This is our roundup of Chicago tech and startup companies that received venture capital investments during the last month. If we missed one, let us know at info@chicagoinno.com.
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Chicago tech and startup companies raised at least $164 million in venture capital throughout the month of January, according to data compiled by Chicago Inno.
January’s fundings were led by ActiveCampaign’s “mega round” of $100 million. It was followed by Clearcover, which raised $50 million.
January’s fundings point to a strong start for venture capital activity in Chicago. Local companies ended 2019 on a slower note, raising only $36 million in December. However, across the entire year, Chicago venture funding hit a decade high, with VC funding surpassing $2 billion in 2019.
Chicago companies raised $2.186 billion in 2019, according to a report by Pitchbook and the National Venture Capital Association. That’s up from $1.9 billion in 2018, $2 billion in 2017, and $1.3 billion in 2016. Chicago’s best year for venture funding was in 2000, when it raised $2.6 billion during the dot-com era.
Below are six Chicago tech and startup companies that raised money in January.
ActiveCampaign: The startup raised a $100 million Series B round led by Philadelphia-based investment firm Susquehanna Growth Equity. Silversmith Capital Partners, an investment firm that led its Series A round, also invested in the latest funding. Founded in 2013, ActiveCampaign has built a marketing platform that lets companies send and design email newsletters, automate marketing channels and get sales leads.
Clearcover: The Chicago-based startup that’s changing the way people buy car insurance closed a $50 million Series C round led by OMERS Ventures. Previous investors American Family Ventures, Cox Enterprises and IA Capital Group also participated in the round. As part of the funding, Michael Yang, a managing partner at OMERS Ventures, will join Clearcover’s board, the company said.
Founded by CEO Kyle Nakatsuji, a former VC at American Family Insurance, Clearcover has built a platform that makes car coverage cheaper by making operations, marketing and distribution more cost effective, and then passes along the savings to customers in the form of lower-cost, higher-quality car insurance.
PhysIQ: Chicago startup PhysIQ landed a $500,000 investment from Purdue Research Foundation’s Foundry Investment Fund. PhysIQ, a healthcare startup that collects physiological data from wearables, says it will use the funds to advance its AI technology. It last raised an $8 million Series B round that was led by Madison-based 4490 Ventures.
Samya.AI: The startup, which uses artificial intelligence to help CPG brands recapture lost revenue, raised a $6 million seed round led by Sequoia India, the India-based arm of well-known Silicon Valley venture firm Sequoia. Other investors include Ashish Gupta, the founder of Junglee.com, and Deb Henretta the former group president at Procter & Gamble. Founded in 2019, Samya.AI uses AI and machine learning to help CPG companies recapture revenue growth potential.
Simfoni: Chicago-based Simfoni, a provider of spend analytics and buying automation software, raised a $3 million Series A round. The financing was led by BOOST&Co.
ThirdPartyTrust: This Chicago company, which develops a vendor risk assessment and management software, raised a $4.45 million seed round to expand its business into other markets. ThirdPartyTrust uses its digital database of more than 6,000 third-party vendors to speed up and simplify a company’s due diligence process. Mequon, Wis.-based Capital Midwest Fund and St. Louis-based venture capital firm Cultivation Capital led the round of funding.
