Chicago and Illinois

  • In midst of COVID-19, St. Louis-based GiftAMeal supports hungry people, restaurants

    In midst of COVID-19, St. Louis-based GiftAMeal supports hungry people, restaurants

    Andrew Glantz embodies the spirit of altruistic entrepreneurship. As a teen, Glantz served for 4 years as VP of the Southern California children’s charity Jr. Variety, planning fundraisers that obtained over $400,000 for various children’s causes. In college, he co-owned a nonprofit storefront promoting reuse and sustainability. And in October 2015, while still a junior…

  • Weekly Funding Report

    Weekly Funding Report

    The Silicon Prairie had an excellent week as deals appear to be closing before the holiday rush.  St. Louis and Minneapolis had strong weeks.  And we had a big round in Oklahoma.  The Zero Card of Tulsa which provides an interesting software solution to healthcare costs received significant outside funding – including participation from the…

  • Funding Roundup for the Week of November 18th & 25th

    Funding Roundup for the Week of November 18th & 25th

    This week we are writing a funding roundup that really covers one and ½ weeks to cover Thanksgiving week plus the week previous.  During this time period, Chicago received a disproportionate amount of the funding dollars in the region.  However, Omaha and Oklahoma City both had companies close out fund raising campaigns. Also, the region…

  • Funding Roundup for the Week of November 4th

    Funding Roundup for the Week of November 4th

    The Silicon Prairie had a dry week when it comes to outside fundings.  So, the winning cities really appear to be Fayetteville, Arkansas and Iowa City, Iowa.  While neither city had huge deals, they both participated in the creation of ground breaking technologies that have received multiple mechanisms of support from the universities, local economic…

  • Funding Roundup for the Week of Oct. 28

    Funding Roundup for the Week of Oct. 28

    Two Silicon Prairie companies will be moving to Buffalo in the upcoming weeks, thanks to a program created by 43North.  The program announced seven winning companies last week – including Strayos (St. Louis) and Peanut Butter (Chicago).  As part of the program, both companies must move their CEO and a majority of staff to Buffalo.…

  • Research: Talent Attraction Case Study (Nebraska)

    Research: Talent Attraction Case Study (Nebraska)

    Last summer, the Aksarben Foundation approached Chapman and Company about creating a landscape analysis on talent for Nebraska.  While this analysis is about Nebraska, there are many lessons for communities throughout the Silicon Prairie region. Here are some broad stroke lessons from the report: The United States is WAY behind on technology talent.  This is…

  • Funding Roundup for the Week of Oct. 21

    Funding Roundup for the Week of Oct. 21

    It was a strong week for Minnesota.  Between Total Expert and ShiraTronics, Minnesota based companies brought in more than $85 million in Venture Funding.  There was a little more diversity than in previous weeks with companies in Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, and Wisconsin also raising substantial funds.  These fundings are aggregate lists created from Crunchbase, SEC…

  • Funding Update for the week of October 14

    Funding Update for the week of October 14

    Chicago had another strong week.  Overall the Silicon Prairie more than one hundred million in fundings this month, including some large rounds in Chicago and in biotechnology. Large Rounds (10m+) Apervita – Chicago – $22.56 million – Apervita is a healthcare technology company that provides health insights using machine learning and artificial intelligence. The company…

  • Funding Roundup: Week of Oct. 7

    Funding Roundup: Week of Oct. 7

    This was a relatively light week for funding announcements in the Silicon Prairie, but it was dominated by rounds from Chicago, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Large Rounds ($10+ million) The Milwaukee Business Journal reported that Shine Medical Technologies raised $50 million in new financing from Oaktree Capital to continue to commercialize radioisotopes for medical uses. In…

  • Funding Round Up: Week of September 30

    Funding Round Up: Week of September 30

    The funding round up is an aggregation of a variety of sources, including Pitchbook, Form Ds, and Crunchbase.  After building a list from these sources, we look for press releases and other mechanisms to provide more information.  If you are would like to appear in the funding round up next week, please email us at…