From tech heavyweights like DocuSign and Salesforce, to food giants like Kroger and Pizza Hut, plenty of businesses came shopping for Chicago tech companies in 2018.
To recap some of the biggest M&A deals of the year, here are the top Chicago tech acquisitions from 2018.
SpringCM
Chicago sales software startup SpringCM was acquired by DocuSign, a San Francisco-based electronic signature company, for $220 million. SpringCM, founded in 2005, makes cloud software that helps companies manage sales contracts and other types of documents across desktop and mobile platforms. It raised more than $127 million in venture capital funding.
Home Chef
Home Chef was acquired by grocery chain Kroger for $200 million. Chicago-based Home Chef, the third-largest meal kit delivery service in the country and one of Chicago’s top consumer startups, will now be available to Kroger shoppers in stores and online. The deal could be worth an additional $500 million over five years if Home Chef hits certain growth milestones, Cincinnati-based Kroger said in a press release. The acquisition comes as Home Chef’s growth has skyrocketed in recent years. Home Chef did $250 million in revenue last year, a 150 percent year-over-year increase. Founded in 2013, Home Chef has raised $57 million in venture capital.
Dealer Inspire/Launch Digital Marketing
Chicago-based Cars.com bought both Dealer Inspire and Launch Digital Marketing, two local companies that provide digital tools to automotive dealers, for $165 million. Both Dealer Inspire and LDM are run by Joe Chura and share an office space in Naperville. Dealer Inspire, launched in 2013, offers website building tools to automotive dealers. LDM provides website design and social media management services, and it launched in 2011.
CityBase
CityBase, a Chicago startup that provides online payment technology and other digital services to governments, was acquired this year by GTY Technology Holdings for $160 million. CityBase, founded in 2012, makes a software platform for government agencies that allows residents to search and pay for things like parking violations, property taxes and more online. The startup has raised more than $13 million to date from backers like Method Capital and Jeff Taylor, the former CEO and chairman of Cole Taylor Bank. GTY is a special purpose acquisition company based in Austin. CityBase will operate as a wholly owned business unit of GTY.
Maestro Health
Maestro Health, a Chicago-based employee benefits startup, was acquired by French insurance provider AXA Group for $155 million. Maestro’s platform allows businesses to customize their own HR suite, offering personalized benefits solutions to businesses of all sizes. Founded in 2013 by Rob Butler, Maestro raised over $50 million in venture funding from Oak HC/FT and SV Health Investors.
SingleHop
SingleHop, a Chicago-based cloud hosting company, was acquired by Internap Corporation (INAP) for $132 million in cash. INAP, a publicly traded provider of high-performance data center services. SingleHop launched in 2006 and raised over $72 million in venture and debt funding.
Agrible
Agrible, an Illinois startup that uses predictive analytics and data science to help farmers make smarter decisions about their crops, was acquired by agriculture company Nutrien for $63 million. Founded in 2012, Agrible provides software to farmers that helps them detect disease threats, improve logistics planning and monitor their crops. The startup is based in Champaign and has raised more than $13 million. Its investors include Maumee Ventures, Flyover Capital, Serra Ventures and Archer Daniels Midland.
LearnCore
LearnCore, a Chicago startup that makes sales training software, was acquired by Belgium-based sales enablement platform Showpad for $50 million. Founded in San Francisco in 2010, LearnCore relocated to Chicago in 2011 and has steadily grown its corporate training business without raising institutional venture capital. LearnCore has grown to 45 employees, who are all joining the Showpad team in Chicago.
CloudCraze
CloudCraze, an enterprise commerce platform founded in 2009, was acquired by Salesforce back in March. CloudCraze’s B2B commerce software is built natively on the Salesforce platform, and Salesforce Ventures backed the startup’s $20 million round in 2017. CloudCraze raised more than $30 million in venture funding to date, and its customers include plenty of household names—like Coca-Cola, AB InBev, GE, L’Oreal and Kellogg’s—who use the startup’s software to generate online revenue and stay connected with customers.
Kogentix
Management consulting giant Accenture acquired Kogentix, a Schaumburg-based big data and artificial intelligence startup, as a way to help it grow its data engineering business, Applied Intelligence. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Accenture said the acquisition will help it compete in a market where companies are increasingly looking for ways to harness big data and advanced analytics technologies that identify how they can grow revenue and reduce costs. Kogentix, which was founded in 2016 and employs 220 people, helps companies make better informed decisions using the data they collect.
ApartmentJet
Travel giant Expedia acquired Chicago-based ApartmentJet, a startup that helps property owners rent vacant units on Airbnb. ApartmetJet created a management platform that allows multifamily apartment owners and management companies to list their vacant units on home-sharing sites like Airbnb and HomeAway. It raised $1.2 million in outside funding from investors like Chicago-based Network Ventures and Blue Tree Capital.
Designation
Designation, a Chicago-based digital design program, was scooped up by Flatiron School, a coding bootcamp WeWork acquired last year. Designation, a program that trains UI and UX designers, was founded in 2014 and has been bootstrapped since its launch. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Designation’s students have landed design jobs at companies like Facebook, Allstate and Capital One. The company says it has graduated more than 500 designers, and 96 percent of its grads find work within six months.
QuikOrder
Pizza Hut acquired Chicago-based tech company QuikOrder, a maker of online-ordering software for restaurants. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but Pizza Hut called it one of its biggest acquisitions ever. QuikOrder, founded in 1997, will remain headquartered in Chicago. Pizza Hut was a customer of QuikOrder and had been using the ordering system for around 20 years.
Personify
Jaunt, a virtual reality tech company based out of San Mateo, Calif., acquired a specific software division of Personify, a Chicago-based startup that makes applications for streaming augmented and virtual reality videos. The deal allowed Jaunt to acquire Personify’s seven-person Teleporter team, which makes a software system that streams life-like AR videos in real-time. Jaunt’s platform produces film content and distributes it for companies like Disney and the NFL.
HighGround
Chicago-based human resources software startup HighGround was acquired by YouEarnedIt, another HR software company based in Austin. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but YouEarnedIt and HighGround said they will continue to operate as individual companies. In 2016, the startup raised $7.6 million, bringing its total VC funding to nearly $18 million, according to Crunchbase. Its investors include KDWC, Columbus Nova Technology Partners and Lightbank.
Retrofit
Livongo Health, a startup led by Chicago entrepreneur Glen Tullman, acquired Chicago startup Retrofit, a weight-loss company that uses technology and human coaching to develop personalized strategies that help people to lose weight. Retrofit launched in 2011 and raised more than $15 million in venture funding from investors such as Hyde Park Angels, Pritzker Group Venture Capital, Chicago Ventures and Cambia Health Solutions.
AddStructure
AddStructure, a startup that’s building tools to let customers shop for things online using voice commands, was acquired by Bazaarvoice, an Austin-based marketing tech company. Chicago-based AddStructure, which launched in 2014, uses machine learning and natural language processing to give brands intelligent digital assistants to help customers find and purchase products. The startup raised a total of $2.4 million.
