This is our round up of Chicago tech and startup companies that received venture capital investments during the month of August. If we missed one, let us know at info@chicagoinno.com.
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Chicago tech and startup companies raised at least $180.5 million throughout the month of August, ending the summer on a high note.
The most significant funding rounds came from Tempus, which raised $110 million right at the end of the month, and PerkSpot, which raised its first round of $50 million.
Funding in August jumped significantly when compared to the rest of the summer. Local tech companies raised only about $35.4 million in July, about $37 million in June and $10 million in May.
Below are nine Chicago tech and startup companies that raised money in August.
Codeverse: The Chicago-based startup that launched last year to teach children to code raised more than $10 million in venture capital funding in a round that closed at the end of July. Katy Lynch, the co-founder and chief marketing officer at Codeverse, declined to disclose who the investors were, but said they are from a range of areas, including the Midwest, some coastal cities and even overseas.
With the new funds, Codeverse is opening two new studios by the end of this year, one in Wilmette and one in Naperville. The expansion is part of a larger initiative to operate 40 studios throughout the country.
HappiLabs: The Chicago-based biotech company was the latest local startup to participate in Y Combinator and receive an investment from the accelerator program. It landed $120,000 from YC and is now negotiating other deals with the investors, aiming to raise about $1 million. The funding is the first outside capital HappiLabs has taken since it launched in 2012.
Holberg Financial: The startup that aims to provide financial advising as a work benefit raised $1 million in venture capital funding to help it expand. The seed round was led by West Loop Ventures, but also included Howard Tullman’s G2T3V Fund and an investment from Maggie Johnson, the vice president of education and university programs at Google, according to Holberg founder and CEO Joe Holberg.
Holberg Financial, founded in 2015, makes an online work benefit platform that employers can purchase to provide their employees with financial guidance. It helps users manage money and reach financial goals, whether that means paying off student loans or saving for a down payment on a home.
IngeniousIO: Construction management software startup IngeniousIO raised $4 million in a new round of funding. Founded in 2016, the company uses artificial intelligence to improve construction workflows and inefficiencies. The round was led by American Family Insurance.
Mindwell: The Chicago plant-based jerky company received a $100,000 seed investment from the Zell Founders Fund, a student-led venture fund at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The startup makes high-protein jerky with no artificial flavors or ingredients. It can currently be found in Plum Market, Dollop Coffee and in Chicago Equinox locations.
Percent Pledge: The startup, which lets employees donate a small percentage of their monthly pay to causes they care about, secured $75,000 and is in the process of closing another $150,000 in additional funding from a group of undisclosed angel investors, totaling $225,000 in funding. The capital will enable the company to hire one or two more full-time people, add new product features, market the platform to new clients and improve the technology.
PerkSpot: The startup, which makes an HR tech platform, raised $50 million from Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania-based Susquehanna Growth Equity, the first outside investment PerkSpot has received. The funding will help it hire more employees and expand its offerings.
PerkSpot’s platform is a workplace benefit that employers can offer their employees to give them discounts at particular retailers. The startup negotiates with vendors on behalf of employers and takes care of all perk-related customer service requests.
Popular Pays: Founded by Corbett Drummey, Popular Pays raised a $5.5 million Series B led by Michigan-based Beringea. Silicon Valley firm GoAhead VC and Chicago’s Hyde Park Angels also participated in the round. The startup, a graduate of Y Combinator in 2015, has now raised $11.5 million to date.
Popular Pays helps brands connect with social media influencers on digital ad campaigns, allowing companies to easily execute campaigns with popular social media stars on Pinterest, Instagram and other sites, while also helping content creators earn money.
Tempus: The cancer-fighting startup raised $110 million in its latest round of funding to bring its genomic-sequencing technology to more patients. The round was led by new backer Baillie Gifford, a U.K. investment management firm. Others in the round include existing investors T. Rowe Price, Revolution Growth and New Enterprise Associates. Tempus has now raised $320 million since it launched two years ago, and is now valued at $2 billion. Led by Groupon co-founder Eric Lefkofsky, Tempus raised $80 million just last March.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this article said Susquehanna Growth Equity is based out of Israel. It is actually based out of Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.
