Chicago startups raised $88 million in funding this October, not including InContext Solutions' $15.2 million round that we reported on in September but that was officially announced last Monday.
The total is down somewhat from September’s $117 million, which was boosted by two funding rounds over $25 million. But with four rounds at $10 million or more, October’s showing was strong by any measure. Check out the month's five largest rounds below to see which companies are poised for some massive growth.
5. Tock, $7.5M, October 4
Investors: Origin Ventures
Bio: Co-founded by restaurateur Nick Kokonas, who owns Chicago establishments like Alinea and The Aviary, Tock helps restaurants take reservations and sell fully pre-paid dining experiences.
News: Founded just last year, Tock has already surpassed $100 million in pre-paid bookings. Investor Origin Ventures was an early investor in Grubhub back when the company had five employees.
4. ForeverCar.com, $10M, October 27
Investors: CMFG Ventures, KDWC Ventures, Jai Shekhawat
Bio: ForeverCar is a marketplace for car repair protection plans that brings the entire process of getting extended coverage online.
News: With a current headcount of about 25, ForeverCar.com will use part of the funding to make hires in data science and machine learning, as well as to expand its business relationships with credit unions, dealers, auto insurers and banks.
3. FourKites, $13.4M, October 12
Investors: Bain Capital Ventures
Bio: FourKites builds cloud- and mobile-based solutions for tracking and analyzing shipments across the United States in real time.
News: CEO Mathew Elenjickal told Built In Chicago that FourKites is ramping up for the end of 2017, when a federal mandate requiring all commercial trucks to be equipped with electronic logging devices goes into effect. The company expects to hire at least 100 people in Chicago over the next 12 months.
1. ActiveCampaign, $20M, October 11 (tied)
Investors: Silversmith Capital Partners
Bio: ActiveCampaign is the creator of a marketing automation platform content providers, SaaS providers and e-commerce companies.
News: Although founded in 2003, ActiveCampaign had yet to raise outside funding until this month’s $20 million round. The company, whose team has grown fivefold since early 2015 to a total of 75, will use the cash infusion to further ramp up hiring.
1. Snapsheet, $20M, October 14 (tied)
Investors: F-Prime Capital Partners, IA Capital, Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures and Intact Financial Corporation
Bio: Launched in 2010, Snapsheet creates mobile claims processing solutions for the auto insurance industry.
News: Insurance giant Liberty Mutual participated in Snapsheet’s most recent $20 million Series C round, putting institutional support behind the startup’s solution in the notoriously risk-averse vertical.
Images via listed companies.
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