This is a 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 more than $198 million in venture capital during the month of February, according to data compiled by Chicago Inno.
February’s fundings were led by Copado and Foxtrot, which raised $96 million and $42 million, respectively.
Local VC activity in February was down compared to January. But January included an unusual amount of mega-funding rounds from tech companies like VillageMD and ThoughtWorks. Throughout the month, local companies raised a whopping $1.7 billion.
Below are 10 Chicago tech and startup companies that raised money in February.
Anthill: The HR startup raised $1.24 million in a round led by Origin Ventures. Anthill, founded in 2020 by Muriel Clauson and Young Jae Kim, is an HR startup that's created what it calls "talent mapping" software, which gives companies data about all of their employees, including their skills, interests, career development goals and more. Anthill was one of Chicago Inno's 21 startups to watch in 2021.
Copado: Copado, a Chicago and Madrid-based software company, raised $96 million in a Series B round co-led by Insight Partners and Salesforce Ventures. Other backers include Lead Edge Capital, ISAI Cap Venture and Perpetual Investors. The startup has raised $117 million to date. Originally founded in 2013 in Madrid, Spain, Copado established its Chicago headquarters around three years ago. Copado makes DevOps software built on the Salesforce platform.
FingerprintJS: The startup raised $8 million in a Series A financing round led by Nexus Venture Partners, with participation from Uncorrelated Ventures. The funding brought the startup’s total funding to $12 million. Founded in 2019, FingerprintJS makes a browser fingerprinting service to prevent online fraud.
Foxtrot: The startup, which operates physical corner stores and one-hour delivery in neighborhoods across Chicago, raised a $42 million Series B round co-led by Almanac Insights, a fund led by food industry veteran David Barber who co-founded Blue Hill, a working farm, restaurant and consulting company. Also leading the round was Monogram Capital Partners, an L.A.-based VC fund that backs consumer startups. Other investors in the round include celebrity chef David Chang, Sweetgreen co-founder Nicolas Jammet, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, M3 Ventures, The University of Chicago, former Whole Foods CEO Walter Robb and others. Foxtrot has now raised $65 million to date.
K4 Mobility: K4 Mobility, which brings internet to yachts and other large ships, raised $5.7 million in a round led by Hyde Park Venture Partners. The round also included backing from Hyde Park Angels, the University of Chicago and other investors. K4 Mobility has raised around $14 million since it launched in 2018. It last raised a $2.3 million round in May. K4 Mobility says it provides a more reliable, faster and simple service to ship captains. Its technology seamlessly selects the best network, switching between cell phone towers if the boat is close enough to land and satellites if its farther out at sea.
Natural Fiber Welding: Shoe brand Allbirds invested $2 million in Natural Fiber Welding, a materials startup in downstate Peoria. NFW makes a plant-based leather product, called Mirum, that uses hemp, waste cork, coconut and vegetable oil to create a product that performs like conventional leather but without any of the plastic resins, glues or coatings relied on by other plant-based leather alternatives.
Prisidio: The Chicago startup, which has created a secure online vault to store important documents, raised $3.3 million in a seed round co-led by OCA Ventures and Origin Ventures. Prisidio makes a private and secure cloud vault for users to collect, store and organize sensitive personal documents. Users can also give other people, like family members and trusted advisors, access to their vaults.
Rheaply: Rheaply raised $8 million in a Series A round led by High Alpha, an Indianapolis-based venture capital fund. 100 Black Angels & Allies Fund, Concrete Rose Capital, Hyde Park Angels, M25, MCJ Collective, Morgan Stanley Multicultural Innovation Lab and Salesforce Ventures also participated. To date, Rheaply has raised more than $10 million. Last year, the startup raised a $2.5 million seed round. Founded in 2015 by CEO Garry Cooper, Rheaply is a resource-sharing network that helps organizations recycle and source items in a number of industries, including higher education, health care, technology, government and retail.
Tovala: Chicago startup Tovala landed $30 million in a Series C round led by New York-based VC firm Left Lane Capital, with other backing from Finistere Ventures, Comcast Ventures, OurCrowd, Origin Ventures, Pritzker Group Venture Capital and Morningstar founder Joe Mansueto. Tovala, founded in 2017, has now raised more than $70 million to date. Tovala makes a smart oven and meal delivery service that uses a barcode scanner to correctly cook your meal using steaming, baking or broiling.
Upkey: Founded in 2017, Upkey raised $2.6 million in a seed round led by S3 Ventures, with participation from Tensility Venture Partners, Bronze Valley, Lofty Ventures and angel investors, including Steve Schaffer, the founder of Offers.com. Upkey, which helps high school and college students write resumes and prepare for internship and job interviews, has now raised $3 million to date.
