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 $218 million in venture capital throughout the month of March, according to data compiled by Chicago Inno.
March’s fundings were led by Tempus’ monster round of $100 million, followed by Nature Fynd’s $80 million round. March’s fundings were considerably up compared to February, when local companies raised just $63 million.
Below are seven Chicago tech and startup companies that raised money in March.
Boro: Founded in 2015, Boro raised a $12 million Series A round led by Chinese fintech company LexinFintech. The startup makes a mobile financing app that provides affordable loans and financial education to students, who usually don’t have the credit to apply for traditional loans.
To date, Boro has raised more than $14 million in venture capital. In 2018, the startup also secured a $100 million line of credit from Arcadia Funds.
Forager: The startup raised a $10 million Series A round led by U.S. Venture Partners, a Silicon Valley venture firm that counts Box, HotelTonight and Trunk Club among its previous investments. Other backers in the round include Chicago Ventures and Soma Capital.
Forager has developed a cross-border freight solution that makes it easier for shippers to transport products to and from Mexico and Canada. It has now raised $14.5 million since it was founded in 2018. It last raised a $3.5 million round in September.
ModelOp: This startup, building AI software for enterprises, raised a $6 million Series A round led by Valley Capital Partners. Silicon Valley Data Capital also participated in the round. Founded in 2016, ModelOp helps companies deploy and monitor AI models. The startup is led by CEO Pete Foley CTO and Stu Bailey, who worked together at IT company Infoblox, which went through an IPO in 2011 and was acquired by Vista Equity for $1.6 billion in 2016.
Nature’s Fynd: The startup, which uses a fermentation process to produce lab-grown, edible protein products, raised $80 million in a Series B round led by Generation Investment Management and Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a $1 billion fund led by Bill Gates that aims to invest in companies that are combating climate change.
Formerly known as Sustianable Bioproducts, the startup has now raised more than $113 million after raising a $33 million round in 2019, in which Breakthrough Energy Ventures also participated.
Phenix: The Chicago-based streaming technology platform raised an additional $7.55 million in a Series A round led by an affiliate of KB Partners. The funding will be used to add senior level sales and marketing personnel, recruit engineering talent and implement key customer deployments, the company said. Phenix provides a streaming service for sports betting and gambling companies, sports and esports properties and broadcast companies.
Rheaply: The startup, which helps organizations find ways to recycle unused items that could be useful to others, raised $2.5 million in a seed round led by Chicago-based Hyde Park Angels, with participation from Concentric Equity Partners, M25, Techstars Ventures, and individual angel investor Walter A. Winshall. The company said the funding will be used to add to its team, hiring for engineering, product development and marketing roles. Rheaply currently employs 10 people.
Tempus: Founded by Chicago serial entrepreneur Eric Lefkofsky in 2015, Tempus raised $100 million, bringing its total amount raised to date to more than $600 million. The Series G funding round brings Tempus’ post-money valuation to $5 billion. Tempus uses machine learning and genomic sequencing to better understand a patient’s tumor, and it tailors treatment plans best suited to combat it.
