Top Startups in Chicago (2026)
From K1x's $175M growth round to Formic's factory robots, see the top startups in Chicago that raised in the last 12 months.
Published October 27, 2026 by Jacob Klionsky
- 01$175MEquity
K1x, an AI-native private markets tax data platform, raised a $175 million growth investment led by Sumeru Equity Partners with additional investment from Edison Partners.
- 02$125MEquity
Bishop Street Underwriters, an MGA platform, secured a $125 million structured capital investment from White Mountains Capital Insurance Group.
- 03$110MSeries A
Zarminali Pediatrics, a tech-enabled pediatric care network, raised a $110 million Series A led by Healthier Capital with participation from General Catalyst and K2 HealthVentures.
- 04$110MSeries C
Bridge to Life, organ preservation and perfusion technology company, raised $110 million in a Series C equity financing plus debt financing led by Soleus Capital with participation from Lauxera Capital Partners, company directors, officers and employees, and debt provided by Soleus Capital Credit Opportunities Fund.
- 05$100MEquity
Advanced manufacturing platform The Partner Companies secured a >$100 M minority equity investment from Tensile Capital Management and a >$200 M syndicated credit line led by Huntington Bank.
- 06$85MSeries A
Go.AI, an on-premises AI infrastructure provider for regulated industries, raised $85 million Series A led by Updata Partners with participation from GFT Ventures and LAUNCH
- 07$81MEquity
Chowbus, an AI-powered restaurant operating platform, raised an $81 million equity round led by Prysm Capital and Left Lane Capital with participation from Dutchess, Fika, and Avid Bank.
- 08$75MSeries B
Freehand, an AI supply-chain automation company, raised $75M from Battery Ventures, NewRoad Capital Partners, Nexus Venture Partners, PSP Growth, NewBuild Venture Capital, Uncorrelated Ventures and Iron Pillar.
- 09$53MSeries D
Hopscotch Primary Care, a technology-enabled primary care company serving rural communities, raised $53 million in a Series D led by 8VC and Townhall Ventures with participation from aMoon Fund, Citi Impact Fund, Alumni Ventures, K2 HealthVentures and new investors including the Autism Impact Fund, John Doerr, Richard Merkin and the Leon Levine Foundation
- 10$50MSeries B
Cour Pharmaceuticals Development, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing antigen-specific immune tolerance therapies, raised $50 million in a Series B led by Lumira Ventures and Roche Venture Fund with participation from Sanofi, Alpha Wave Ventures, Pfizer Ventures, Angelini Ventures, and T1D Fund.
- 11$50MSeries B
Formic Technologies, a Chicago company that rents robots to American factories, raised $50M in a Series B led by Mercato Partners with debt financing from S2G Investments and participation from Light Ray Ventures, Lightscape Partners, Citi, Lux Capital, Initialized Capital, Blackhorn Ventures, and Lorimer Ventures.
- 12$47MEquity
Next-gen SAF producer LanzaJet raised $47 million in new capital—comprising the first close of a target $135 million equity round co-led by IAG and Shell with participation from Groupe ADP, LanzaTech, and Mitsui—at a $650 million pre-money valuation.
- 13$44MSeed
AI-agent management startup Guild.ai raised a $44 million combined seed and Series A round from undisclosed investors.
- 14$42.5MSeries C Extension
GeoWealth, a proprietary technology and asset management platform provider, raised $42.5M in a Series C extension as a minority investment from Goldman Sachs with participation from Apollo, BlackRock, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, and Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors (sub-advised by Composition Capital), while majority owner The Globe Resources Group retained control.
- 15$40MSeries B
Letter AI, an AI revenue-enablement startup, raised a $40 M Series B led by Battery Ventures with participation from Y Combinator, Lightbank, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, Stage 2 Capital, and existing investors.
- 16$40MSeries B
Impossible Objects, a composite additive manufacturing company, raised $40 million in a Series B led by Inflection Equity with participation from Aaron Wealth Management, OCA Ventures, Impact Capital and Excell Partners
- 17$40MSeries C
Honeycomb, an AI-native insurer for apartment buildings and condo associations, raised $40 million in a funding round led by Zeev Ventures with participation from Ibex Investors, Peakline, Alpha Partners, Meitar Partners, Practical VC, and Harris Barton.
- 18$35MSeries A
Architect, operator of the AX perpetual futures exchange, raised a $35 million Series A round led by Miami International Holdings and Tioga Capital with participation from Galaxy Ventures, ARK Invest, VanEck, Trumid, Geneva Trading, Coinbase Ventures and others.
- 19$30MSeries C
PatientIQ, a patient-reported outcomes intelligence platform, raised $30 million in a Series C led by Hughes & Company with participation from Health Enterprise Partners and August Capital
- 20$30MSeries A
ElectronX, a regulated power derivatives exchange, raised a $30 million Series A round led by DCVC with participation from XTX Markets, Five Rings, NGP, GTS, JACS Capital, Innovation Endeavors, Systemiq Capital, Equinor Ventures, and Shell Ventures.
