It was a busy week for Chicago tech startups, with many companies closing deals while others opened new offices. Catch up on Strike’s $80 million raise or read up on how FourKites will use its new capital. This is the Built In Chicago Weekly Refresh.
Cameo opened a new office. The celebrity engagement platform went fully remote during the pandemic but now has moved into the old Sports Authority building downtown, according to Chicago Inno. There, the company’s 50 local employees will return to in-office work. The 10,000 square-foot office houses Cameo’s recruiting, marketing and engineering departments. [Chicago Inno]
Strike raised $80M. Strike is a blockchain startup that develops integrations for e-commerce sites to enable them to accept cryptocurrencies as payment tender. Ten31, a bitcoin-focused VC firm, led the Series B round. According to the company, the new funds will be used to develop and launch new crypto products for financial institutions. [Built In Chicago]
Chicago Tech Quote of the Week
Songfinch closed a Series A round. Songfinch closed a $17 million funding round last week, and it’s hoping to use the money to support independent artists. The company’s platform recruits musicians to create custom songs for customers, and it pays them for their work. With the new funds, the company will continue to grow its platform and add to the over 1,800 musicians that have already been recruited to the site. [Built In Chicago]
Built In Chicago featured five local startups in its Future 5 series. During Q3, Built In Chicago sat down with five early-stage startup founders that have yet to raise a Series A financing round. The companies ranged from foodtech to clothing startups. This quarter’s Future 5 series featured Hyfé Foods, MFGWorx, Murmur, OnBrand and Out of Office. [Built In Chicago]
FourKites pulled in $10M. The logistics firm announced last week that it would use the funding to expand its services in the Asia-Pacific region. The company develops supply chain visibility platforms and works with companies such as Coca-Cola, Walmart and 3M. The company said it has seen massive growth in the Asia-Pacific market in recent months, and it hopes to capitalize on that growth with this latest capital raise. [Built In Chicago]
