This is our roundup of Chicago tech and startup companies that received venture capital investments during the month of June. If we missed one, let us know at info@chicagoinno.com.
To get funding updates in your inbox each day, sign up for the Beat, our daily email newsletter.
Chicago tech and startup companies raised at least $110 million in venture capital throughout the month of June, according to data compiled by Chicago Inno.
The month’s fundings were primarily carried by just five local tech companies that all raised at least $10 million. Cameo, the up-and-coming celebrity shout-out app, dominated the month’s funding headlines with its $50 million investment from Silicon Valley firms.
June’s venture capital fundings appear to be significantly down compared to May, when Chicago tech raised more than $275 million. However, May’s funding amount was greatly boosted by Tempus’ $200 million Series F round.
Below are five Chicago tech and startup companies that raised money in June.
Cameo: The buzzy consumer app that connects fans with their favorite pop culture celebrities raised $50 million in a Series B round led by Kleiner Perkins, the venerable Silicon Valley venture capital firm known for its investments in companies like Google, Amazon and Netscape. Other backers in the round include The Chernin Group, Spark Ventures, Bain Capital, and Lightspeed Venture Partners, who led Cameo’s $12.5 million Series A round last November.
The new round reportedly values Cameo at around $300 million, according to Axios.
Halo Investing: Chicago-based fintech company Halo Investing raised $12 million in a Series B round that included Allianz Life Ventures and William Blair Circle. Halo has now raised more than $15 million since launching in 2015, according to Crunchbase. The startup raised a $4 million Series A round in 2017.
The Halo platform provides structured note investments to the average investor. Halo says it can ensure transparency, competition and price efficiency to all investors. Its clients include investment advisors, brokers, dealers and private banks.
NowSecure: Chicago-based NowSecure raised $15 million in a Series B round led by ForgePoint Capital, a San Mateo, Calif.-based fund that invests exclusively in cybersecurity companies. The round brings NowSecure’s total amount of funding to date to $27 million. Its previous investors include Baird Capital, and Chicago firms JumpCapital and MATH Venture Partners.
ReviewTrackers: The Chicago-based startup helping companies track their customer feedback in online reviews raised $10 million from PeakSpan Capital, a growth equity firm based in New York and Silicon Valley. This latest round of funding brings ReviewTrackers’ total funding to nearly $18 million since launching in 2012. The startup’s previous investors include American Family Ventures and CSA Partners.
Chris Campbell, ReviewTrackers’ founder and CEO, said the new financing will help the company hire more than 100 people in Chicago by the end of next year. The new hires will primarily be added to the company’s sales and marketing teams, but Campbell said ReviewTrackers will be adding positions across every department.
SpringLabs: The blockchain startup that was created by members of the founding team of Chicago fintech startup Avant landed $23 million in a Series A round, led by GreatPoint Ventures. Other backers included August Capital, General Motors Ventures, RRE Ventures, Galaxy Digital, Multicoin Capital, The Pritzker Group and CardWorks.
Founded in 2017, Spring Labs is building blockchain products that help financial services companies with identity verification and fraud prevention.
