As startups are constantly looking for ways to raise more money for expansion and growth, venture capital firms are seeking companies that will give them a return on their investment. Chicago-based startups raised more than $100 million in VC funding during the month of August. Here's 12 companies that closed new rounds last month:
AMP Americas: The company, which turns cow manure into 100 percent renewable natural gas for commercial trucks, raised $47 million in equity funding from EIV Capital, a Houston-based firm that invests in the energy industry. AMP launched in 2011 and has raised $57 million since.
eazyScripts: The company, a provider of e-prescribing software for telemedicine providers, raised $2 million in Series A funding from private equity firm Bluff Point Associates.
ExplORer Surgical: This surgical workflow management and analytics startup raised $3 million in Series A round funding from Aphelion Capital, Elliott Management, M25 Group, HBS Angels and the University of Chicago.
Groove Health: The digital healthcare company that helps patients with medication adherence through predictive analytics and patient engagement raised $1.6 million in new funding. The startup launched in 2016 and targets diseases including congestive heart failure, Type-2 Diabetes, COPD, hypertension and high cholesterol.
HealthJoy: This artificial intelligence-driven platform for employee benefits engagement, raised $3 million in a Series A round, led by Chicago Ventures, with participation from Social Capital, Sidekick Ventures, and angels including Andrew Sieja, CEO of KCura; Brad Hoover, CEO of Grammarly; Ben Evans, CEO of OurHealth; Eduardo Vivas, Founder of Bright.com; and Jason Theofilis, CEO of MUNDOMedia.
i.c.stars: The technology workforce development nonprofit received a grant for $50,000 from the Motorola Solutions Foundation, the charitable arm of Motorola Solutions. i.c.stars said that it will use the grant to train 70 young adults living in urban environments in its technology, business and leadership bootcamp. The money will also help support another 50 residents with ongoing professional development.
InContext Solutions: They raised $6.3 million in new equity funding, according to a Form D filing. The company makes virtual reality solutions for retail stories that help optimize the in-store shopper experience. With the new funding, InContext has now raised more than $48 million since it launched in 2009, according to Crunchbase.
Kin Insurance: The startup, which aims to make buying home insurance easier, raised $4 million from investors, such as Commerce Ventures, Omidyar Network, 500 Startups, Chicago Ventures, Portag3 Ventures, Sandalphon, M25, Nameless Ventures and others. The startup was just launched in August by several experienced Chicago entrepreneurs, including CEO Sean Harper, founder of FeeFighters, a payments startup that sold to Groupon in 2012; CTO Lucas Ward, who was the previous CTO and co-founder at Rippleshot; and Kin’s product head Sebastian Villarreal, who previously founded LendSquare, which was bought by Avant in 2015.
PartySlate: This event planning startup that uses a Pinterest-style platform to help people plan for weddings, birthday parties, galas and other events, raised $1.9 million in new funding. Investors included Hyde Park Venture Partners, Hyde Park Angels, InvestHER Ventures, Jump Investors, Wavemaker Partners and Halogen Ventures.
Reverb: The company landed $15 million in new funding from a handful of notable investors including Max Levchin, co-founder of PayPal; Jon Oringer, CEO of Shutterstock; and Adam Bain, former COO at Twitter. Reverb, an online marketplace for musicians to buy and sell music gear, has now raised $47 million in funding since it launched in 2013. CEO and founder David Kalt has said he wants to take Reverb public by 2020.
Truss: This commercial real estate tech company, co-founded by Andrew Boker, raised $7.7 million in Series A funding. The round brought the company’s total funding to more than $9 million, and was led by Navitas Capital, with additional monies coming from Hyde Park Angels, Hyde Park Venture Partners and others. Truss said the money will be used on market expansion and product development.
Wise Apple: The lunch delivery service, which is designed for children, raised $3.6 million in seed funding last month. The round was led by Pritzker Group Venture Capital and Levy Family Partners, but Chicago Ventures, Greycroft, BoxGroup and IrishAngels also contributed. Since it launched in 2015, Wise Apple has raised a total of $4.3 million.
