· Updated · Venture Capital Tracker · investment-strategies · 3 min read
Cincinnati Startups and VC Firms in 2026: 84.51°, CincyTech, Medpace
Cincinnati venture map in 2026 — Kroger’s 84.51° data science, Assurex Health’s GeneSight exit, Medpace (CRO), plus CincyTech and QCA Ventures.
Cincinnati is a CPG/retail data and health services market — 84.51° (Kroger’s insights engine), Medpace as a public CRO, Assurex Health’s pharmacogenomics exit — with CincyTech and QCA Ventures as the seed stack.
This page maps what we profile.
City hub: /vc/cincinnati · All cities: /cities · Fund directory: /directory
What Cincinnati is (and is not)
| Cincinnati is… | Cincinnati is not… |
|---|---|
| Retail media / CPG data density via 84.51° + Kroger adjacency | A coastal consumer marketplace HQ market |
| Active seed via CincyTech and QCA (ex–Queen City Angels) | Columbus insurtech (/vc/columbus-oh) |
| Health services (Medpace CRO) and GeneSight history | A full University City biotech census |
Startups we cover in Cincinnati
| Company | What they do | Stage / status | Notable capital | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 84.51° | Kroger’s retail data science, insights, and media subsidiary named for Cincinnati HQ longitude. | Other | Wholly owned by The Kroger Co. | /startup/eighty-four-fifty-one |
| Assurex Health | Pharmacogenomic testing (GeneSight) to guide mental health medication decisions — acquired by Myriad Genetics. | Acquired | CincyTech | /startup/assurex-health |
| Medpace | Full-service clinical research organization (CRO) for biotech and pharma drug development. | Public | NASDAQ:MEDP | /startup/medpace |
Why these names matter
84.51° — Cincinnati CPG/retail tech proof: wholly owned Kroger subsidiary at 100 W. Fifth Street turning first-party shopper data into insights and retail media.
Assurex Health — Cincinnati-metro (Mason, OH) precision-medicine exit: Myriad deal $225M upfront (+$185M milestones) in 2016; early CincyTech support; HQ kept in Mason.
Medpace — Cincinnati public life-sciences services scale-up (NASDAQ:MEDP) — local CRO density for founders commercializing trials.
Local investors (Cincinnati HQ or program)
| Firm | Role | Stages | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| CincyTech | Cincinnati seed firm — among Midwest’s most active seed investors | Pre-Seed, Seed | /fund/cincytech |
| QCA Ventures | Cincinnati early-stage network (formerly Queen City Angels) | Seed, Series A | /fund/qca-ventures |
How to read this: CincyTech and QCA are first-money paths. 84.51° is a Kroger subsidiary — use it as a buyer/talent proof point, not as a classic venture-backed startup peer.
National capital Cincinnati founders still need
Local funds rarely replace a coastal or specialist Series A. Pitch these directory firms by thesis, not geography:
| Firm | Why founders care | Profile |
|---|---|---|
| Andreessen Horowitz | Multi-stage when consumer/data metrics clear | /fund/andreessen-horowitz |
| Bessemer Venture Partners | Vertical SaaS / data companies | /fund/bessemer-venture-partners |
| Define Ventures | Digital health specialist | /fund/define-ventures |
| F-Prime Capital | Healthtech / life sciences | /fund/f-prime-capital |
| General Catalyst | Multi-stage health + enterprise | /fund/general-catalyst |
Cincy seed vs national health/retail capital — what differs
| CincyTech / QCA | National Series A+ | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Pre-seed/seed, Ohio Third Frontier adjacency | Scaled retail-tech or health rounds |
| Check shape | Seed network checks | Specialist priced rounds |
| Underwrite | Local CPG/health buyers | National category leadership |
| Mistake | Treating 84.51° as an independent seed-stage startup | Skipping CincyTech when you have true Cincinnati HQ |
Worked example (illustrative)
Setup: A Cincinnati retail-media or pharmacogenomic software startup raises CincyTech seed and lands a Kroger-adjacent or health-system pilot.
Move: They raise an $10–15M Series A from a national digital-health or data firm.
Punch: Cincinnati buyer access was the diligence artifact; the Series A lead was still national.
When Cincinnati is the wrong capital market
- You need Drive Capital’s Columbus multi-stage story — use /vc/columbus-oh.
- You treat Assurex as independent — it was acquired by Myriad.
- You invent Queen City multi-stage HQ funds beyond CincyTech/QCA.
- You pitch coastal consumer funds with zero CPG/retail proof.
How to use this page
- Read 84.51°, Assurex Health, Medpace.
- Local: CincyTech, QCA Ventures.
- Live hub: /vc/cincinnati.
- Midwest peers: Columbus and Cleveland hubs.
Related reading
Sources
- Startup profiles: eighty-four-fifty-one, assurex-health, medpace
- Fund profiles: cincytech, qca-ventures
- cincinnati
- ohio
- venture-capital
- +3 more
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Editorial note: AI tools assisted with research, structure, or drafting. Venture Capital Tracker retains human editorial responsibility for factual accuracy, relevance, and source quality before publication.
