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Chicago's digital tech scene is not just rebounding in correlation with a strengthening economy, it's thriving, evidenced by the $1.6 billion local digital tech startups raised in 2014. We wanted to go back a little earlier in time and see which companies have really left a mark in recent funding history. See below for our list of the 15 largest fundings from Jan. 1, 2010 through May 19, 2015. The list is based on our records and includes only digital tech companies located in the Chicago metropolitan area.
[ibimage==47569==Original==none==self==ibimage_align-center]15. GoHealth, $50M, June 12, 2012
Investors: Norwest Equity Partners.
Bio: GoHealth is a Chicago-based company that powers GoHealthInsurance.com, a private health insurance marketplace that has helped more than 30 million consumers shop for coverage.
News: GoHealth was most recently in the news last year for expanding its Chicago office space to River North, where it leases a 42,000-square-foot space.
[ibimage==47570==Original==none==self==ibimage_align-center]14. GrubHub, $50M, Sept. 20, 2011
Investors: Lightspeed Ventures, Mesirow Financial, Benchmark Capital, Greenspring Associates, DAG Ventures.
Bio: GrubHub is an online and mobile food-ordering company dedicated to connecting hungry diners with local takeout restaurants.
News: 10 years after founding, Chicago’s own GrubHub made headlines last year by going public.
[ibimage==47571==Original==none==self==ibimage_align-center]13. bswift, $51M, April 2, 2014
Investors: Great Hill Partners.
Bio: Based in Chicago, bswift offers software and services that streamline benefits, HR and payroll administration for employers and exchanges nationwide.
News: bswift was acquired for $400 million in 2014 by Aetna.
[ibimage==47572==Original==none==self==ibimage_align-center]12. Cleversafe, $55M, August 20, 2013
Investors: New Enterprise Associates, OCA Ventures, New World Ventures, Harrison Street Capital, Motorola Solutions Venture Capital.
Bio: Cleversafe, Inc. offers dispersed data storage technologies.
News: Earlier this month, Cleversafe was awarded a contract from the University of Chicago to develop a cloud-based storage system designed to help scientists study cancer.
[ibimage==47573==Original==none==self==ibimage_align-center]11. Raise, $62M, Jan. 22, 2015
Investors: New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Bessemer Venture Partners, the Pritzker Organization, Listen Ventures and angel investors.
Bio: Raise is an online gift card marketplace. Buyers can save at their favorite stores, and sellers can earn cash for selling unwanted gift cards.
News: Raise announced in March that Don Kingsborough joined its board of directors. In the late 1970s, Kingsborough, a longtime entrepreneur, acted as president of consumer products at Atari and had a crucial part in introducing Nintendo to America.
[ibimage==47574==Original==none==self==ibimage_align-center]Avant co-founders John Sun, Al Goldstein and Paul Zhang
10. Avant, $75M, February 10, 2014
Bio: Avant is a Chicago-based online lending platform, formerly known as Avant Credit.
News: Just this spring, Avant has launched a new $400 million-financed lending platform and surpassed $1 billion in loan originations.
[ibimage==47575==Original==none==self==ibimage_align-center]9. Network Merchants, $100M, Sept. 20, 2013
Investors: Bregal Sagemount.
Bio: Network Merchants, LLC. (NMI) builds e-commerce payment gateways for companies that want to process online transactions in real-time anywhere in the world.
News: Based in Roselle, IL., Network Merchants announced in March that its payments enablement platform is now compatible with the value added reseller and independent software vendor markets.
[ibimage==47577==Original==none==self==ibimage_align-center]8. Mu Sigma Inc., $108M, Dec. 28, 2011
Investors: General Atlantic, Sequoia Capital.
Bio: Mu Sigma is a leading provider of decision sciences and analytics services, helping companies institutionalize data-driven decision making.
News: According to a Bloomberg report from April, Mu Sigma is planning an initial public offering in the next four years.
[ibimage==47578==Original==none==self==ibimage_align-center]7. kCura, $125M, Feb. 3, 2015
Investors: Iconiq Capital.
Bio: Recognized as a “Leader” in Gartner’s 2014 E-Discovery Magic Quadrant, kCura is the developer of the e-discovery software Relativity.
News: Fresh off receiving that funding, kCura released Relativity 9.2 in London in April — the first stop on kCura’s initial Relativity Spring Launch Roadshow.
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6. Groupon $135M, April 16, 2010
Investors: Digital Sky Technologies, Battery Ventures, Accel Partners, NEA.
Bio: By leveraging the company’s global relationships and scale, Groupon offers consumers a vast marketplace of unbeatable deals all over the world.
News: Groupon announced in April that it will sell 46 percent of stake in e-commerce company, Ticket Monster, and yesterday, it announced the launch of Breadcrumb Live, an app that converts iPhones to point-of-sale systems.
[ibimage==47580==Original==none==self==ibimage_align-center]5. Market Track, $153M, Oct. 25, 2013
Investors: Golub Capital.
Bio: Market Track helps businesses make better decisions with Web-based competitive analysis and print feature-tracking tools customized for retailers and manufacturers to monitor promotional activity.
News: Not more than a few weeks ago, Market Track acquired New Momentum, a San Francisco-based helps brands protect themselves online.
4. Avant, $200M, July 23, 2014
Investors: Victory Park Capital.
3. Avant, $225M, Dec. 4, 2014
Investors: RRE Ventures, KKR & Co., DFJ Growth, August Capital, Tiger Global Management and Peter Thiel.
2. Avant, $300M, 2014 August 21
Investors: Jefferies Group.
1. Groupon, $950M, Dec. 31, 2010
Investors: Andreessen Horowitz, Battery Ventures, DST, Greylock Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Maverick Capital, Silver Lake and Technology Crossover Ventures.
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