Tech roundup: one billion Groupons sold, Zebra's new food safety solution & more

One billion Groupons sold

Chicago deal marketplace

announced on Friday it had sold its one-billionth Groupon. The deal, which was cashed in at a family-owned Italian restaurant in the St. Louis area, was an $11 for $20 promotion. To quantify what selling one billion Groupon deals even means, the company estimated that it has sold 223 vertical miles of stacked burgers, 502 years of held yoga poses and 134 million thrown bowling balls. [Business Wire]

UNICEF gives wearables to Chicago elementary students

As part of an initiative to promote healthy living habits and raise awareness among children about their status as global citizens, UNICEF has distributed wearables to 6,000 elementary school children. The program, dubbed UNICEF Kid Power Month, will last until March 25, during which time the students’ activity levels will unlock food packets to be distributed by the organization to severely malnourished children across the globe. [Chicago Inno]

Zebra Technologies announces new food safety solution

— a Chicagoland IoT company best known for its real-time tracking solutions for logistics and its partnership with the NFL — is launching a new food safety solution in partnership with iCertainty. The solution, which builds on iCertainty’s food safety tool developed for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, seeks to eliminate manual paper audits of compliance with established food safety best practices. [PRNewswire]

Forbes World Billionaire List includes 4 Chicago tech leaders

On Tuesday, Forbes released its annual World Billionaire List, and four prominent Chicago tech leaders made the cut:

founder J.B. Pritzker, founder and CEO Joe Mansueto, Groupon co-founder Eric Lefkofsky and CDW founder Michael Krasny. Forbes’ list is available here, and there’s even a “real time ranking” feature. [Chicago Inno]

Allstate opens innovation office in Merchandise Mart

On Tuesday, Allstate announced it is opening a 400 employee-strong innovation office in Merchandise Mart this spring. The insurer, based in Northbrook, is moving into the Mart’s eighth floor in a 45,000-square-foot space. Employees at the Mart will be working on predictive data modeling for risk assessment as well as connected car devices that incentivize safe driving with lower insurance rates. [Chicago Tribune]

Feeding America launches online hunger education tool

Foodbank network Feeding America launched a scroll-based online hunger education tool on Monday. The tool, which goes by the name Facts and Faces of Hunger in America, gives viewers insight into the challenges faced by four of the 46 million Americans served by its food banks every year.

Grubhub expands turnkey delivery to Denver

On Wednesday,

announced it's launching its turnkey delivery service, meant specifically for restaurants that do not offer their own delivery, in Denver. Grubhub’s regular delivery service is already used by nearly 600 restaurants in Denver. This launch comes in the wake of Grubhub’s recent acquisition of Delivered Dish, which operated on a similar business model, and is meant to leverage the latter’s local expertise and Grubhub’s national scale to serve more customers in the Denver area. [PRNewswire]

Green Key appoints new CEO

 appointed Paul Christensen (pictured) to its CEO position on Wednesday. Former Goldman Sachs Managing Director and Co-head of Principal Strategic Investments, Christensen will be working out of Green Key's London office. Green Key founder Anthony Tassone is staying on as Chief Product Officer.

Austin's Favor enters Chicago delivery fray

Chicagoans have another delivery option in Favor, an Austin-based delivery startup that’s just announced its launch in the city. With Favor’s iPhone and Android app, users will be able to peruse a catalog of popular restaurants and stores. Delivery is initially available for consumers in Gold Coast, Old Town, River North, Lincoln Park, and the Loop, with additional neighborhoods planned in the coming months. [Built In Chicago]

McDonald's Sweden unveils Happy Meal VR set

On Wednesday, McDonald’s Sweden unveiled what the Oak Brook-based fast food juggernaut is calling “Happy Goggles,” a DIY virtual reality headset that customers can build out of their Happy Meal boxes. Kids simply re-fold the specialized cardboard their meals come in and insert a smartphone to have their minds blown. [Built In Chicago]

Fundings

, an 1871 graduate, raised $4 million on Wednesday to expand its Pet Cloud platform and up its marketing efforts. [Read more here]

, a Techstars Chicago '15 company, raised $1.8 million for its cloud-based broadcasting studio for gamers. [Read more here]

, a home cooking ingredient delivery service, raised just shy of $900,000 on Wednesday, according to an SEC filing.

Also on Wednesday, small business loan startup

raised $676,000, according to an SEC filing.

, a MATTER-based healthcare startup announced a $610,000 seed round on Monday. Here's why that's a big deal.

Images via Shutterstock and listed companies.

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