Key Takeaways
- • Nebraska recorded 23 verified venture capital deals in Q1 2026, representing a snapshot of regional startup investment activity compiled by Invest Nebraska and cross-referenced with PitchBook data.
- • Key Nebraska-based investors participating in Q1 deals include Invest Nebraska, MOVE Venture Capital, Nelnet, and PGSA Venture Capital (formerly Black Dog Ventures), alongside NMotion Accelerator cohort participants deploying $100,000 per investment.
- • Investment values reported by financial databases may differ materially from actual deal terms due to pending information, varying stakeholder submissions, and data rounding during compilation—Ben Hohensee, investment analyst at Invest Nebraska, noted his team adjusted certain amounts based on direct ecosystem knowledge.
- • The Q1 2026 data builds on Invest Nebraska's comprehensive 2025 Nebraska Venture Capital Report, which provided detailed analysis of prior-year VC trends and activity across the state.
Summary
Silicon Prairie News partnered with Invest Nebraska, a nonprofit venture development organization, to compile a definitive list of venture capital investments in Nebraska startups during the first quarter of 2026. The analysis identified 23 deals based on investments tracked by Invest Nebraska and cross-referenced with PitchBook, a private capital market database aggregating information from public filings, news articles, regulatory submissions, websites, and press releases.
The deal roster reflects activity from established regional investors. Nebraska-based capital providers participating in Q1 included Invest Nebraska itself, MOVE Venture Capital, Nelnet, and PGSA Venture Capital (the former Black Dog Ventures). Additionally, startups participating in the NMotion Accelerator Fall 2025 cohort appeared on the list, each receiving standardized $100,000 investments as part of the program's structure.
A critical methodological note: deal values and investment terms reported across financial databases frequently diverge from actual transaction details. Ben Hohensee, investment analyst at Invest Nebraska, highlighted that business profiles and investment amounts tracked by platforms like PitchBook can differ materially from ground-truth figures. Hohensee's team made selective adjustments to certain deal values based on direct knowledge as active ecosystem investors, while acknowledging that other figures were likely rounded during the aggregation process. As a result, transaction sizes listed in the Q1 2026 deal snapshot may differ from values appearing on PitchBook or competing market databases. Silicon Prairie News noted it did not independently verify all investment details in the final list.
This Q1 update supplements Invest Nebraska's broader 2025 Nebraska Venture Capital Report, released earlier in 2026, which provided comprehensive trend analysis and historical context for venture activity across the state throughout the prior year.
The deal roster reflects activity from established regional investors. Nebraska-based capital providers participating in Q1 included Invest Nebraska itself, MOVE Venture Capital, Nelnet, and PGSA Venture Capital (the former Black Dog Ventures). Additionally, startups participating in the NMotion Accelerator Fall 2025 cohort appeared on the list, each receiving standardized $100,000 investments as part of the program's structure.
A critical methodological note: deal values and investment terms reported across financial databases frequently diverge from actual transaction details. Ben Hohensee, investment analyst at Invest Nebraska, highlighted that business profiles and investment amounts tracked by platforms like PitchBook can differ materially from ground-truth figures. Hohensee's team made selective adjustments to certain deal values based on direct knowledge as active ecosystem investors, while acknowledging that other figures were likely rounded during the aggregation process. As a result, transaction sizes listed in the Q1 2026 deal snapshot may differ from values appearing on PitchBook or competing market databases. Silicon Prairie News noted it did not independently verify all investment details in the final list.
This Q1 update supplements Invest Nebraska's broader 2025 Nebraska Venture Capital Report, released earlier in 2026, which provided comprehensive trend analysis and historical context for venture activity across the state throughout the prior year.
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