The Full List of 18 Unicorn Startups in Chicago (2026)
Chicago's startup ecosystem includes 18 unicorns, with notable concentrations in enterprise software and fintech. Among them is legal tech firm Relativity, valued at $4 billion, and lending platform Avant, which has secured $2.1 billion in funding.
Other relevant startups include supply chain company project44, which has raised $942.9 million, and ActiveCampaign, which is valued at $3 billion.
Below is the full list of 18 Chicago unicorn startups at this time.
Top 10 Most Valuable Chicago Unicorns
Relativity creates software to help legal teams manage and analyze large volumes of data. Their e-discovery platform is used to identify key evidence for litigation, internal investigations, and compliance matters.
| Valuation | $4B (Joined March 2021) |
| Year Founded | 2001 |
| Founders | Andrew Sieja |
| Funding Amount | $125M |
| Company Size | Major Organization (1,001-5,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Private Equity |
| Top Investors | Permira, ICONIQ Growth, Silver Lake |
project44 operates a supply chain visibility platform that acts as the connective tissue for global logistics. Their technology gives shippers and logistics providers a single source of truth to track shipments and manage exceptions in real time.
| Valuation | $3B (Joined June 2021) |
| Year Founded | 2014 |
| Founders | Jett McCandless, Wally Ibrahim |
| Funding Amount | $942.9M |
| Company Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Venture Round |
| Top Investors | Sapphire Ventures, Insight Partners, Emergence Capital, TPG, Thoma Bravo |
ActiveCampaign builds a customer experience automation platform designed to help businesses connect and engage with their customers. Their software combines email marketing, marketing automation, and sales automation tools into a single, integrated system.
| Valuation | $3B (Joined April 2021) |
| Year Founded | 2003 |
| Founders | Jason VandeBoom |
| Funding Amount | $360M |
| Company Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Series C |
| Top Investors | Susquehanna Growth Equity, Tiger Global Management, Dragoneer Investment Group, Silversmith Capital Partners |
Kin Insurance provides homeowners insurance directly to consumers through its digital platform. They specialize in using data to create customized and affordable policies for homes, including those in regions prone to natural disasters.
| Valuation | $2B |
| Year Founded | 2016 |
| Founders | Lucas Ward, Sean Harper, Sebastian Villarreal, Stephen Wooten |
| Funding Amount | $753.2M |
| Company Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Series E |
| Top Investors | QED Investors, 500 Global, Gaingels, Wellington Management, Flourish Ventures |
Avant operates an online lending platform that provides personal loans and credit cards to consumers. They are known for using a technology-first approach to make financial products more accessible and easier to manage.
| Valuation | $2B (Joined December 2012) |
| Year Founded | 2012 |
| Founders | Al Goldstein, Al Goldstein, John Sun, Paul Zhang |
| Funding Amount | $2.1B |
| Company Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Private Equity |
| Top Investors | Tiger Global Management, Founders Fund, JP Morgan Chase, General Atlantic, QED Investors |
Pathos develops an AI-powered platform to accelerate the discovery of new oncology drugs. Their technology uses machine learning to analyze complex biological data, helping bring potential cancer therapies to clinical trials faster.
| Valuation | $2B (Joined May 2025) |
| Year Founded | 2020 |
| Founders | Eric Lefkofsky, Ryan Fukushima |
| Funding Amount | $447M |
| Company Size | Lean Team (11-50) |
| Last Funding Status | Series D |
| Top Investors | New Enterprise Associates, Lightbank, Revolution Growth, Builders VC |
Uptake builds industrial intelligence software that helps companies in sectors like mining and energy manage their heavy machinery. Their platform delivers AI-powered insights to predict equipment failures and optimize overall asset performance.
| Valuation | $2B |
| Year Founded | 2014 |
| Founders | Bradley Keywell |
| Funding Amount | $218M |
| Company Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Series D |
| Top Investors | New Enterprise Associates, GreatPoint Ventures, Lightbank, BloombergNEF, Baillie Gifford |
Loadsmart developed a freight technology platform that helps shippers digitize transportation and logistics. They connect shippers and carriers to help lower costs, increase efficiency, and streamline the supply chain.
| Valuation | $1.3B (Joined February 2022) |
| Year Founded | 2014 |
| Founders | Felipe Capella, Ricardo Salgado |
| Funding Amount | $346.4M |
| Company Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Undisclosed |
| Top Investors | BlackRock, FJ Labs, Janus Henderson Investors, Alumni Ventures, CSX |
Nerdio develops cloud management solutions that help IT professionals streamline their Microsoft Azure environments. They specialize in virtual desktop optimization to help businesses reduce costs and improve operational efficiency.
| Valuation | $1.2B (Joined March 2025) |
| Year Founded | 2016 |
| Founders | Joseph Landes, Vadim Vladimirskiy |
| Funding Amount | $625M |
| Company Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Series C |
| Top Investors | Lead Edge Capital, General Atlantic, StepStone Group, Updata Partners, MK Capital |
Copado offers an end-to-end DevOps platform built natively for the Salesforce ecosystem. Their solution allows development teams to automate release processes, manage testing, and maintain security and compliance.
| Valuation | $1.2B (Joined September 2021) |
| Year Founded | 2013 |
| Founders | Federico Larsen, Philipp Rackwitz |
| Funding Amount | $270.8M |
| Company Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Series C |
| Top Investors | SoftBank Vision Fund, Declaration Partners, Isai, Insight Partners, Salesforce Ventures |
The Remaining 8 Unicorns Founded in Chicago
The ten most valuable companies only tell part of Chicago's story. Another group of unicorns has collectively raised over $2.4 billion to grow their businesses.
These companies are working in a wide range of fields, from finance to food tech. Here is a closer look at the other startups that make Chicago’s tech scene so strong.
| Unicorn Startup | Main Industry | Year Founded | Amount Raised | Valuation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 G2 | Enterprise | 2012 | $257.6M | $1.1B |
 zerohash | Crypto | 2017 | $282.1M | $1B |
 Clearcover | InsurTech | 2016 | $457.2M | $1B |
 ShipBob | Retail | 2014 | $330.5M | $1B |
 VectorBuilder | Biotech | 2015 | CN¥410M | $1B |
 FourKites | AI | 2014 | $241.5M | $1B |
 M1 Holdings | Fintech | 2015 | $323.2M | $1B |
 Nature's Fynd | AgTech | 2012 | $509.6M | $1B |
