The startup picture in Chicago

Outside capital is meaningful but far from universal. Of 23853 tracked companies, 2756 have ever raised outside money, while the formation data still places 6200 in the unfunded stage.

Startups in Chicago - Funding, Founders & Investors

Everything startup in one place: who's building, how the landscape clusters, the people and investors behind it, and whether the capital is real.

Hyatt

Hyatt's Global Hospitality Expansion

est. 1957 · 206,000 staff · raised outside money

Mark Hoplamazian — CEO

United Airlines

Modernizing onboard products for more passengers and extra-legroom economy-class seating

est. 1926 · 103,300 staff · raised outside money

Oscar Munoz — Ex-Member Board Of Directors

Scott Kirby — CEO

Wrigley

Confectionery holding company

est. 1891 · 100,000 staff · raised outside money

William Wrigley — Founder

Martin Radvan — CEO

Allstate

Internet first provider of life, property, auto, and business insurance services

est. 1931 · 54,000 staff · raised outside money

Tom Wilson — Chairman & CEO

AbbVie

Global Pharma Innovation Platform

est. 2012 · 50,000 staff · raised outside money

Ashwathi Menon — Managing Director & General Manager, AbbVie India

Michael II — Director Strategy & Operations

Amoco

Integrated Oil & Gas Services for Everyday Products

est. 1889 · 43,450 staff · raised outside money

Bob Dudley — CEO

CloudCraze

Enterprise Cross-Channel E-Commerce Platform

est. 2008 · 41,578 staff · raised outside money

Chris Dalton — CEO

AMITA Health

Expanding AMITA Health's Clinic Network

est. 2015 · 25,000 staff · raised outside money

Mark Frey — CEO

Razorfish

Providing personalized digital experiences to B2B companies to improve efficiency and revenue.

est. 1995 · 25,000 staff · raised outside money

Chris Perry — Founder & CEO

Health Care Service Corporation

est. 1936 · 23,898 staff · raised outside money

Paula Steiner — CEO & President

Help at Home

Help At Home: Quality Home Care Agency

est. 1975 · 22,000 staff · raised outside money

Ron Ford — Chairman & CEO

Paul Mastrapa — CEO & President

Motorola Solutions

Advanced Mission-Critical Communications Platform

est. 1928 · 21,000 staff · raised outside money

Shawn Smith — Founder & CEO

Tien Son Dinh — Co-Founder & Chief Scientist

Conagra Brands

Conagra Brands Innovation and Scalability Evaluation

est. 1919 · 18,600 staff · raised outside money

Sean M Connolly — CEO

Littelfuse

Expanding into EV charging and power semiconductors

est. 1927 · 18,000 staff · raised outside money

Gordon Hunter — CEO

Edward V Sundt — Founder

Opportunity

Microfinance Services for Developing Nations

est. 1971 · 17,500 staff · raised outside money

Atul Tandon — CEO

Baxalta

Baxalta Bio-Pharma Solutions

est. 2015 · 17,000 staff · raised outside money

Flemming Ornskov — CEO

HUB International

World's 7th largest insurance broker.

est. 1998 · 17,000 staff · raised outside money

Marc I Cohen — CEO & President · University at Albany

John P Nelson — Chairman

GE Healthcare

Advanced precision health solutions for global healthcare

est. 1892 · 16,700 staff · raised outside money

Rob Walton — CEO & President

R1 RCM

Leading provider of patient experience and financial performance

est. 2003 · 16,445 staff · raised outside money

Mary Tolan — Co-Founder

Lee Rivas — CEO · Harvard Business School

Quaker Oats

Food company offering oatmeal products and snacks

est. 1877 · 11,858 staff · raised outside money

Henry Parsons Crowell — Founder

Kearney

Kearney Consulting Services

est. 1926 · 11,171 staff · raised outside money

Andrew Thomas Kearney — Founder

Paper Source

Retailer of stationery, wedding invitations, and gifts

est. 1983 · 10,552 staff · raised outside money

Sue Lindstrom — Founder

Winnie Park — CEO

Thoughtworks

ThoughtWorks: Global Digital Transformation Consultancy

est. 1993 · 10,500 staff · raised outside money

Mike Sutcliff — CEO · MS Georgia Institute of Technology

Presence Health

Comprehensive Multispecialty Healthcare Services

est. 2011 · 10,000 staff · raised outside money

Michael Englehart — CEO & President

cluster · 4730 companies

Business Services

362 founded since 2018 · 201 funded

Sub-themes

marketing services · 1168it services · 639legal services · 549hr services · 465management consulting services · 391event management services · 344

e.g. Panamco, NobleProg, Razorfish

cluster · 2404 companies

Enterprise Applications

487 founded since 2018 · 452 funded

Sub-themes

enterprise software · 564saas · 515marketingtech · 491hrtech · 457sales force automation · 127legal tech · 110

e.g. Opportunity, Thoughtworks, seaton

cluster · 2402 companies

Consumer

397 founded since 2018 · 320 funded

Sub-themes

b2c e-commerce · 610fashion tech · 214professional consumer services · 188local services · 163logistics tech · 162social platforms · 150

e.g. Paper Source, seaton, Infinity Insurance

cluster · 1709 companies

Real Estate And Construction

123 founded since 2018 · 69 funded

Sub-themes

real estate brokers · 313architects · 283real estate & infrastructure developers · 267interior designers · 156property management services · 129construction contractors · 108

e.g. jones lang lasalle, Komatsu, Marmon Food & Beverage Technologies

cluster · 1532 companies

Healthcare

121 founded since 2018 · 143 funded

Sub-themes

rehabilitation and long-term care · 272services for healthcare providers · 244clinic chains · 243fitness and wellness centers · 100clinics · 70healthcare associations · 61

e.g. AbbVie, AMITA Health, Help at Home

cluster · 1423 companies

Financial Services

114 founded since 2018 · 117 funded

Sub-themes

asset management · 294services for investment industry · 249finance & accounting services · 228insurance carriers · 111consumer and sme loans · 98service providers to banks · 93

e.g. Allstate, Health Care Service Corporation, HUB International

cluster · 1394 companies

Retail

239 founded since 2018 · 220 funded

Sub-themes

b2c e-commerce · 245fashion tech · 219internet first brands · 177e-commerce enablers · 138beauty tech · 95e-commerce support services · 86

e.g. CloudCraze, Paper Source, IGA

cluster · 1150 companies

Media & Entertainment

149 founded since 2018 · 95 funded

Sub-themes

internet first media · 315film & tv studios · 255b2c e-commerce · 104internet first news publishers · 101online event ticketing · 89radio tech · 78

e.g. Tribune Media, Snap36, kerasotes theatres

cluster · 1114 companies

Fintech

325 founded since 2018 · 301 funded

Sub-themes

investment tech · 461cryptocurrencies · 120finance & accounting tech · 115payments · 105alternative lending · 100banking tech · 77

e.g. Bolstr, Opportunity, R1 RCM

cluster · 1017 companies

Investment Industry

167 founded since 2018 · 68 funded

Sub-themes

private equity funds · 269real estate funds · 176venture capital funds · 170investment banks · 136accelerators & incubators · 120limited partners · 62

e.g. Grant Thornton, Heico Companies, William Blair

Founder & Background	Role	Company
Michael II Altum Edge Partners, ex-Merck. East Carolina University BS, Wake Forest University MBA	Director Strategy & Operations	AbbVie
Robert Michael Ex-Abbott. Indiana University Kelley School of Business BS 1992, UCLA Anderson School of Management MBA 2000	CEO	AbbVie
Rob Michael Mba University of California	Chief Executive Officer	AbbVie
Richard Gonzalez Abbvie	Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer	AbbVie
Chris Dalton Ex- Acquity Group, marchFIRST, USWeb/CKS, Marquette University	CEO	CloudCraze
Chris Perry Machine Football, ex-Studio Of Art And Commerce, ex-Machine Capital, The University of Manchester, 1992	Founder & CEO	Razorfish
Marc I Cohen CEO HUB International. University at Albany SUNY 1988	CEO & President	HUB International
Lee Rivas Ex-CCloudmed, LexisNexis, Elsevier and LexisNexis Risk. United States Military Academy at West Point BS 1996, Harvard Business Sch	CEO	R1 RCM
Winnie Park International Women Of Courage, ex-Paper Source, ex-Express, Northwestern University, 1999	CEO	Paper Source
Mike Sutcliff Co-Founder & CEO Mobeus, ex-Encora, Ascendion. Georgia Institute of Technology BSEE 1985	CEO	Thoughtworks
Michael Englehart Mercy, ex-Us Heart And Vascular, ex-American Orthopedic Partners, Lewis University, 2009	CEO & President	Presence Health
Anthony Lucero Morningstar, ex-Innventure, ex-Lucero Law, University of Central Florida, 2020	Founder & Managing Director	Morningstar
Thomas Dutka PATRIZIA, ex-Macquarie Group, Henry Davis York. UNSW BCom 2007	Director	Morningstar
Aditya Agarwal Ex-Co-Founder ICRA Online, Mefcom Capital Markets.	Managing Director	Morningstar
Mohit Aggarwal Ex-Cogencis Information Services, NewsWire18, Crisil, Thomas Cook India. NMIMS PGDM 2020	Managing Director of India Business	Morningstar
Kunal Kapoor Morningstar, ex-Pitchbook Data, babasaheb bhimrao ambedkar university, 1970	Chief Executive Officer	Morningstar
Paul M Black Ex-Cerner Corporation	CEO	Allscripts
Alexander Richardson Grant Ex-Cleveland accounting firm, Ernst & Ernst	Founder	Grant Thornton
Kirk Waldrop Ex-Grant Thornton, Chainalytics, Booz Allen Hamilton, Tribute. Georgia Institute of Technology BS 1997, University of Maryland - R	Managing Director	Grant Thornton
Jay Hurt Guidehouse, ex-Grant Thornton, ex-Federal Student Aid An Office Of The Us Department Of Education, Harvard University, John F. Ken	Managing Director	Grant Thornton

backgrounds shown where available

152 investors are on record backing Chicago companies. The most committed:

Most active — backed 2+ companies

Morgan Stanley

Berkshire Hathaway

European Union

Ares Capital Corporation

Ares Management

Tekla Capital Management

HarbourVest Partners

Apollo Investment Corporation

Europa

HTIF

JPMorgan Chase

Hud Exchange

Institutional

HTIF · VC fundBioVaria · accelerator / incubatorUSVP · VC fundPlug and Play Tech Center · VC fundUpHonest Capital · VC fundAlexa Fund · VC fundBengal Capital · VC fundArtemis Growth Partners · VC fundPoseidon Asset Management · VC fundV. Gastevich Investments · VC fundSOL Global Investments · VC fundNimble Ventures · VC fundSeyen Capital · VC fund

Private & corporate backers

Morgan StanleyBerkshire HathawayEuropean UnionAres Capital CorporationAres ManagementTekla Capital ManagementHarbourVest PartnersApollo Investment CorporationEuropaJPMorgan Chase+ 129 more

hover a name to see who they backed

Funded startups — peer cities

Los Angeles

4,567

Chicago

2,756

Houston

2,034

996Philadelphia

985New York

Companies that have raised

Company	Industry	Rounds	Latest Round	Founded
GGP	real estate	1	2012-11	1954
Littelfuse	electrical/electronic manufacturing	1	2016-12	1927
Benevolent	biotechnology	4	2019-09	2011
Aviv REIT	investment management	2	2012-06	1980
IRI	market research	4	2018-06	1979
Mesirow	investment management	5	2013-08	1937
North American Company	insurance	1	2009-12	1886
Circana	marketing and advertising	1	2011-06	1979
HomeX	consumer	1	2021-04	2016
DigitalWork	internet	3	2000-11	1998
Potbelly	restaurants	4	2017-11	1977
Avaneer	hospital & health care	1	2022-01	2019
Context Media	information technology and services	3	2004-03	1999
Perkins and Will	architecture & planning	9	2020-12	1935
BridgePort Networks	telecommunications	2	2006-11	2002
Delract	oil & energy	1	2020-05	2013
TIZ	staffing and recruiting	1	2023-10
Initiate Systems	business/productivity software	3	2008-10	1996
GE Healthcare	hospital & health care	7	2023-09	1892
Small Exchange	other capital markets/institutions	4	2021-01	2017
Inteliquent	telecommunications	5	2006-06	2004
Vibe	marketing and advertising	2	2024-02	2010
McHenry Savings Bank	banking	1	2018-02	1955
Coral	business/productivity software	1	2022-09	2022
Architect	financial software	2	2024-01	2021

round amounts sparse for tier-3 cities — counts shown, dollar totals withheld

Company	Industry	Founded	Employees
Vesperly	computer software	2026	—
Chanly AI	marketing and advertising	2026	—
Redship	computer software	2026	—
Chgo	sports	2026	—
America News Nation	newspapers	2026	—
Ascend Agents	information technology and services	2026	—
Bellzimo	apparel & fashion	2026	—
Bmw Coding	automotive	2026	—
Brand Sauce	internet	2026	—
Danny Adams	construction	2026	—
Dawn Spiegelberg	health, wellness and fitness	2026	—
Industry Transparency Center	health, wellness and fitness	2026	—
It Is More Than Health	health, wellness and fitness	2026	—
Luminary Solutions	computer software	2026	—
Pay For Online Classes	e-learning	2026	—
TechRewire	internet	2026	—
Tereo Group	accounting	2026	—
Jusayn	online media	2025	—
The College App	education management	2025	—
Permute	computer software	2025	—

The startup picture in Chicago

Hyatt

United Airlines

Wrigley

Allstate

AbbVie

Amoco

CloudCraze

AMITA Health

Razorfish

Health Care Service Corporation

Help at Home

Motorola Solutions

Conagra Brands

Littelfuse

Opportunity

Baxalta

HUB International

GE Healthcare

R1 RCM

Quaker Oats

Kearney

Paper Source

Thoughtworks

Presence Health

Business Services

Enterprise Applications

Consumer

Real Estate And Construction

Healthcare

Financial Services

Retail

Media & Entertainment

Fintech

Investment Industry

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