Chicago’s tech companies have been fundraising like crazy this summer. May saw an incredible $558 million in fresh investor funds come through, and June wasn’t too shabby either with $125 million in new capital. Things cooled off a bit in July with just $58.1 million raised.
July was less about big fundraising rounds and more about smaller companies getting seed funding. A handful of startups raised seed rounds just north of $1 million, including Shawn Carpenter’s new venture, RepIQ. Check out Chicago’s five biggest fundraising rounds of July below.
5. Monument Labs, $1.4M, July 25
Investors: ACT Venture Partners, Bluestein Associates, Istanbul Technical University ARI Teknokent, Sinan Guler
Bio: Monument Labs is the maker of an A.I.-powered device that stores and intelligently organizes photos. Photos can be synced over Wi-Fi or via SD card, and once uploaded they are tagged and sorted. The device tags photos from faces to location, date and camera type. The Monument Labs mobile app allows users to browse through stored photos using the device’s intelligent tags.
News: Monument Labs has proven that both consumers and investors are interested in what it’s up to. The company’s $1.4 million seed round comes a year after it pulled in $900,000 on Kickstarter. Monument Labs plans to use the fresh funds to refine its artificial intelligence and to stoke growth.
4. ReviewTrackers, $3M, July 12
Investors: Undisclosed
Bio: ReviewTrackers helps companies track reviews across over 85 different platforms, including Yelp, Facebook and TripAdvisor. In addition to monitoring customer feedback, the company’s platform also offers insights and helps businesses increase their amount of positive reviews.
News: The round, which was filed through the SEC, brings ReviewTrackers total funding to $9 million. Last year, the company was celebrating a $4 million round led by the venture arm of American Family Insurance. The funds from that round were mostly put toward developing the ReviewTrackers product, so it’s possible this new $3 million could be earmarked for hiring.
3. PhysIQ, $8M, July 25
Investors: 4490 Ventures, Global Health Sciences Fund, Quark Venture, GF Securities, LionBird
Bio: PhysIQ is a healthtech company that enables caregivers to monitor patients from afar via wearables and implanted sensors. VitaLink, its A.I.-powered platform, monitors vital signs, respiration and more. If the system detects changes, no matter how subtle, caregivers are notified. All collected data is organized into personalized patient insights.
News: Part of PhysIQ’s $8 million Series B round will be used to launch VitaLink. In addition to launching a new product, PhysIQ also plans to do a bit of hiring.
2. CellTrak, $11M, July 10
Investors: Boathouse Capital, MK Capital
Bio: CellTrak helps home healthcare providers and the companies that manage them work more efficiently. Its apps enable mobile caregivers to stay in touch with their home office and work more efficiently thanks to smart route modeling and scheduling functions. Details of all trip visits are logged and can be viewed by the patient, their family and doctor in an online portal.
News: CellTrak is anticipating a spike in demand thanks to new legislation requiring home care providers to electronically verify visits. To meet that demand, CellTrak will be hiring and adding more features to its platform.
1. SpotHero, $30M, July 18
Investors: Corazon Capital, e.ventures, Autotech Ventures, Global Founders Capital, Insight Venture Partners
Bio: SpotHero lets drivers find, book and pay for parking spots via mobile app. Spots are reserved by the hour but monthly rentals are also available. Those with unused parking spaces at home can lease their space on the platform to make extra cash.
News: SpotHero’s Series C round will be used to beef up its technological capabilities. Part of that entails preparing for the fast-approaching rise of the self-driving machines and autonomous cars that park themselves. SpotHero will also use some of the $30 million it raised to expand into new markets.
Images via Shutterstock, social media and listed companies
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