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The Big One: Cannect Wellness raises $7M in new funding
One of the state's fastest-growing craft cannabis companies closed on $7M in new funding this week with plans to "double down" on Illinois' cannabis industry.
Founded in 2023, Cannect Wellness had zero products in stores to begin the year yet can now be found in the majority of dispensaries in the state — around 130 stores — with new funding to further fuel its growth here.
The company's most recent financing — from both new and existing investors — brings Cannect's total funding to $14.5M.
"Illinois is definitely a large market, and we think that the licensing structure here and opportunities that's been given to new entrants has really positioned us and others for success," Gabe Singal, co-founder and CEO of Cannect Wellness, told Chicago Inno. "It's a limited-license market," meaning a limited number of applicants receive dispensary or grower licenses, "and there's a lot of room to grow," he said.
What else you need to know
- Be sure to make nominations for this year's Inno Under 25 list, coming out later this year. Inno Under 25 recognizes Chicago's top founders, entrepreneurs, innovations and leaders who are under 25. Nominations to Inno's 2024 Under 25 can be made here.
- Sysmex, a medical diagnostic equipment manufacturer, announced this week a $20.6M expansion of its three Illinois facilities that will create 110 jobs and retain nearly 550 existing ones.
- Shore Capital Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, announced Monday that it closed three separate funds totaling more than $1.9B in commitments.
Chicago software startup lands $25M in new funding
After closing on $15.7M in Series A funding last summer, Logik.io continues to fill its coffers.
The Chicago tech startup that helps companies with their e-commerce sales announced a Series B close of $25M on Tuesday. The company's Series A round was one of the largest fundraising rounds for a Chicago startup in the second quarter last year.
"We still have all of our Series A money but we had a lot of demand," Logik.io co-founder and CEO Christopher Shutts told Chicago Inno. "They say you don't want to raise money when you need it. You want to raise it when you don't need it. And so it was a good time to pull the trigger."
Shutts said the additional funding will help Logik.io to build ancillary products for its artificial intelligence-powered tech platform — which combines product configuration, discovery and recommendations with a centralized transaction management hub to help make selling products and services online easier.
READ MORE: Chicago startup Logik.io raises second double-digit funding round in as many years
How tax incentives are fueling Chicago's data-center market growth
There continue to be new opportunities and collective interest in making Illinois a central player in the data-center industry moving forward.
That was on display last week when CyrusOne broke ground on its newest data center in Aurora.
CyrusOne’s second campus in the western Chicago suburb will include two buildings totaling 446,000 square feet with an initial capacity of 40 megawatts.
The $350M project is part of the company’s broader investment strategy to expand in Illinois, with total capital investments in the state exceeding $1B.
READ MORE: How tax incentives are fueling Chicago's data-center market growth
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