Chicago is well-known for many things, such as the mercurial Michael Jordan, the quality of the city's pizza and how windy the city is. Anyone involved in tech and the startup ecosystem will also know that Chicago has a large number of top startups, with the ecosystem being valued far above the global average at $49 Billion. Furthermore, early-stage funding in Chicago startups between 2019 and 2021 rested at $1.7 Billion, which is also above the global average.
The city also has a strong network of startup accelerators and incubators, which allows for early-stage startups in the city to grow and for inexperienced founders to get access to mentoring opportunities that can help to develop themselves as entrepreneurs and their business. There are currently more than 70 of these incubators contained in the city.
Locally-based startup funds are also going from strength to strength, with thirteen Chicago-based venture firms raising more than $100 Million, with a total raise of $5.7 Billion and a large amount of this money has gone towards growing local startups, particularly in Fintech, Logistics, Healthcare and DeepTech.
1. Tegus
Year Founded: 2016
HQ: Chicago, USA
Size: 11-50
Founders: Michael Elnick, Thomas Elnick
Tegus is a Chicago startup that was founded in 2016 and is still headquartered in the Windy City. The company has created a market intelligence platform tailored to investors- with the platform giving the users access to a database of thousands of peer-led exper call transcripts. This allows for research to take place in a matter of hours instead of a matter of days.
Since being founded, the company has gone through two rounds of startup funding, with the most recent round taking place in November 2021. These funding rounds have seen the company agree to deals with a pair of investors. From these investors, the company has managed to raise a figure of $91.5 Million and the team have made an acquisition.
2. M1
Year Founded: 2015
HQ: Chicago, USA
Size: 251-500
Founders: Brian Barnes
M1 is a startup in Chicago that was founded in 2015 and is currently still based in the Illinois city. The company operates an app that works as an investment platform, as well as a platform that allows people to take out loans, checking and rewards from debit and credit cards. This creates a high-value financial ecosystem for users of the app and more than $6 Billion in assets have been trusted to M1.
Since being founded, the company has gone through a total of seven rounds of startup funding. These funding rounds have seen the company strike deals with a total of eight investors. From these investors, the business has raised a figure of $323.2 Million to further its growth and development.
3. CurlMix
Year Founded: 2015
HQ: Chicago, USA
Size: 1-10
Founders: Juan Francisco Lago, Kimberly Lewis, Tim Lewis
CurlMix is a Chicago startup that was founded in 2015 and is currently headquartered in Chicago, USA. The company operates a monthly subscription service that sends users between five and seven natural ingredients that allows them to make their own hair products, without worrying about damaging their hair with unnatural or unsafe ingredients and chemicals.
Since being founded, the company has gone through four rounds of startup funding, with the the most recent round taking place in April 2021. These funding rounds have seen the company gain support from a pair of investors and the effort of these investors has allowed the startup to raise $3.2 Million.
4. Hologram
Year Founded: 2014
HQ: Chicago, USA
Size: 51-100
Founders: Benjamin Forgan, Patrick Wilbur
Hologram is a startup in Chicago that was founded in 2014 and is still based in the city that it was founded in. The company has developed technology that allows for the connection of devices to any network that has a mobile connection and the company also offers fleet monitoring that is powered by IoT technology. The company has clients all across the world and has grown quickly since it was founded.
To date, the company has gone through seven rounds of startup funding, with the most recent round taking place in August 2021. These funding rounds have provided the team with funding agreements with twelve investors. The end result from these investors is that the company has managed to raise $82.4 Million.
5. Amount
Year Founded: 2019
HQ: Chicago, USA
Size: 251-500
Founders: Al Goldstein
Amount is a Chicago startup that was founded in 2019 and is currently based in Chicago, USA. The company aims to address the problem with many financial institutions being slow to adapt to digital change by managing the process of digital transformation within these businesses, which allows them to reach their goals much more quickly than they would independently.
Since being founded, the company has gone through four rounds of startup funding, with the most recent taking place in May 2019. These funding rounds have seen the company agree to deals with ten investors. These investors have allowed the company to raise $283 Million in funding.
6. Puttshack
Year Founded: 2017
HQ: Chicago, USA
Size: 51-100
Founders: Adam Breeden
Puttshack is a startup in Chicago that was founded in 2017 and is currently headquartered in the Windy City. The company provides ball tracking and scoring systems for companies that provide indoor minigolf activities. This system prevents loss and also improves the user experience through easier scoring, which cuts down on administration when people are trying to relax, the company also offers its own venues.
Since being founded, the company has gone through three rounds of startup funding, with the most recent round taking place in May 2021. These funding rounds have seen the company agree to deals with a pair of investors. The money raised from these investors has reached a total of $93.9 Million.
7. Network Perception
Year Founded: 2014
HQ: Chicago, USA
Size: 11-50
Founders: David Nicol, Edmond Rogers, Mouna Bamba, Robin Berthier, William Sanders
Network Perception is a Chicago startup that was founded in 2014 and is currently based in the city. The company provides a solution that allows businesses to run configuration analysis on their software so that they can manage their networks in a more efficient and visual manner. This improves software quality and overall security for businesses using Network Perception.
Since being founded, the company has gone through three rounds of startup funding, with the most recent taking place in May 2022. These funding rounds have seen the company gain support from a total of ten investors. The efforts from these investors has allowed the company to raise $16.5 Million.
8. Clearcover
Year Founded: 2016
HQ: Chicago, USA
Size: 251-500
Founders: Derek Brigham, Kyle Nakatsuji
Clearcover is a startup in Chicago that was founded in 2016 and is currently headquartered in the Windy City. The company provides a digital car insurance service that makes it easier, simpler and cheaper for consumers to get access to car insurance. This is particularly important now as the cost of fuel increasing has led many drivers to struggle to pay for their vehicles.
The company has gone through four rounds of startup funding since being founded, with the most recent taking place in April 2021. These funding rounds have seen the company agree to deals with a total of 13 investors. From these investments, the business has managed to raise $304.5 Million.
9. ThreeFlow
Year Founded: 2015
HQ: Chicago, USA
Size: 51-100
Founders: Richard Perrott, Ryan Sachtjen, Shaheeb Roshan
ThreeFlow is a Chicago startup that was founded in 2015 and is currently still based in the Illinois city. The company provides a SaaS solution specifically designed for carriers and brokers of employee benefit programmes. This makes it easier for carriers to win deals and for end users to create employee benefit programmes that work effectively for their business and operations.
Since being founded, the company has gone through four rounds of startup funding, with the most recent being completed in November 2021. These funding rounds have seen the company strike deals with four investors. The total raised from these investors has reached a figure of $54.3 Million.
10. Visual Feeder
Year Founded: 2019
HQ: Chicago, USA
Size: 1-10
Founders: Eddie Yang, Yaxi Yang
Visual Feeder is a startup in Chicago that was founded in 2019 and is currently based in the city of Chicago. The company provides brands with the opportunity to gain more visibility and customers through the use of visual full-motion brand advertising in retail locations that experience a high volume of foot traffic. These experiences can be specifically targeted for specific audiences.
The business has gone through two rounds of startup funding since it was founded, with the most recent taking place in May 2022. These funding rounds have seen the company agree to deals with five investors. The efforts of these investors have allowed the company to raise $1.7 Million.
11. Hallow
Year Founded: 2018
HQ: Chicago, USA
Size: 11-50
Founders: Alessandro DiSanto, Alex Jones, Erich Kerekes
Hallow is a Chicago startup that was founded in 2018 and is currently based in the Windy City. The company provides an app-based prayer and meditation platform with the goal of helping people feel closer to god and to help them find peace in their life, including improved sleep patterns.
Since the company was founded, it has gone through six rounds of startup funding, with the most recent round being completed in November 2021. These funding rounds have led to the company signing deals with a total of 17 investors. The total raised from these investors has reached $55 Million.
12. Provi
Year Founded: 2016
HQ: Chicago, USA
Size: 251-500
Founders: Taylor Katzman
Provi is a startup in Chicago that was founded in 2016 and is currently based in the city. The company provides a B2B e-commerce marketplace that is tailored to businesses involved in the sale of alcoholic beverages. This helps to improve communication and order fulfillment between suppliers, retailers and distributors. With the company operating in more than 35 states across the USA.
Provi has gone through six rounds of startup funding since being founded, with the most recent taking place in September 2021. These funding rounds have seen the company agree to deals with 13 investors. The business has managed to successfully raised a figure of $50 Million from these investors.
13. Blockfills
Year Founded: 2017
HQ: Chicago, USA
Size: 1-10
Founders: Nicholas Hammer
Blockfills is a Chicago startup that was founded in 2017 and is currently based in the Illinois city. The company powers digital trade by creating end-to-end financial and liquidity-based solutions to help institutions to create better trading environments for their users. The company provides a range of other solutions to help with the digital trading environment for businesses and consumers alike.
Since being founded, the company has gone through two rounds of startup funding, with the last taking place in January 2022. These funding rounds have seen the company agree to deals with nine investors. The total raised from these investors has netted the startup a total of $44 Million.
14. Raise
Year Founded: 2013
HQ: Chicago, USA
Size: 251-500
Founders: George Bousis
Raise is a startup in Chicago that was founded in 2013 and is currently based in the Windy City. The company provides an online exchange marketplace for gift cards and rewards, where customers can earn rewards and save money by making purchases with more than 4000 of the company's partner brands. This helps customers to save money and for businesses to improve their relationships with their customers.
The business has gone through six rounds of startup funding since being founded, with the most recent taking place in January 2020. These funding rounds have seen the company agree to deals with a total of 14 investors. These investors have helped the company to raise a figure of $147.2 Million.
15. 4Degrees
Year Founded: 2017
HQ: Chicago, USA
Size: 11-50
Founders: Ablorde Ashigbi, David Vandegrift
4Degrees is a Chicago startup that was founded in 2017 and is currently still based in the city. The company has developed a CRM platform to help industries that place high importance on relationships, the platform uses AI to help companies to build better external relationships and better activate their professional network for the betterment of the business.
Since being founded, the business has gone through seven rounds of startup funding, with the most recent taking place in November 2021. These funding rounds have allowed the company to gain investment from 12 investors. The money raised from these investors has reached a figure of $2.5 Million.
16. NOCD
Year Founded: 2014
HQ: Chicago, USA
Size: 51-100
Founders: Stephen Smith
NOCD is a startup in Chicago that was founded in 2014 and is currently based in the city. The company provides an online therapy platform for sufferers of OCD, which allows for face to face and video sessions with licensed therapists, to help provide care that assists sufferers with their conditions and helps them to maintain the benefits of the therapy in the long-term.
Since being founded, the company has gone through five rounds of startup funding, with the most recent taking place in September 2021. These funding rounds have seen the company gain support from nine investors. The end result from these investments is that the company has raised $50 Million.
17. Aqua Cultured Foods
Year Founded: 2021
HQ: Chicago, USA
Size: 1-10
Founders: Anne Palermo, Brittany Chibe
Aqua Cultured Foods is a Chicago startup that was founded in 2021 and is currently headquartered in the city. The company aims to provide healthy and tasty alternatives to seafood, for the betterment of the environment and the fish themselves. This is achieved through microbial fermentation and represents the leading edge of the alternative food revolution.
The business has gone through a pair of funding rounds since being founded, with these funding rounds seeing the company agree to deals with a total of eight investors. From these investors, the company has managed to raise a figure of $2.3 Million.
18. Interior Define
Year Founded: 2013
HQ: Chicago, USA
Size: 51-100
Founders: Rob Royer
Interior Define is a startup in Chicago that was founded in 2013 and still maintains its headquarters in the city. The company provides a digital-first furniture brand that offers customized shopping experiences and high-quality goods for the midmarket, making sure that more people have access to quality furniture that suits their needs, from price to design.
The company has gone through a series of six funding rounds since it was founded, with the last being completed in January 2022. These funding rounds have been supported by a total of six investors. The total funding raised by these investors has reached a figure of $57.2 Million.
19. CAMEO
Year Founded: 2017
HQ: Chicago, USA
Size: 251-500
Founders: Devon Townsend, Martin Blencowe, Steven Galanis
CAMEO is a Chicago startup that was founded in 2017 and is currently based in the Windy City. The company provides an app that allows people to get personalized text and video messages from their famous celebrities, ranging from sports starts to musicians in exchange for providing money to the individual. This makes a great opportunity for gifts that will be remembered.
Since being founded, the company has gone through nine rounds of startup funding. These funding rounds have seen the company generate funding support from a total of 29 investors. The total raised from these investors has reached a total of $165.7 Million.
20. Evozyne
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: Chicago, USA
Size: 1-10
Founders: Andrew Ferguson, Jeff Aronin, Rama Ranganathan
Evozyne is a startup in Chicago that was founded in 2020 and is still headquartered in the Illinois city. The startup specializes in biotechnology and in particular, protein design and molecular scale. The aim of the company is to use the potential contained in novel proteins to help to solve complex challenges related to human health and problems within society as a whole.
Since being founded, the company has gone through a pair of startup funding rounds, with the last taking place in April 2021. The total number of investors for the company has not been disclosed, however, the business has managed to raise a figure of $63.4 Million to further research and development.
21. Waltz Health
Year Founded: 2021
HQ: Chicago, USA
Size: 11-50
Founders: Jonathon Thierer, Mark Thierer
Waltz Health is a Chicago startup that was founded in 2021 and is still based in Chicago. The company provides a digital health platform that improves the process of pricing, distributing and prescribing medications for patients. This is achieved through the use of efficient technology.
The business has gone through a single startup funding round in April 2022 and this funding round saw the company agree to deals with six investors. From these investors, the company has managed to raise a figure of $35 Million to further its research and company development.
FAQs
What is the Average Investment in Chicago?
The average Seed Round in Chicago is worth $1 Million and the average Series A is worth $5 Million, with both figures being above the global average.
What Are The Strongest Sectors in Chicago?
The strongest sectors in Chicago are manufacturing, printing, insurance, finance and food processing.
How Many Startups Are There In Chicago?
There are currently more than 3000 startups based in Chicago.
