Few startups have been able to make it through the gauntlet that is venture capital fundraising in 2023, but those that do think they are all the stronger for it.
While the last year for startups has been defined by correcting some of the mistakes of 2021, several Chicago startups have been able to fund overscubscribed Series A, B, C, D rounds and beyond, though initial public offerings have been few and far between. Some have even been able to expand their operations after strong performances over the past year.
One area to watch in the second half of 2023 and beyond: food technology. Chicago is poised to become a global leader when it comes to food bioengineering and production. Chicagoland is now home to at least 23 alternative protein manufacturers and 46 bioengineered and novel-ingredient food products, including some featured on this year's Inno Fire list.
Now in its ninth year, Chicago Inno's Fire Awards recognize the startups, investors and innovation hubs that are making their mark on the city's tech scene this year. The list of 50 companies and organizations is designed to highlight the fast-growing, game-changing firms that have made big headlines — whether through a funding round that helped propel a company to new heights or a fund that continues to support Chicago's finest even during uncertain times.
The companies on the list include some early-stage startups that have just started their journeys and others that have become giants in Chicago’s tech scene. Winners this year are organized into five categories: the builders, the growers and the helpers, as well as food, health and med tech, and innovative consumer tech.
Soon, we'll reveal the Blazer winners, the top firms from each category, as decided by a panel of judges.
In the meantime, Inno Fire awardees were sourced by nominations and selected by the Chicago Inno editorial team. Dive into the list below.
The builders
Accelerators, VCs, incubators and programs building better startups for Chicago
Chicago's incubator for hardtech and physical products is moving to the Near West Side after securing $50 million for the acquisition and build-out of what it hopes will become the largest independent manufacturing innovation center in the country. During its six-year tenure, mHub has brought together more than 600 engineers, designers and scientists to facilitate research-and-development initiatives and has helped launch more than 1,502 products.
A Chicago-based brewery incubator, Pilot Project Brewing serves as a launchpad for startup breweries. It offers help with fine-tuning recipes, scaling production, business development and more. It has launched more than 13 breweries and brands such as Luna Bay Hard Kombucha. The brewery incubator purchased a 70,000-square-foot production facility in downtown Milwaukee in September and closed on $8 million in seed financing.
Songfinch's Scott Kitun, along with his fellow founders of the Chicago-based music startup — including John Williamson, Rob Lindquist and Josh Kaplan — launched Off Center Ventures to fund others working at the intersection of tech and entertainment. Backed by Valor Siren Ventures, Off Center Ventures plans to make around 15 investments ranging from $30,000 to $50,000.
A U.S. Department of Energy multidisciplinary science and engineering research center, Argonne National Laboratory installed the final components of the highly anticipated exascale supercomputer this summer.
Led by Amy Francetic, Buoyant Ventures, a new Chicago-based venture firm looking to invest in digital solutions to mitigate the impacts of climate change, closed on just under $80 million in February. As a 100% woman-owned firm, Buoyant wants to see more female-owned startups get funding.
Chicago-based Portal Innovations has been busy in 2023. The venture capital firm raised $100 million to fund life-sciences startups in Chicago, Atlanta and other biomedical hubs. The firm also expanded its footprint this year, first to Boston then to Texas. Portal Innovations tripled the size of its current space in Fulton Market to begin the year as well.
Polsky Deep Tech Ventures launched earlier this year, armed with $20 million, to offer sector-specific accelerators, entrepreneurial, training and funding for startups. The new University of Chicago initiative will launch three new accelerators in 2023: one devoted to data science and AI, dubbed Transform; another nine-month hybrid program focused on cleantech, dubbed Resurgence; and a final one centered on life sciences. UChicago's quantum startup accelerator, Duality, now falls under the Deep Tech Ventures umbrella as well.
Lofty Ventures is trying to help more people in the Chicago ecosystem become angel investors. Led by Chris Deutsch and Spencer Gordon-Sand, the early-stage VC has now helped 159 founders at 88 startups — 80% of which are Chicago founders.
Arch Venture Partners is a biotech-focused VC firm reloaded with $3 billion for its latest fund. The early-stage biotech investor works with startups in infectious disease, mental health, immunology, oncology and other areas.
Over the past 12 months, Jump Capital has made five investments across five verticals, including investments in Highline Technologies, Workera and Cable. Jump Capital closed a $350 million fund at the end of 2021 to invest in fintech crypto and other startups.
After selling his on-demand dry-cleaning service to Procter & Gamble in 2018, Vijen Patel added a new player to Chicago VC, one focused on industries that are often overlooked by investors. The 81 Collection, an early-stage venture firm, launched its inaugural $41 million fund to end 2022 focusing on investing in "hard industries" such as manufacturing, real estate, retail and construction. Named after the notion that 19% of GDP attracts more than 50% of venture capital activity, The 81 Collection wants to go after the other 81%.
Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago
Facebook founder and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Dr. Priscilla Chan selected Chicago as the home of their next biomedical research hub. Funded with $250 million over the next decade through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the new facility will bring leading regional research institutions including the University of Chicago, Northwestern University and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to develop new technologies. Signed on for more than 28,000 square feet at Fulton Labs, the biohub will develop cutting-edge biotechnologies and discover the next medical breakthroughs.
This summer, Matter launched its second 51 Labs, an accelerator named because women are 51% of the population. After the first program was centered on menopause, focusing on earlier identification and symptom management, this year's program will focus on reducing maternal mortality. In the first quarter of 2023, 34 startups were added to Matter's portfolio. More than $4.8 billion has been raised by Matter startups, and they generated $207 million in 2022 revenues.
Chicago-based VC S2G Ventures launched a new fund earlier this year to provide funding to climatetech companies. The new $300 million Special Opportunities Fund will focus on food, energy and oceans,. The fund brings the Chicago-based VC's assets under management to $2 billion.
The growers
Startups expanding their footprints or teams
Inno Madness winner Out of Office is looking to keep the momentum going in the second half of 2023. The Chicago startup has grown by almost 500% over the last 12 months after raising $3.5 million in 2022.
Password management security company Keeper Security opened an Asia-Pacific headquarters in Tokyo earlier this year that will serve Japan, East Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
Chicago startup FranShares wants to give anyone the option to invest in franchise ownership, whether with $500 or millions of dollars, while providing franchisees and operators with the capital they need to grow their business. The startup's first offering, TNT Franchise Fund Inc., has received more than $18 million investments and this year has more than 40,000 investors on its waiting list. The Chicago startup has raised more than $3.5 million in venture funding to date.
Chicago startup New Era ADR has become the named dispute resolution platform in more than 50 million contracts and last month was named the new independent arbitration body for the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee and more. The Chicago software startup has raised a total of $6.3 million in the last year, including an oversubscribed $4.6 million seed round.
Art Shaikh's latest venture, DigitalWill, launched earlier this year to provide a will, obituary and funeral planning platform that ensures an individual and their loved one's final wishes are followed. In three months since it launched, DigitalWill has been downloaded 60,000 times in 198 countries.
Property maintenance tech platform Mezo announced a $6 million seed investment to end 2022. Founded in 2020 as a one-trip resolution source for home maintenance needs, the company was launched as a telehealth-inspired model for property maintenance.
Since its Series B financing last January, Leap announced another $15 million capital raise in June. The Chicago startup that helps e-commerce brands launch physical retail stores helped Collars & Co. open its first retail store on Michigan Avenue to kick off the summer.
Among the highlights in the past year for NonGraf, the Chicago startup that's building longer-lasting and higher-power lithium-ion batteries, is securing both an oversubscribed $65 million Series B and multiple Department of Defense contracts, and developing a new 17,000-square-foot facility in Fulton Market.
The helpers
Businesses helping other businesses grow
A Chicago startup using AI, Paro raised $25 million this year with the help of some of its existing investors. The startup, which connects companies to finance professionals, has raised $67 million to date.
Led by CEO Ryan Letzeiser, who founded the company with his brother Aaron after nearly a decade working in real estate private equity, Obie has built a cloud-based insurance and portfolio management platform for small- and medium-size apartment landlords. The Chicago-based insurtech platform plans to double-down on its cloud-based insurance and portfolio management platform for small- and medium-size apartment landlords after announcing a $25.5 million Series B raise earlier this year.
Chicago stalwart Relativity expanded its global presence after acquiring legal software startup Heretik last year. Relativity also continues to invest its platform and cloud product, RelativityOne, including expanding AI capabilities.
Drift Net, a Chicago-based security firm, wants to give schools the tools they need to respond to threats using artificial intelligence. The startup uses visual sensors, threat sensors and thermal imaging to provide schools with real-time data on where occupants are throughout the building, which can be vital during a critical incident. It raised $15.6 million in Series A financing this year and plans to double the size of its office space by the end of the year.
Chicago startup Nerdio seems to have the right product for the right audience at the right time. The company, which works with companies to enable their employees to work remotely using virtual desktops in the cloud, raised a $177 million Series B to close out 2022, a big jump from the $8 million Series A the company raised in 2020. After doubling his head count in 2022, Nerdio CEO Vadim Vladimirskiy said he's looking to double his head count again in 2023.
Following a $10 million Series A that it closed in October 2021, a $40 million Series B close should help recruiting startup Hunt Club further to automate and modernize the hiring process. The Chicago startup saw a 156% year-over-year growth from 2021 to 2022 after placing more than 1,000 new hires in tech jobs.
Virtual care platform KeyCare completed its Series A funding after receiving new investments from Ziegler and two additional health systems. KeyCare helps schedule patient appointments with a nationwide network of virtual care groups and uses Epic Systems' electronic health record software to ensure a seamless experience and accurate records. CEO Lyle Berkowitz said that multiple new health systems were scheduled to go live on the platform in the first quarter of 2023.
Chicago startup DeepWalk, which does automated inspections for city engineers and focuses on sidewalk and curb ramp accessibility inspections, closed a $1.4 million seed investment from CEAS Investments earlier this year. Initially based out of the University of Illinois Research Park, the the company also moved its headquarters to River North.
After winning at Barnburner, a pitch competition hosted by fintech company Sweater Ventures in Boulder, Colorado, Chicago startup Grapefruit Health kept the momentum going by raising a $1.3 million pre-seed round. Founder and CEO Eric Alvarez said he used any means at his disposal to raise the money in a tough market, securing grant opportunities, accelerator programs and arranging around 130 pitch meetings. The startup, which hopes to address the health care workforce shortage by connecting organizations with clinical students who can do tasks remotely, will look to expand its clientele and continue to scale the company with the new funding.
After appearing on Shark Tank in March, Pluie continues to attract attention. The maker of a self-sanitizing diaper-changing table for public restrooms signed one of its biggest deals to date in March, with plans to install 50 Pluie diaper changing tables in men's, women's and family restrooms throughout the airport. While they didn't end up getting a deal with the sharks, Pluie plans to launch a consumer product later this year.
Food, health and med tech
Startups making the food, health care and medical industries better
Chicago biotech startup Evozyne brought in tech veteran Mike Gamson, who previously held stints at LinkedIn and legal-tech firm Relativity, as its next CEO. Part of the latest tech gold rush, Evozyne has developed an artificial intelligence model that it says will reduce the time it takes to bring new drugs to market.
After reloading with more cash in 2022, AI and precision medicine Tempus acquired Mpirik, a cardiology-focused health care tech company that specializes in data-driven patient screening.
A $1 million funding raise last year will help Chicago startup Altris AI scale its AI-powered solution that helps detect eye disease. With backing from the UChicago Booth School of Business and Chicago Booth Angels, Altris AI is developing a platform that helps eye care professionals fight blindness by helping train optometrists to identify, localize and quantify signs of eye disease.
After making a run in Chicago Inno Madness this year, Aqua Cultured Foods is one new Chicago startup to keep an eye on. Aside from raising $5.5 million in seed funding earlier this year, the foodtech startup that's looking to bring seafood alternatives to your dinner table was accepted into the Illinois state Economic Development for a Growing Economy program to incentivize its expansion. Aqua Cultured Foods began build-out of its new West Loop facility earlier this year.
It's been a busy 12 months for Chicago startup Dimension Inx. The Northwestern University spinout received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration last December for its first commercial product. The Chicago startup also announced a Series A close of $12 million in funding in February and moved into a new facility at Fulton Labs.
Pulling in one of the top funding rounds of the first quarter for a Chicago startup, NOCD landed $34 million at a $204 million post-funding valuation. NOCD created a mental health app that uses cognitive behavioral therapy techniques to assist in treating OCD patients.
Based in Arlington Heights, Augmedics uses augmented reality to help give doctors what the startup calls "X-ray vision." The medical device company was one of the few startups to land Series D financing in 2023 after closing $82.5 million last month.
Named one of Time's 100 Most Influential Companies of 2023, LanzaTech continues to receive global attention for its carbon transformation solution. The Chicago-based cleantech company was named top deep-tech startup in last year's list and was named a finalist for a top environmental prize last November.
Headquartered in Bolingbrook, Mycocyle completed a $2.2 million seed round raise this year that is sure to give the cleantech startup that trains fungi to eat trash something to chew on. The startup has doubled its operational capacity over the last year with the ability to now produce eight tons of treatment a month.
ClearFlame Engine Technologies
A Chicago-based company that wants to be the Telsa of heavy-duty engines, ClearFlame secured a $30 million Series B earlier this year to help launch its product in multiple markets, starting with long-haul trucks. Backed by Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy Ventures, ClearFlame Engine Technologies continues to gain interest across various industries to retrofit diesel engines to run on cleaner fuel. ClearFlame will pilot five trucks in collaboration with large fleet operators in North America in 2023.
Innovative consumer tech
Businesses building products you love
A violinist and computer engineer, Sam Walder has combined the two with his startup Trala, an online music school that brought in an $8 million Series A raise this year. Walder's "mission-driven" startup aims to make top-notch music education accessible for everyone with technology that listens to users play their instruments and provides instant feedback, as well as one-on-one lessons with teachers. Walder is looking to expand his team in 2023, including adding hundreds of new teachers to the platform.
Chicago Bears legend Brian Urlacher is one name backing a new Chicago startup using AI to change the trading and sports card industry. The app officially launched in November and announced an $8 million seed capital raise in March with investors that included Urlacher. Founded in 2021 by husband-and-wife Brian Ludden and Heather Denniston, Ludex values and identifies sports and trading cards of all kinds through its app.
Another Inno Madness contestant, Black Buffalo continues to add new retail partners to sell its smokeless tobacco alternative. The growing Chicago startup raised $30 million of equity capital led by The Pritzker Organization toward the end of 2022.
New Chicago startup Beacon launched earlier this year aiming to use UV light to change the way rooms everywhere can be cleaned. The direct-to-consumer product utilizes technology that is safe to use around people, and the patent-pending product is designed to rid an average-sized room of bacteria, viruses, germs and pathogens in six to eight minutes.
Prayer app Hallow passed 10 million installations and brought its total funding to $105 million when it closed a $50 million Series C fundraise in May. With the new funding, the Chicago startup plans to expand its team.
After raising $15.1 million in Series A funding in December, Cardiosense is looking to continue to build its AI platform and get regulatory clearance for its CardioTag product, a wearable device for wireless patient monitoring. The platform analyzes raw physiological signals to combat preventable cardiovascular disease with guided, personalized therapy. Cardiosense plans to launch a nationwide study in 2023 to evaluates its algorithm.
Founded in 2019, Chicago 3D printing startup General Lattice designs and builds digital material solutions that it hopes will enable creators like Wilson Sporting goods to push the boundaries of innovation when it comes to 3D printing. For example, the company designed a ball used in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest last season, the first 3D-printed Airless Prototype Basketball, that fit the performance specifications of a regulation basketball but did not need to be inflated due to its black see-through lattice.
Stigma, a mental health app that was a semifinalist in this year's Inno Madness competition, was one of 20 startups selected for the Amazon Web Services Impact Accelerator for Latino founders earlier this year. It wasn't its only recognition from big tech in the last year as the Chicago startup was named Google's Best App for Good at the end of 2022, after being selected from a field of more than 1,100 submissions. Founded in 2021, Stigma launched last year as an app designed to be a support system for anyone struggling with mental health.
