's Entrepreneur Lecture Series and BYU's RootEd Conference are where deals happen. Pelion and Kickstart scout heavily at both universities.
Connect with portfolio founders: Most Utah VCs will intro you to 2-3 portfolio founders if you ask. Talk to them about follow-on support and actual value-add. You'll learn which funds ghost after investment versus stay engaged. The community is small enough that honest references matter.
Organize due diligence: Set up an Ellty data room before first partner meetings. Utah investors expect clean cap tables and Delaware C-corp structure. Include your customer concentration metrics - they care deeply about revenue from any single customer above 15%. Data room access signals you're serious.
Understand local pace: Utah VCs move faster than East Coast but slower than SF. Seed deals close in 60-90 days with warm intros. Cold outreach adds another 30-60 days. Most funds want to see customer traction, not just product. Expect multiple reference calls with your existing customers before term sheets.
Utah investors fund enterprise SaaS almost exclusively at seed stage. Healthcare tech gets attention if you have clinical partnerships or payer relationships. Fintech works if you're B2B, not consumer. Proptech succeeds here - Entrata proved the model.
Plan on 90-120 day fundraising timelines. Utah VCs want profitability paths within 24 months, not 5 years. Burn $1M+/month pre-Series B and you'll struggle. They prefer capital efficiency over blitz scaling.
Competition is moderate. You're fighting fewer companies for attention than SF, but check sizes are smaller. Out-of-state funds lead 40% of Utah Series A+ rounds. Local investors often take smaller pieces and bring in coastal lead investors for validation.
Utah's most active healthcare and enterprise software investor with $650M+ under management.
Early-stage fund that backed Divvy, Podium, and 200+ Utah companies since 2008.
Multi-billion dollar investment firm with strong Utah roots and growth-stage focus.
National firm with deep Utah presence, backed Podium and other Silicon Slopes winners.
Growth equity firm focused on profitable B2B software companies.
One of Utah's oldest venture firms with multiple unicorn exits in portfolio.
Growth-stage investor with pharma-tech expertise and Utah tech focus.
Colorado-based but heavily active in Utah with enterprise software focus.
Provo-based fund connected to Utah County's startup ecosystem and BYU.
Fintech specialist that caught Divvy early and invests heavily in payment tech.
Utah growth equity firm that backed Qualtrics before the SAP megadeal.
Provo seed fund that backs BYU alumni and Utah County founders.
National SaaS-only fund with strong Utah deal flow and Pattern investment.
Vertical SaaS specialist investing in niche B2B software companies.
Boston-based growth firm with Salt Lake City office covering mountain west.
Local seed fund focused on Lehi corridor and Utah County deals.
Corporate VC arm of Zions Bancorporation backing fintech and Utah companies.
Connected to University of Utah, backs research spinouts and local founders.
These 18 investors closed 200+ Utah deals in 2024-2025. Before you start reaching out to Salt Lake City and Provo funds, set up proper tracking.
Upload your deck to Ellty and create a unique link for each Utah investor. You'll see exactly which slides they view and how long they spend on your financials. Utah-based founders often find local investors skip market size slides but scrutinize unit economics and customer concentration heavily. They want to see gross margin above 70% and CAC payback under 12 months.
When Utah investors ask for more materials, share an Ellty data room instead of messy email threads. Your cap table, financial model, and customer references in one secure place with view analytics. Most Utah VCs expect data rooms organized before partner meetings, not after.
Do I need to be based in Utah to raise from Utah investors?
No, but you'll get better terms if you are. Remote companies get funded at 15-20% lower valuations on average. Most Utah VCs want quarterly board meetings in Salt Lake City. If you're willing to relocate, mention it early.
How does Utah compare to SF for fundraising?
Smaller check sizes but faster closes. Average Utah Series A is $12M versus $18M in SF. You'll find more investors who care about profitability than growth rate. Limited late-stage capital - plan your Series C in SF or NYC.
What's the average seed round size in Utah?
$2.1M in 2025. Range is typically $500K-$3M. Pre-seed rounds run $250K-$750K. You won't find many $5M+ seed rounds like in SF unless you have serious traction.
Should I raise locally or go straight to SF/NYC?
Raise locally for seed and Series A if you're B2B SaaS or healthtech. Utah investors move faster and understand the local talent market. Go coastal for Series B+ or if you're consumer-focused. Utah has maybe 5 funds that can lead $50M+ rounds.
Do Utah investors expect in-person meetings?
Yes for first meetings and final partner meetings. Zoom works for early conversations and updates. Plan on flying to Salt Lake City 2-3 times during fundraising. BYU and University of Utah connections often start with campus visits.
What industries get funded most in Utah?
Enterprise SaaS dominates with 60% of deal volume. Healthcare IT takes 20%. Fintech, proptech, and vertical SaaS split the rest. Consumer gets almost no seed funding. Deep tech exists but only around universities.
How long does fundraising take in Utah?
90-120 days for seed with warm intros. Series A runs 4-6 months from first meeting to close. Add 30-60 days if you're cold outreaching. Utah VCs want multiple customer references before term sheets.