Chicago-based startup G2 Crowd announced that it raised a $55 million Series C round, which it will use to increase its headcount by 500% and further disrupt the $3.7 trillion enterprise technology market. The round was led by IVP, with participation from Accel and Emergence Capital, and brings the company’s total funding raised to $100 million. This is one of the…
PitchBook revealed its 2018 Chicago VC Ecosystem report, released in conjunction with ChicagoNEXT’s Chicago Venture Summit. This report finds that Chicago continues to outpace other U.S. venture ecosystems — including the Bay Area — in median multiple on invested capital (MOIC). Chicago startups give investors a median MOIC of 5.6 times, considerably exceeding the city’s coastal counterparts. (MOIC is calculated…
U.S. News recently reported on why Chicago has become a top city for startups and entrepreneurs, highlighting the organization that works to promote the city’s technology industry, ChicagoNEXT. On Tuesday, ChicagoNEXT will host its fourth Chicago Venture Summit, the region’s flagship VC conference, where VC firms from coast to coast convene with Chicago’s top entrepreneurs and community supporters to highlight and nurture the…
Last week, Chicago-based startup Tempus announced that it raised a $110 million Series E round led by Baillie Gifford. This is the biggest VC round the Midwest has seen so far in 2018, and it prompted me to take a closer look at the other large Midwest VC deals this year and which industries received the most dollars.…
Cisco’s announcement this month that it intends to acquire Ann Arbor-based cybersecurity startup Duo Security for a whopping $2.35 billion shines a light on the Midwest’s increasing strength in the cybersecurity space. Given that Ann Arbor is relatively small compared to cities like Chicago and New York, such a large exit might come as a surprise to some.…
I’ve talked about how Midwest startups with coastal connections attract capital and why investors outside the Midwest want in. In fact, a recent analysis of PitchBook data shows that Chicago startups alone received $1.7 billion in venture capital funding last year through deals with at least one non-Illinois investor. While this is certainly noteworthy, what is perhaps more…
PitchBook’s recent report on the 3 critical factors for a strong venture ecosystem — density, resources, and talent — led me on a quest to find where, beyond the typical major cities discussed in the venture world, we see these factors crystallizing in emerging ecosystems. I didn’t have to go far; my research led me across Lake Michigan to the…
In a Forbes article I wrote earlier this year, I analyzed why 2017 was a great year for Chicago exits and investments. Inspired by these recent successes, I traced the data back a bit farther and examined Chicago’s exits from 2012 to 2017. Using PitchBook data and SEC filings, I found that the following exits positioned…
While 2017 was a strong year for Midwestern startup exits in general, a deeper analysis demonstrates that Chicago in particular is among the nation’s leading cities for top exits and IPOs over the past five years. This indicates the city has evolved and is now presenting a recurring pattern of startup successes that drive attractive venture…
A trend is emerging in venture capital that is good news for the Midwest startup ecosystem: Companies led by seasoned entrepreneurs who strategically opened major offices in both the Midwest and Silicon Valley attract funding from top-tier VC firms. While it is too early to determine whether this will be the next big wave in…