Startups

Chicago Startup Companies to Watch in 2022

Updated on November 20, 2023
Connor Leech

Written by

Connor Leech

In this post we'll look at startups headquartered in Chicago. We look at the largest tech startups that have raised billions from investors as well as Series A, Series B and Seed startups in Chicago.

Chicago Startup Companies to Watch in 2022

Chicago is the third largest city in the United States by population, following New York and Los Angeles. It's freezing cold in the winters and beautiful in the summers. Basecamp formerly had their headquarters office in Chicago before 2020 when they went full remote with no office. Though the world has shifted dramatically towards remote work, for many of us company headquarters location still matters. In this post we'll look at startups and tech companies that have their headquarters in Chicago.

💡 About our data

In the Employbl database we have nearly 700 tech companies and startups that have their headquarters in Chicago, IL. You can view, filter and sort those companies by logging in to the Employbl dashboard. It's totally free. In this post I'll pull curated lists primarily based on the founded year and the amount of money companies have raised from investors. For the purposes of this article we're only going to be looking at private (i.e. those that have not gone public) and independent (i.e. those that have not been acquired) companies. We harvest data about tech companies and startups from the public internet and provide it to people for free. Here's how you can see the full list of Chicago tech companies: Login to Employbl, head to the "Companies" tab and filter by "HQ Location" for Chicago, IL.

Employbl Find Chicago Companies

💸 Top Startups in Chicago 2022

To start off we're going to look at private independent tech startups headquartered out of Chicago that have raised the most money from Venture Capital and Private Equity firms.

Company Name HQ City Year Founded Total Investment Amount Company Description
Avant Chicago 2012 $1,582,900,864 Avant, Inc. provides financial services. The Company offers online personal loans to near-prime customers at lowest possible interest rates. Avant serves customers in the United States.
Tempus Labs Chicago 2015 $1,070,000,000 Tempus is advancing data-driven precision medicine with the practical application of AI in healthcare. It’s About Time.
project44 Chicago 2014 $817,500,032 Project44, Inc. designs and develops software. The Company offers supply chain, truckload, intermodal, air and ocean freight, less-than-truckload, and drayage application program interface. Project44 serves customers in the United States.
HighTower Chicago 2008 $645,000,000 HighTower is a advisor-owned financial services company. HighTower Advisors are free of those conflicts typically found in traditional brokerage firms. They are totally independent, yet fully supported in both viewing the financial lives of our clients more completely and working with them more effectively.
Nature's Fynd Chicago 2012 $509,394,720 We believe human ingenuity and scientific curiosity will reveal nature’s solutions to our planet’s challenges.
ActiveCampaign Chicago 2003 $360,000,000 ActiveCampaign Inc operates as a software company. The Company develops email marketing, sales automation, and customer relationship management tools. ActiveCampaign serves customers worldwide.
ShipBob Chicago 2014 $330,500,000 ShipBob, Inc. provides shipping services. The Company offers pick up, package, and shipping services. ShipBob serves customers in the State of Illinois.
M1 Finance Chicago 2015 $323,224,896 M1 Finance LLC operates as a brokerage firm. The Company buys and sells securities such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other investment products. M1 Finance serves customers in the United States.
Clearcover Chicago 2016 $304,500,000 Clearcover, Inc. operates as a software development company. The Company provides an online platform for insurance users with different products and services. Clearcover serves customers in the United States.
Amount Chicago 2019 $283,000,000 Accelerating the world's transition to digital financial services.
G2 Chicago 2012 $257,572,384 G2.com (formerly G2 Crowd) is a peer-to-peer review site headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It was known as G2 Labs, Inc. until 2013. The company was launched in May 2012 by former BigMachines employees, with a focus on aggregating user reviews for business software.
SMS Assist Chicago 1999 $255,000,000 SMS Assist, L.L.C. develops software. The Company offers multisite property management using the SMS proprietary technology platform. SMS Assist serves commercial and residential sectors in the United States.
Uptake Chicago 2014 $218,000,000 Uptake is an industrial artificial intelligence (AI) software company. Built around a foundation of data science and machine learning, Uptake’s core products include an Asset Performance Management application and a fully managed platform.
FourKites Inc Chicago 2014 $201,500,000 Real-Time Transportation Visibility Platform
Zing Health Chicago 2019 $190,000,000 Zing Health Choice IL (HMO) is a Medicare Advantage plan serving Medicare eligible beneficiaries. Zing Health Choice IL takes the time to get to know you and partners with you to develop a plan to help meet your health needs and goals.
Zero Hash Chicago 2015 $169,850,000 Post-trade settlement, risk management, and regulatory compliance for digital assets
Foxtrot Ventures Chicago 2013 $166,750,000 Redefining convenience with the best of neighborhood retail & e-commerce technology.
Cameo Chicago 2018 $165,710,000 Cameo is an American video-sharing website headquartered in Chicago. Cameo was created in 2016 by Steven Galanis, Martin Blencowe, and Devon Spinnler Townsend. The site allows celebrities to send personalized video messages to fans, more than 30,000 celebrities have joined the platform.
LogicGate Chicago 2015 $156,000,000 Risk with Confidence
Provi Chicago 2016 $149,850,000 Simplifying the beverage industry through an open marketplace to empower your business
Raise Chicago 2013 $147,200,000 The Most Rewarding Way to Pay.
Relativity Chicago 2001 $125,000,000 At Relativity, we make software to help users organize data, discover the truth, and act on it. Our platform is used by more than 13,000 organizations around the world to manage large volumes of data and quickly identify key issues during litigation, internal investigations, and compliance operations with SaaS platform RelativityOne and Relativity Trace.
SpotHero Chicago 2011 $117,610,000 SpotHero is a digital parking marketplace that connects drivers looking to reserve and pay for parking spaces with parking lots, parking garages and valet services. The company, which operates a mobile app and website as well as a parking developer platform, is available in over 300 cities in the United States and Canada. The company is based in Chicago, Illinois.
BigTime Software Chicago 2002 $117,113,168 BigTime Software delivers time-tracking, billing and project management software for more than 2,500 professional firms, tracking over $2 billion (USD) of billable time each year. Their flagship product is a SaaS-based system that is custom-built for the professional services industry – specifically, Accounting, Architecture and Engineering, Consulting, Creative, Government Contracting, IT Services and Law firms.
The Mom Project Chicago 2015 $115,600,000 A digital talent marketplace and community that connects professionally accomplished women with world-class companies.
Halo Investing Chicago 2015 $115,136,608 Halo Investing is a financial technology startup that provides an independent multi-issuer platform focused on an investment product known as Structured Notes. Structured Notes are a pre-defined outcome investment product offering downside protection, previously only available to the ultra-high net worth.
Boro Chicago 2015 $114,600,000 Boro is a leading consumer financing platform for college students. With its proprietary underwriting system, Boro is revolutionizing the existing consumer financing industry by providing convenient and affordable financial solutions to college students, who are underserved in the current market.
Fyllo Chicago 2019 $98,000,000 Fyllo is leveling the playing field for cannabis companies with the Fyllo Compliance Cloud, a suite of enterprise-grade software and services powered by RegsTechnology, the largest database of cannabis laws and regulations at the federal, state and local level. We deliver advanced data, media, and compliance solutions that are built for the complexities of the cannabis industry today.
Braviant Holdings Chicago 2014 $95,000,000 We combine breakthrough technology and cutting-edge machine learning to transform how people access credit online
Tegus Chicago 2016 $91,500,000 The Buy Side's Leading Primary Research Platform
Yello Chicago 2008 $89,354,760 RECSOLU, Inc., doing business as Yello, develops software. The Company offers mobile recruitment software, which includes talent relationship management, interview scheduling, campus recruiting, and video interviewing. Yello operates in the State of Illinois.
Hazel Technologies Chicago 2015 $87,777,000 Dedicated to solving the problem of food waste in an eco-friendly and sustainable manner.
Hologram Chicago 2014 $82,353,000 Hologram is a cellular platform designed for the Internet of Things. Thousands of connectivity teams rely on Hologram to keep their fleets connected around the world — from Burbank to Brisbane. Hologram made it possible for the rapid growth of micromobility vehicles like e-scooters. Hologram kept self-driving cars connected and on the road. Hologram helped drones deliver medicine to remote communities and kept vital health devices online across six continents. The future will have billions of more devices connected to the internet. Hologram is focused on being the operating system for global connectivity.
dscout Chicago 2011 $81,049,992 Do impactful user research on any timeline.
Cooler Screens Chicago 2017 $80,700,864 Cooler Screens is a developer of interactive digital displays to replace glass doors in store aisles. The platform enables consumers to enjoy simplified access to relevant information to make decisions that best fit their budgets, taste, and health preferences. Retailers can increase sales by offering shoppers a better, personalized experience at the advertising. For consumer product companies, Cooler Screens is providing a new platform to build brand awareness, market their products at the point-of-sale, and improve visibility with real-time analytics.
Renovo Financial Chicago 2011 $75,000,000 Renovo Financial LLC operates as a mortgage lender. The Company offers loans for home rehabilitation, construction, residential, investment property, landloard, and mixed use commercial loans. Renovo Financial serves customers in the United States.
Tovala Chicago 2015 $68,639,784 Tovala designs and develops cooking software. The Company offers an application that allows users to control cooking method, time, and temperature. Tovala serves customers in the United Kingdom.
Ocient Chicago 2016 $65,000,000 Rapid analysis & management of the world’s largest datasets.
ThreeKit.com Inc Chicago 2005 $65,000,000 ThreeKit.com, Inc. provides software solutions. The Company designs and develops third dimension product configuration and visualization platform. ThreeKit.com serves customers in the United States and Canada.
Revenova LLC Chicago 2014 $63,000,000 Revenova TMS is a 100% cloud CRM based transportation management system for shippers, brokers and third-party logistics (3PL) companies. Plan, price, optimize, tender, schedule, track and manage freight, settle invoices and manage claims across modes and carriers. Coordinating and managing truck, rail, air or ocean shipments requires effective communication and collaboration between customers, carriers and co-workers. Revenova TMS aligns all the people, processes and information required to manage shipping freight. Empower your sales, customer service, shipping teams to more efficiently and effectively your manage transportation workflow.
Catch Co Chicago 2012 $61,292,000 Catch Co. creates amazing products, content, and shopping experiences for the modern angler.
Mediafly Chicago 2006 $59,690,000 Mediafly, Inc. provides software solutions. The Company offers solutions to empower and transform salespeople and marketers. Mediafly serves customers in the State of Illinois.
Hireology Chicago 2010 $59,541,776 Hireology Inc. develops selection management systems. The Company offers an online platform that allows companies to identify and organize their hiring process and leverage data to make better hiring decisions. Hireology offers its products to banks, financial institutions, health care, dealer networks, and other multi-site operators in the United States.
Blockware Mining Chicago 2019 $59,000,000 Blockware Mining is a diversified Bitcoin mining infrastructure and colocation service provider headquartered in Chicago, IL. Blockware Mining offers clients one of the most competitive hardware and hosting packages to get miners up and hashing using the latest generation mining equipment.
Interior Define Chicago 2013 $57,160,000 Interior Define is revolutionizing the way people shop for the most important pieces of furniture for their home. Our approach reduces the cost and complexity associated with conventional custom furniture - enabling I/D to serve customers highly customizable and well-crafted sofas, beds, chairs, and dining sets at an exceptional value.
Madison Industries Chicago 1994 $56,968,000 Building entrepreneurially driven market leaders, committed to making the world safer, healthier and more productive.
Shiftgig Chicago 2012 $56,000,000 Shiftgig, Inc. operates as a local technology company. The Company provides an online job search community for job seekers and companies in the restaurant, hotel, and nightclub industries. Shiftgig conducts business in Countryside, Illinois.
Avaneer Health Chicago 2020 $50,000,000 Unique, fully interoperable and decentralized network designed by & for healthcare
NOCD Chicago 2017 $50,000,000 NOCD helps people with OCD get better and then stay better.
dough Inc Chicago 2018 $49,000,000 The investing app with unlimited commission-free stock trading, zero account minimums, and tons of smart ideas.
High Definition Vehicle Insurance Chicago 2017 $48,500,000 Driving insurance innovation

If you're interested you can view this list in CSV format here.

📈 Series A Companies in Chicago

The above list is all the big names. It's honestly pretty shocking that companies like Avant or Tempus Labs can raise over one billion dollars from private financiers and don't even have to enter the public markets. Calling a company that has raised hundreds of millions of dollars from institutional investors a "startup" is stretching the term a bit in my opinion. That's why we'll look at some more data to see Series A companies that are headquartered in Chicago. To view more details about a company click their name and you'll be taken to their company profile where you can view information about their corporate financing, open job listings, founders and founded year, as well as info about the Venture Capital firms that invested in the business, the industry they operate in and the tech stack they use. Their exact headquarters address will be on there too.

To see all "Series A" funding rounds for companies based in Chicago login to your Employbl account and navigate to the "Funding Rounds" page:

Employbl Find Companies by Funding Round

Here's the full list of all of the Series A startups that are HQ'd out of Chicago:

Company Name HQ City Year Founded Total Investment Amount Company Description
Boro Chicago 2015 $114,600,000 Boro is a leading consumer financing platform for college students. With its proprietary underwriting system, Boro is revolutionizing the existing consumer financing industry by providing convenient and affordable financial solutions to college students, who are underserved in the current market.
Blockfills Chicago 2017 $44,000,000 Blockfills is a disruptive financial technology company in the digital asset space. Blockfills has created a trading ecosystem that combines world-class liquidity and professional trading connectivity with secure settlement.
Stacked Chicago 2019 $36,500,000 Stacked is the largest SEC-registered automated robo-advisor for crypto & digital assets. Using Stacked, investors can completely simplify and automate their investing experience, buy pre-built portfolios, and run trading strategies.
Formic Chicago 2020 $31,900,000 At Formic, we want to increase the collective output of humanity by making automation deployments trivial and easy. Every factory should have access to unlimited 'labor' through robotics and automation rentals. We are building technology, financing, operations and services to make this vision possible. Formic is a fast-growing venture-backed startup focused on unlocking robotic automation in labor-starved industries such as food and beverage, advanced manufacturing, consumer packaged goods and other industrial settings. We combine financial innovation with a firm understanding of what robotics are capable of, to enable manufacturing customers to scale up their manufacturing capacity quickly and with minimal risk.
Delta Trainer Chicago 2018 $26,000,000 Personalized commerce app helping consumers navigate big ticket purchases, starting with cars; monetize via Insurtech
Cohesion Chicago 2018 $23,500,000 We empower real estate to increase portfolio value with connected systems, enhanced experiences and actionable insights.
Zerv Chicago 2018 $17,040,000 Future-proof access control solutions helping businesses stay ahead with physical security and access health & safety.
Obie Chicago 2017 $13,650,000 Obie is a tech-enabled insurance and risk management platform for real estate investors.
NestEgg.rent Chicago 2017 $12,600,000 The helpdesk for busy rental property owners. Fix problems at your rentals using smart technology powered by experts.
Logiwa Chicago 2004 $12,500,000 Logiwa is an industry-leading cloud-based order fulfillment, warehouse and inventory management software that has served retail, e-commerce, wholesale, and 3PL businesses worldwide for over a decade.
Hunt Club Chicago 2014 $11,800,000 Helping companies scale through trusted relationships.
Crafty Chicago 2015 $11,200,000 Crafty is a food and drink company that helps offices craft better workplaces with food, beverage, events, and alcohol management. It works with offices to elevate happiness by providing snacks, beverages, alcohol, and cool happy hour events. From hot coffee to cold brew coffee, from kegs of craft beer to bottles of Bud Light, from LaCroix to Coke Zero, from coffee cups to plastic silverware, and from fully stocked office kitchens to poppin’ events and tastings, they offer a truly comprehensive product portfolio.
Buildout Chicago 2010 $8,425,000 The best tech for better CRE brokerages.
CircleIt Chicago 2018 $7,100,000 Studies show that on average, oral family history fades and ancestors are forgotten within two generations. CircleIt is here to change that. Our platform is reinventing how families connect, celebrate and preserve precious memories for future generations.
Fixer Chicago 2017 $5,000,000 It’s finally easy to get things fixed, the right way.
StreamLayer Chicago 2018 $4,000,000 Reimagine the Video Experience
KnowledgeHound Chicago 2013 $3,900,000 Vyzion LLC, doing business as KnowledgeHound, provides software solutions. The Company develops an application platform that enables market researchers, marketers, and sales teams to find, visualize, and analyze quantitative and qualitative consumer research studies. KnowledgeHound serves customers in the State of Illinois.
Page Vault Chicago 2013 $3,475,000 Web content captures for legal professionals. Let us capture for you or get our award-winning software for your firm.
CFX Markets Chicago 2014 $2,200,000 CFX Direct, LLC, doing business as CFX Markets, provides software solutions. operates an on-line trading and settlement platform for transactions in the secondary market for non-listed alternative investments. CFX Markets serves customers in the United States.
Supply Vision Chicago 2010 $2,125,000 Supply Vision Inc. provides transportation technology services. The Company offers cloud-based logistics software with freight forwarding transportation management and warehouse management systems to help organizations manage the supply chain by enabling collaboration between shippers and logistics providers. Supply Vision serves truck brokers and freight forwarders.
Red Foundry Chicago 2009 $1,100,000 Mobilize Your Business with Amazing Mobile Apps!

You can also see this list of Series A Chicago startups in CSV format here.

🦾 Series B Startups in Chicago

Since we're on the topic let's look at some slightly later stage companies. These are companies that have their latest funding investment round as a "Series B". Full list of startups officially in the Series B stage and are headquartered out of Chicago.

Company Name HQ City Year Founded Total Investment Amount Company Description
Tegus Chicago 2016 $91,500,000 The Buy Side's Leading Primary Research Platform
Hologram Chicago 2014 $82,353,000 Hologram is a cellular platform designed for the Internet of Things. Thousands of connectivity teams rely on Hologram to keep their fleets connected around the world — from Burbank to Brisbane.
Ocient Chicago 2016 $65,000,000 Rapid analysis & management of the world’s largest datasets.
ThreeKit.com Inc Chicago 2005 $65,000,000 ThreeKit.com, Inc. provides software solutions. The Company designs and develops third dimension product configuration and visualization platform.
Catch Co Chicago 2012 $61,292,000 Catch Co. creates amazing products, content, and shopping experiences for the modern angler.
NOCD Chicago 2017 $50,000,000 NOCD helps people with OCD get better and then stay better.
High Definition Vehicle Insurance Chicago 2017 $48,500,000 Driving insurance innovation
FingerprintJS Chicago 2019 $44,000,000 Stop fraud, spam, and account takeovers with our 99.5% accurate browser fingerprinting as a service.
Paro Inc Chicago 2015 $43,500,000 Through our sophisticated matchmaking algorithm, Paro matches businesses of all sizes and industries with the highest caliber, vetted financial analysts, CFOs, CPAs, and bookkeepers who have the domain expertise to tackle company-specific challenges on an on-demand basis.
Capital Markets Gateway Inc Chicago 2015 $39,050,000 CMG's solution is the first ECM platform in the U.S. to provide digital connectivity between the buy-side and sell-side.
Kalderos Chicago 2016 $35,000,000 Redefining how the business of healthcare performs
Arturo Chicago 2018 $33,000,000 courageously insightful.
Balena Chicago 2013 $31,400,000 Business providing container-based infrastructure for IoT applications
Ascent Chicago 2015 $29,415,000 The AI-driven platform that generates your obligations and keeps them updated as rules change.
Aclaimant Chicago 2013 $27,956,180 Aclaimant is the insight-driven workflow solution for safety and risk management.
Geofeedia Inc Chicago 2011 $23,790,000 Geofeedia, Inc. operates a platform that enables journalists to perform location-based searches to monitor social media. The Company enables users to find, monitor, connect, and share social media collections.
Leaf Trade Chicago 2016 $23,000,000 A better way to buy and sell wholesale cannabis & hemp.
Journera Chicago 2016 $20,600,000 Journera, Inc. designs and develops software. The Company develops a software platform for travel-related companies to create more seamless travel journeys. Journera serves customers in the United States.
GeoWealth Chicago 2010 $19,000,000 GeoWealth is a leading investment advisory firm that provides a comprehensive and fully integrated wealth management technology platform in addition to its institutional-caliber portfolio management solutions.
ReviewTrackers Chicago 2012 $17,669,900 Use customer feedback to act today and predict tomorrow.
Belly Chicago 2011 $12,100,000 Hatch Loyalty Inc provides software solutions. The Company offers loyalty and rewards platform for small and medium sized businesses. Hatch Loyalty serves customers in the State of Illinois.
Packback Chicago 2014 $10,700,000 Packback LLC provides service on the internet. The Company allows students to rent digital versions of their textbooks and also provides online price-comparison tools for students to find and sell books.
Basecamp Chicago 1999 $4 Basecamp is an American web software company based in Chicago, Illinois. The firm was cofounded in 1999 by Jason Fried, Carlos Segura, and Ernest Kim as a web design company called 37signals.

We're starting to see some of the same names here. Next up let's go back to the beginning. Seed stage startups based in Chicago, IL..

🌱 Seed Stage Startups in Chicago

According to the Employbl database there are 67 seed stage startups headquartered out of Chicago. This isn't counting "pre-Seed" or "Angel" funding rounds so it's on the conservative side. Anyway here's the full list of seed stage startups that are based out of Chicago in 2022.

Company Name HQ City Year Founded Total Investment Amount Company Description
Avaneer Health Chicago 2020 $50,000,000 Unique, fully interoperable and decentralized network designed by & for healthcare
AgoraLV Chicago 2021 $12,300,000 As the first collegiate athlete to launch his own NFT series in April 2021, Luka Garza demonstrated how a new asset class and income stream could be utilized to fund collegiate NIL. Since then, AGORALV was formed to redefine collegiate NIL through NFTs, prescriptive endorsements, and sponsorship while also introducing scientific wellness testing to collegiate athletic teams to optimize individual health and mental wellness.
Simplified Chicago 2020 $10,700,000 The New Leader in Inmate Communications
Logik.io Chicago 2021 $10,000,000 Logik.io is a B2B technology company focused on improving the selling practices of customers by building a high-performance, enterprise-ready, headless configurator that augments Salesforce CPQ and eCommerce Applications.
Aurenity Chicago 2022 $10,000,000 Aurenity is blending market-leading talent with cutting-edge underwriting analytics to deliver a new MGA for the E&S market.
86 Repairs Chicago 2018 $8,800,000 86 Repairs is a computer software company that features a subscription service that manages the entire repair process for restaurant groups. Its services include 24/7 support from our expert team, actionable insights to improve back-of-house operations, and complete management of the service process. It was founded in 2018 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
Tillable Chicago 2017 $8,250,000 A Better Way to Rent and Manage Farmland
EarlyBird Chicago 2019 $7,065,000 EarlyBird is a Fintech gifting platform that simplifies investing for parents, while empowering friends and family to seamlessly gift financial contributions to the children in their life. EarlyBird is transforming financial gifting, making it personal, purposeful, and timeless.
Prisidio Chicago 2020 $6,800,000 Prisidio is a life organizer that allows you to securely store, organize, manage, and share key documents and information with your family and trusted advisors. With Prisidio, it’s easy to keep your affairs in order and yourself prepared for whatever may happen in life.
Synapticure Chicago 2019 $6,000,000 Synapticure is a tele neurology startup that provides tailored care to ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) patients and their families.
Magnify Chicago 2021 $6,000,000 Magnify is a post-sales orchestration platform and uses AI and Machine Learning to optimize and automate the customer lifecycle for enterprise software. From emails to training videos to in-product interactions to customer success platforms, Magnify creates the ideal sequence and timing of the customer interactions. Designed to drive deep adoption and usage in a customer account, Magnify will identify where churn or expansion is likely and automatically launch the appropriate action in software.
Soda Health Chicago 2021 $6,000,000 Soda Health is a healthcare technology company focused on building solutions that eliminate health inequities and create a healthier America.
oak9 Chicago 2019 $5,900,000 We provide information security solution for organizations that are in their digital transformation journey so that they can protect their business critical applications and enable their engineering teams to focus on building great products that are secure-by-design.
SupplyHive Chicago 2018 $5,850,000 Supplier Performance Software
ThirdPartyTrust Chicago 2015 $4,950,000 Third-Party Risk Management, Simplified to Scale
Blueprint Chicago 2019 $4,725,000 Measurement based mental healthcare made easy
Instant Connect Chicago 2021 $4,400,000 World's smartest and safest push-to-talk (PTT) communications software
Anthill Chicago 2020 $4,360,000 Say hello to the agile workforce engine.
Torch Chicago 2019 $4,350,000 They believe there is a better way to do logistics. A more valuable, less invasive way where customers are earned rather than bought. They are obsessively passionate about it, and their mission is to help people achieve it. They focus on connecting people and solving problems. It's one of the least understood and least transparent aspects of freight, and we see that as an opportunity: They are excited to simplify logistics for everyone through our technology, experience, and service.
Nexus A.I. Chicago 2014 $4,225,000 Nexus is a cloud platform that uses A.I. to help businesses find and deploy the right teams across company projects.
Bloq Chicago 2016 $4,000,000 Tokenization of Things
Fresh Street Chicago 2021 $4,000,000 Fresh Street is the first and only grocery store built exclusively for online, click & collect shopping. Their goal is to provide a convenient and affordable online grocery experience, free of the friction that plagues current online grocery shopping options.
AutoCloud Chicago 2019 $4,000,000 Bring clarity to your cloud infrastructure with the most comprehensive visualization tool available for the public cloud
Draftbit Chicago 2017 $3,850,000 Build mobile apps visually.
QualSights Chicago 2012 $3,540,000 FAST Visual Qualitative Insights
Carlease.com Chicago 2017 $3,500,000 Carlease.com, LLC operates as a car leasing company. The Company specializes in car leasing services, as well as offers fleet procurement and management services. Carlease.com serves customers in the United States.
Fly Chicago 2017 $3,500,000 Fly.io offers an Application Delivery Network (ADN) intended to help website owners get connected with their customers easily. The company's application delivery network uses a global network of servers to accept visitor traffic, run middleware on requests, then route them to backend applications, enabling website owners to direct their visitors to their respective sites securely and in a few clicks.
Tiv Chicago 2020 $3,500,000 Tiv is a payments platform built with the gaming community at the core. Tiv believes in creating financial products and services that reflect who you are and integrate what you do – not just what you spend – to reward you for spending time doing what you love.
Clearstep Chicago 2018 $3,420,000 Clearstep matches patients to the best in-network care for them.
ParqEx Chicago 2014 $2,870,000 ParqEx is “The Smart Parking Platform” to better manage and monetize 'self-managed' parking real-estate.
BUNDLAR Chicago 2018 $2,815,000 Augmented Reality Made Easy - Create your own Augmented Reality without a single line of code with the BUNDLAR Platform
BravoTran Chicago 2021 $2,800,000 BravoTran offers an AI-driven solution to automate data and documents for freight forwarders. The company's automation platform currently supports industry leaders, including Yusen Logistics and AWA Logistics. BravoTran was founded in 2021 by Matt Bernstein and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
TaxProper Chicago 2019 $2,150,000 The technology used by governments to valuate homes for property tax assessment is outdated and often inaccurate. The appeal process, which is intended to allow homeowners to contest inaccurate valuations, is expensive, confusing and time-consuming. As a result, homeowners often pay more than their fair share in property taxes. They founded taxProper because they wanted to level the playing field. They believe homeowners shouldn’t pay the price for bad technology, and that the appeals process should be easy and fair. Their appeals software is based on cutting edge machine-learning techniques and generates more accurate valuations, every single time. If a customer is being taxed for more than their house is worth, they automatically generate an appeal using their data, generate the correct paperwork, and file it for you.
Real Time Risk Solutions Chicago 2014 $2,010,000 Deploys mobile risk management platforms with advanced analytics to mitigate risk within any industry in real-time.
NativeERP Chicago 2018 $2,000,000 NativeERP provides a unified technology platform for every vertical of the real estate industry.
amSTATZ Chicago 2011 $1,865,000 amSTATZ is a cloud based software for fitness professionals and studios who want to save time, stay organized and grow client relationships. Unlike traditional fitness business software, amSTATZ streamlines your operations, from a simplified booking & payment process to the workout homework you assign to clients between sessions.
Varuna Chicago 2018 $1,754,997 Varuna is the single source of truth for water utility leaders to effectively manage their water distribution system.
Classkick Chicago 2013 $1,700,000 Classkick is the place where students do work, and get help from teachers and classmates. Teachers create assignments on Classkick, check for individual student understanding, and give instant, personalized help. Students can raise their hand privately and give peer-to-peer feedback. The technology is hyper-focused on increasing student learning and helping teachers be even more effective.
Gather Voices Chicago 2017 $1,487,320 For organizations video is too important to be HARD, Gather Voices Solutions makes video easy for everyone.
Rentgrata Chicago 2016 $1,450,000 Convert more leads and understand what renters want with Rentgrata’s ground-breaking resident referral platform.
PreFlight Chicago 2018 $1,350,000 Code-free, developer-free software testing - Automated.
TruckPark Inc. Chicago 2017 $1,305,000 Creating the ultimate driver experience.
StoryBolt Chicago 2018 $1,250,000 UNPACKING BIAS ONE STORY AT A TIME.
CampfireSocial Chicago 2020 $1,200,000 CampfireSocial is a private, branded social network and commerce solution that uses AI to provide organizations 365/24/7 access to their stakeholders while creating a modern member, attendee, and vendor partner experience that is monetizable to ultimately own the voice of their industry. The platform is designed for trade & professional associations, for-profit show organizers, academic institutions, and corporates.
KPI Sense Chicago 2019 $1,100,000 Strategic CFO Reporting and Insights for SaaS Businesses at Bookkeeper Prices (Strategic CFO as a Service)
RepIQ Chicago 2016 $1,100,000 RepIQ, Inc. operates as a software development company. The Company develops an application that helps to target and get sale deals with data insights. RepIQ serves customers in the State of Illinois.
ShuttleCloud Chicago 2010 $1,048,000 ShuttleCloud is the most scalable email, contacts and other user data migration system. We help some of the leading email and address book providers to allow their users to import more than 3 million contacts and 30 million emails every day from 200+ providers.
Hearken Chicago 2015 $750,000 About Hearken enables media outlets to include their audiences in storytelling, pre-publication. Hearken is an audience-driven framework and platform enabling journalists to partner with the public throughout the reporting process, resulting in relevant and ... high performing content. This is not user-generated content; it’s not crowdsourcing in the traditional sense. Hearken is public-powered journalism.
HIPOM Chicago 2013 $729,000 HIPOM Inc. has developed an innovative and defensible cloud-based home network management platform, for controlling the center of the connected home - the routers people already have!
PeopleVine Chicago 2013 $700,000 A membership management platform for private clubs, restaurants and co-working spaces.
Charge Running Chicago 2017 $675,000 Charge Running is the most motivating, encouraging, and social way to run! Join one of our 20+ daily live classes today!
Easymove Chicago 2018 $600,000 Easymove App helps you to connect with local independent easy mover companies who offer on-demand services in Chicago & New York. We offer the best, fast, easy and affordable way to help you with moving.
QURIUM Solutions Chicago 2011 $375,000 QURIUM Solutions, Inc. develops mobile application for data model visualization of sales force data under the name CloudERD. The company was incorporated in 2011 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.
5Degrees Chicago 2011 $150,000 5Degrees develops mobile and web-based CRM tools for startups and small businesses to grow sales. Its product portfolio includes 5Degrees CRM, an iPhone CRM App; Networker, a business card scanning app; and 5Degrees CRM Web.
Genuity Chicago 2017 $125,000 Helping businesses & IT leaders navigate the IT market, optimize their technology spend, and improve their bottom line.
Package Zen Chicago 2014 $118,000 Delivery and Package Management Made Simple
inRentive Chicago 2012 $100,000 inRentive is a cloud-based platform for managing multifamily housing listings and vacancy content, including photos, pricing, and specific unit-level availability. The platform is fully integrated with apartments.com and is also integrated with most major property management software.
Renewance Chicago 2016 $100,000 Renewance is an electronic company that provides software solutions, consultancy, and project management services to manage the battery end of life liabilities. It offers an online platform that connects clients with defect or end-of-life industrial batteries with logistics providers and battery recyclers. The company was founded in 2016 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
Cora Chicago 2017 $100,000 Data-driven SaaS platform & marketplace for $77B B2B furnishings industry
My Local Beacon Chicago 2014 $100,000 My Local Beacon is a customer relationship application. The company provides a web-based customized marketing application or platform that connects the companies with their customers on their smartphone. It helps to maintain customer relationship and delivers personalized, location and frequency-based notifications and messages.
Exchangery Chicago 2011 $75,000 The Exchangery offers a unique approach to starting a commodities exchange. We provide the technology, infrastructure, regulatory and clearing relationships as well as brandable trading screens that you can use to create a distinct, personalized online presence for your exchange.
RentHub Chicago 2011 $60,000 RentHub is an innovative real estate data and intelligence platform with a focus on residential rentals. Our products provide real-time pricing information and forecasts for rental markets.
Volance Chicago 2009 $45,000 Volance offers affordable, enterprise class fraud detection solutions for merchants big and small.
RepairDesk Chicago 2015 $40,000 Independents #1 Choice Repair Shop Software
matchist Chicago 2012 $40,000 matchist helps companies with APIs develop certification programs. We then partner with these companies to match their customers with certified developers to perform integrations or other API work.
Earlybird Chicago 2012 $30,000 Our cloud-based analytics and reporting solutions are helping executives, analysts, and their teams use data to accelerate growth, drive better decision-making, and transform their businesses for tomorrow.
Verie Chicago 2014 $25,000 Verie Corp. provides software solutions. The Company develops identity and location verification technology solutions to verify the identity and location of anyone they are linked to, any time and any place. Verie serves customers in the United States.

Connor Leech

Connor Leech

Founder at Employbl

Connor is the founder of Employbl. He writes the codes and even some articles like this one. He lives in San Francisco, CA.


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