Thanks in large part to the announcement of Outcome Health's $500 million round, May clocked in as one of Chicago tech's biggest funding months ever. A whopping nine companies raised more than $1 million each, bringing in a total of $558 million. That figure does not include Vivid Seats’ new investment from private equity firm GTCR, the details of which were not disclosed when the startup announced the partnership in the middle of May.
Judging by reports from Crain's, Forbes and Wall Street Journal, we can expect to see Outcome Health's total funding amount grow even larger next month. But for now, check out the five largest rounds of the month below.
5. Upfront Healthcare Services, $5.6M, May 18
Investors: Nashville Capital Network, Echo Health Ventures, Hyde Park Venture Partners, Martin Ventures
Bio: Upfront Healthcare Services leverages data analytics to help physician practices streamline their operations through better preparations, declining unnecessary appointments and assigning more cases to nurse practitioners.
News: Lead investor Nashville Capital Network was an investor in co-founders Ben Albert and Carrie Kozlowski’s last startup, Care Team Connect. Upfront will use the funding to support growth and accelerate development of its core product.
4. Clearcover, $6.25M, May 30
Investors: Undisclosed
Bio: Founded by venture capitalist Kyle Nakatsuji and insurance industry veteran Derek Brigham, Clearcover has yet to share many details about its core product. According to its website and social media accounts, the company seeks to build a new insurance model that is “fundamentally changing the way people engage with (or rather, don’t engage with) insurance.”
3. Interior Define, $8M, May 9
Investors: Breakout Capital, Pritzker Group Venture Capital, Listen Ventures
Bio: Interior Define is an online-first retailer of custom-built furniture. Designed with apartment dwellers in mind, each of the company’s couches come in a range of lengths to ensure that it will fit in the customer’s living room.
News: Taking a leaf out of Warby Parker’s playbook, Interior Define is currently in the process of building brick-and-mortar showrooms at locations across the country. The company has one location in Lincoln Park and one in New York’s SoHo neighborhood, with a third location slated to open by the end of this year. Interior Define is also beefing up its technology and customer service teams in Chicago.
2. G2 Crowd, $30M, May 24
Investors: Accel, Pritzker Group Venture Capital, LinkedIn
Bio: G2 Crowd is an online review platform for business-to-business software and services. Founded in 2012, the company currently hosts more than 170,000 verified user reviews for 25,000 products.
News: At the time of the funding, CEO Tim Handorf said G2 experienced more than 300 percent growth in 2016. The company will expand its employee count from 100 to 350 over the next two years.
1. Outcome Health, $500M, May 31
Investors: Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, CapitalG, Leerink Transformation Partners, Pritzker Group Venture Capital, Balyasny Asset Management
Bio: Outcome Health uses digital technology to streamline communication between doctors and their patients, providing actionable insights at the point of care.
News: Bootstrapped since 2006, Outcome Health landed its first funding round at a $5 billion valuation. The company currently has more than 150 open positions.
Images via listed companies, Shutterstock and social media.
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