Catch up on the latest funding announcements, office openings and all things Chicago tech, including the new tool developed by the University of Chicago students to limit artificial intelligence art generators. Last week Kin also announced it raised new capital. This is the Built In Chicago Weekly Refresh.
Glaze launched an AI cloaking tool. Glaze, a project emerging out of the University of Chicago, released a new tool that will help artist protect their work from being copied by AI art generators. The tool works by slightly modifying an artist’s images before they are posted online. The release of the tool comes as AI art generators have come under severe scrutiny for copyright violations. [Built In Chicago]
Adeptia raised $65M. Adeptia is a business-to-business data integration company that was founded in 2000. The company’s latest round was led by the equity firm PSG and will be used to grow Adeptia’s software innovation and increase its market adoption. Along with the funding, Adeptia appointed Vance Loiselle as CEO and Paul Moriarity as CRO. [Business Wire]
Kin added to its Series D round. In March 2022, direct-to-consumer home insurance platform Kin raised $82 million in a Series D round. A year later, the company secured an additional $15 million to close out the round at $109 million. The new capital will help Kin expand its product offerings and market share. As the company looks to grow, it’s currently hiring and has open roles across departments. [Business Wire]
Chicago Tech Quote of the Week
“There are a lot of people that are still interested in talking about relationships or improving their mental health, and that is what I see is hard to get access to. People are willing to invest in wellness but don’t want to be put on a waitlist because of their language.” — Luis Suarez, founder and CEO of Sanarai
Sanarai was featured in the Built In Future 5 series. Sanarai is a health platform that connects users with mental health professionals in Latin America to provide culturally relevant care for Latino users. The company was founded by Luis Suarez in 2020 after struggling to find a Spanish-speaking therapist. Since launching, the company has partnered with Google and secured investment from LongJump. [Built In Chicago]
Reach Pathways won the SXSW Pitch competition. Reach Pathways is an edtech platform that developed a metaverse for the Chicago Scholars’ curriculum. Last week the company won the SXSW Pitch competition for the future of work category. Along with the win, Reach Pathways also secured $4,000. [Email]
Several tech companies opened new offices in Chicago. It may be early in the year, but three tech companies have already opened new offices in Chicago. Spot, a logistics company headquartered in Indianapolis, BearingPoint, a tech consulting firm, and advertising and consulting firm Ovative Group have opened new offices in the Windy City. [Built In Chicago]
