In terms of entrepreneurship and business, Illinois has evolved into one of the top emerging hubs in the world.
Hundreds of startup companies have been founded there in the last years, many of which are enjoying incredible success.
We've compiled a list with the 58 most successful ones.
58 Startups in Illinois 1) G2.com G2 is a software marketplace where companies can explore, buy, and manage their software and services.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2012 Founders: Godard Abel, Mark Myers, Matt Gorniak, Mike Wheeler, Tim Handorf Industries: B2B, Business Intelligence, CRM, Marketing Automation, Software Number of employees: 501-1000 Funding amount: $257,572,384 Number of funding rounds: 7 Number of investors: 22 You can find their website here
2) Rise Science RISE is a sleep management application that provides personalized sleep planning.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2014 Founders: Jeff Kahn, Leon Sasson Industries: Health Care, Mobile Apps, Software, Wearables, Wellness Number of employees: 1-10 Funding amount: $15,500,000 Number of funding rounds: 2 Number of investors: 4 You can find their website here
3) project44 For shippers and third-party logistics companies, project44 offers an advanced supply chain visibility platform.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2014 Founders: Jett McCandless, Wally Ibrahim Industries: Developer APIs, Enterprise Software, Freight Service, SaaS, Transportation Number of employees: 251-500 Funding amount: $397,500,000 Number of funding rounds: 7 Number of investors: 18 You can find their website here
4) Gate.io Gate.io is a cryptocurrency exchange.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2013 Industries: Angel Investment, Cryptocurrency, Cyber Security, FinTech, Information Technology, Security, Trade Shows, Trading Platform Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: $64,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 2 Number of investors: 1 You can find their website here
5) Kin Insurance Kin Insurance is an insurtech firm that specializes in providing customized house insurance policies.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2016 Founders: Lucas Ward, Sean Harper, Sebastian Villarreal, Stephen Wooten Industries: Financial Services, Insurance, InsurTech, Property Insurance Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: $156,164,957 Number of funding rounds: 7 Number of investors: 33 You can find their website here
6) Avant Avant is an online lending platform that provides secure financial products to its customers.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2012 Founders: Al Goldstein, John Sun, Paul Zhang Industries: Consumer Lending, Finance, Financial Services, FinTech, Lending, Marketplace Number of employees: 501-1000 Funding amount: $1,582,900,814 Number of funding rounds: 11 Number of investors: 17 You can find their website here
7) ShipBob ShipBob is a technology business that helps direct-to-consumer brands fulfill e-commerce purchases.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2014 Founders: Dhruv Saxena, Divey Gulati, George Wojciechowski, Jivko Bojinov Industries: E-Commerce, Logistics, Mobile, SaaS, Shipping, Software Number of employees: 501-1000 Funding amount: $130,500,000 Number of funding rounds: 6 Number of investors: 29 You can find their website here
8) Thoughtworks Thoughtworks is a group of dedicated people who want to change the way software is designed, created, and delivered.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 1993 Founders: Roy Singham Industries: Consulting, Information Technology, Open Source, Software Number of employees: 5001-10000 Funding amount: $748,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 2 Number of investors: 6 You can find their website here
9) Tempus Tempus is a technology startup that uses artificial intelligence to advance precision medicine in the healthcare industry.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2015 Founders: Eric Lefkofsky Industries: Artificial Intelligence, Biotechnology, Health Care, Machine Learning, Medical Number of employees: 1001-5000 Funding amount: $1,070,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 11 Number of investors: 10 You can find their website here
10) Signal Signal is a self-contained SaaS company that specializes in data onboarding and real-time identity resolution.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2009 Founders: Eric Lunt, Marc Kiven, Mike Sands Industries: Analytics, Cloud Computing, Data Integration, Enterprise Software, Marketing, Marketing Automation, Project Management, SaaS Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: $60,100,000 Number of funding rounds: 6 Number of investors: 10 You can find their website here
11) The Mom Project Mom Project is a platform that helps working mothers realize their full potential.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2016 Founders: Allison Robinson, Gregory Robinson Industries: Career Planning, Communities, Human Resources, Internet, Marketplace, Recruiting, Women's Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: $35,600,000 Number of funding rounds: 3 Number of investors: 17 You can find their website here
12) Amount Amount is a digital technology business that helps financial institutions speed their digital transformation.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2019 Founders: Al Goldstein Industries: Banking, Finance, Financial Services, FinTech Number of employees: 251-500 Funding amount: $243,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 3 Number of investors: 9 You can find their website here
13) Relativity During litigation, investigations, and compliance, Relativity's e-discovery software manages massive volumes of data and detects critical concerns.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2001 Founders: Andrew Sieja Industries: Ediscovery, Enterprise Software, Legal, Software Number of employees: 501-1000 Funding amount: $125,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 2 Number of investors: 2 You can find their website here
14) Clearcover Clearcover is a digital vehicle insurance company that offers coverage at a lower cost.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2016 Founders: Derek Brigham, Kyle Nakatsuji Industries: Auto Insurance, Financial Services, InsurTech Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: $304,500,000 Number of funding rounds: 4 Number of investors: 11 You can find their website here
15) Copado Copado is a Salesforce-specific end-to-end native DevOps platform.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2013 Founders: Federico Larsen, Philipp Rackwitz Industries: Collaboration, Developer Platform, Developer Tools, IT Management, Software Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: $130,832,372 Number of funding rounds: 3 Number of investors: 6 You can find their website here
16) LanzaTech Companies, communities, and countries all throughout the world are benefiting from new economic opportunities.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2005 Founders: Sean Simpson Industries: Clean Energy, CleanTech, Fuel, Natural Resources, Renewable Energy, Sustainability Number of employees: 51-100 Funding amount: $280,400,000 Number of funding rounds: 7 Number of investors: 11 You can find their website here
17) Fyllo For the cannabis sector, Fyllo provides compliance cloud enterprise grade software and database services.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2019 Founders: Aristotle Loumis, Chad Bronstein, Erik Shani Industries: Cannabis, Cloud Computing, Cloud Data Services, Compliance, Enterprise Software Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: $58,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 4 Number of investors: 10 You can find their website here
18) 4Degrees Built for connection-driven industries, an AI-enabled relationship management tool.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2017 Founders: Ablorde Ashigbi, David Vandegrift Industries: Artificial Intelligence, Computer, Computer Vision, Internet, Machine Learning Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: $1,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 4 Number of investors: 9 You can find their website here
19) chiliZ An international sports and entertainment company.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2012 Founders: Alexandre Dreyfus Industries: Blockchain, Digital Entertainment, eSports, Sports Number of employees: 51-100 Funding amount: $27,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 2 Number of investors: 2 You can find their website here
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20) Built In Built In is an online community for tech businesses and startups.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2010 Founders: Adam Calica, Maria Christopoulos Katris, Maria Katris, Matt Moog Industries: Communities, Employment, News, Recruiting Number of employees: 51-100 Funding amount: $29,925,000 Number of funding rounds: 5 Number of investors: 14 You can find their website here
21) DialogTech For organizations that value phone conversations, DialogTech provides actionable marketing insights.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2005 Founders: Irv Shapiro Industries: Analytics, Enterprise Software, Marketing Automation, SaaS, Software, Telecommunications Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: $76,508,268 Number of funding rounds: 12 Number of investors: 12 You can find their website here
22) Snapsheet Snapsheet's cloud-native claims management software and tech-enabled evaluation services provide exceptional claims experiences.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2011 Founders: Brad Weisberg, CJ Przybyl Industries: Auto Insurance, Insurance, InsurTech, Mobile, Property Insurance, Software Number of employees: 251-500 Funding amount: $100,384,818 Number of funding rounds: 6 Number of investors: 20 You can find their website here
23) IRI IRI is a market research firm that specializes in big data and predictive analytics development.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 1979 Founders: Gerald Eskin, John Malec Industries: Advertising, Analytics, Consumer, Delivery, Finance, Health Care, Market Research, Predictive Analytics, Price Comparison, Retail Number of employees: 1001-5000 Funding amount: $181,040,000 Number of funding rounds: 3 Number of investors: 2 You can find their website here
24) Tovala Tovala is a food-tech business that provides a meal delivery service together with a smart countertop oven.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2015 Founders: Bryan Wilcox, David Rabie Industries: Cooking, Delivery, Food and Beverage, Food Delivery Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: $68,639,786 Number of funding rounds: 8 Number of investors: 26 You can find their website here
25) Sears Sears is a multibillion-dollar retailer that specializes on outdoor living, home appliances, clothing, and furniture.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 1893 Industries: Coupons, E-Commerce, Internet, Shopping Number of employees: 10001+ Funding amount: $600,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 2 Number of investors: 3 You can find their website here
26) Uptake Technologies Enterprise software is designed and developed by Uptake Technologies.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2014 Founders: Bradley Keywell Industries: Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Industrial, Machine Learning, SaaS, Software Number of employees: 251-500 Funding amount: $218,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 4 Number of investors: 7 You can find their website here
27) ShopRunner ShopRunner is an e-commerce network that offers over 100 brands free delivery, free returns, discounts, and seamless checkout.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2010 Founders: Luccile Logan, Rick Fawcett Industries: E-Commerce, Electronics, Shopping Number of employees: 51-100 Funding amount: $115,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 3 Number of investors: 3 You can find their website here
28) Chowbus Chowbus is a delivery service that offers authentic Asian cuisine from independent restaurants and retailers in the area.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2015 Founders: Linxin Wen, Suyu Zhang Industries: Delivery, Food Delivery, Internet, Local, Mobile Apps Number of employees: 251-500 Funding amount: $68,270,000 Number of funding rounds: 5 Number of investors: 9 You can find their website here
29) Centro Basis, Centro's technological platform, is an advertising solution that combines programmatic buying, workflow automation, and data analytics.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2001 Founders: Shawn Riegsecker Industries: Advertising, Digital Media, Enterprise Software, Marketing, Software Number of employees: 501-1000 Funding amount: $52,500,000 Number of funding rounds: 2 Number of investors: 2 You can find their website here
30) Foxtrot Foxtrot is a mobile app that allows customers to purchase a carefully chosen selection of drinks, food, and everyday necessities.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2013 Founders: Brian Jaffee, Mike LaVitola, Taylor Bloom Industries: Delivery, E-Commerce, Wine And Spirits Number of employees: 1-10 Funding amount: $66,750,000 Number of funding rounds: 7 Number of investors: 22 You can find their website here
31) VillageMD VillageMD is a data-driven service provider for primary care doctors.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2013 Founders: Clive Fields, Paul Martino, Tim Barry Industries: Health Care, Hospital, Medical Number of employees: 251-500 Funding amount: $491,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 4 Number of investors: 7 You can find their website here
32) Flexera Flexera Product assists application developers and businesses in increasing application usage and maximizing the value of their software.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2008 Industries: Apps, Enterprise, Information Technology, Software Number of employees: 1001-5000 Funding amount: $81,382,366 Number of funding rounds: 2 Number of investors: 1 You can find their website here
33) oak9 Developers' Cybersecurity SaaS Platform
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2019 Founders: Aakash Shah, Om Vyas, Raj Datta Industries: Cyber Security, Developer Platform, Information Technology, Security, Software Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: $5,900,000 Number of funding rounds: 1 Number of investors: 3 You can find their website here
34) Rheaply Rheaply is a procurement management platform that allows you to purchase, sell, trade, donate, and rent resources.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2015 Founders: Garry Cooper, Tyler Skelton Industries: Asset Management, Enterprise Software, Recycling, Sharing Economy, Software, Sustainability Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: $12,700,000 Number of funding rounds: 4 Number of investors: 16 You can find their website here
35) CurlMix CurlMix is a monthly subscription service that gives customers five to seven all-natural ingredients along with instructions on how to make their own hair products.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2015 Founders: Kimberly Lewis, Tim Lewis Industries: Beauty, Cosmetics, Health Care Number of employees: 1-10 Funding amount: $3,225,433 Number of funding rounds: 4 Number of investors: 2 You can find their website here
36) Instana Platform for modern Dev+Ops cloud-native microservices with enterprise observability Monitoring the performance of an application
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2015 Founders: Fabian Lange, Mirko Novakovic, Pavlo Baron, Pete Abrams Industries: Application Performance Management, Enterprise Software, IT Infrastructure, Software Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: $57,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 3 Number of investors: 4 You can find their website here
37) Cooler Screens Cooler Screens creates interactive digital displays to replace retail aisle glass doors.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2017 Founders: Arsen Avakian, Glen Tullman, Greg Wasson, Jamie Koval Industries: Advertising, Digital Marketing, Marketing, Retail Technology Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: $80,700,867 Number of funding rounds: 3 Number of investors: 5 You can find their website here
38) Berlin Packaging Glass, plastic, and metal containers are manufactured and supplied by Berlin Packaging.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 1898 Founders: Melvin Berlin Industries: Manufacturing, Packaging Services, Personal Branding, Product Design Number of employees: 1001-5000 Funding amount: $500,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 1 Number of investors: 2 You can find their website here
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39) Tiv Tiv is a payments and rewards network aimed squarely at the gaming community.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2020 Founders: Jed Strong, JP Pillat, William Danford Industries: Financial Services, FinTech, Gaming, Payments Number of employees: 1-10 Funding amount: $3,500,000 Number of funding rounds: 1 Number of investors: 2 You can find their website here
40) Nature’s Fynd Nature's Fynd is a food firm that produces a protein derived from a microorganism found in geothermal springs.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2012 Founders: Mark Kozubal, Matthew Strongin, Thomas Jonas Industries: Agriculture, AgTech, Food and Beverage, Food Processing, Sustainability Number of employees: 51-100 Funding amount: $158,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 3 Number of investors: 10 You can find their website here
41) Keeper Security Keeper Security is a highly rated and patented cybersecurity technology that protects against data breaches and cyberthreats caused by passwords.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2011 Founders: Craig Lurey, Darren Guccione Industries: Cloud Security, Cyber Security, Identity Management, Security, Software Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: $60,250,000 Number of funding rounds: 2 Number of investors: 2 You can find their website here
42) Home Chef Home Chef is a subscription-based meal kit delivery service that helps individuals save time while still cooking at home.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2013 Founders: Bryon Finke, Pat Vihtelic Industries: Delivery, Food and Beverage, Restaurants Number of employees: 1001-5000 Funding amount: $57,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 8 Number of investors: 13 You can find their website here
43) Label Insight Label Insight is a software-as-a-service firm that provides government, merchants, manufacturers, and app developers with food label data insights.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2008 Founders: Anton Xavier, Dagan Xavier, Dheeraj Patri, Ronak Sheth Industries: Analytics, Big Data, Nutrition, SaaS Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: $35,497,921 Number of funding rounds: 12 Number of investors: 10 You can find their website here
44) Cheetah Digital B2C marketers require technology and marketing expertise to offer enterprise-scale brand experiences.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 1998 Industries: Advertising, Digital Marketing, Loyalty Programs, Marketing, SaaS Number of employees: 1001-5000 Funding amount: $21,115,277 Number of funding rounds: 3 Number of investors: 3 You can find their website here
45) Numerator Numerator combines omnichannel marketing, merchandising, and sales data to simplify the pursuit of new opportunities.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 1990 Founders: Jared Schrieber, Jon Brelig Industries: Analytics, Brand Marketing, Market Research Number of employees: 1001-5000 Funding amount: $21,400,000 Number of funding rounds: 3 Number of investors: 11 You can find their website here
46) Obie Obie is an insurtech business that provides real estate investors with insurance and risk management.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2017 Founders: Aaron Letzeiser, Ryan Letzeiser Industries: Commercial Insurance, Commercial Real Estate, Insurance, InsurTech, Real Estate, Real Estate Investment Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: $13,650,000 Number of funding rounds: 4 Number of investors: 11 You can find their website here
47) Enfusion Enfusion is a provider of middle and back office services as well as a cloud-based portfolio management and risk system.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 1998 Founders: Stephen Malherbe, Tarek Hammoud Industries: Consulting, Finance, Financial Services, Information Technology, Service Industry, Software Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: $156,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 3 Number of investors: 2 You can find their website here
48) Cleo Cleo provides enterprise integration software that enables operations such as managed file transfer, network faxing, and interactive messaging.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 1976 Industries: File Sharing, Software Number of employees: 51-100 Funding amount: $3,500,000 Number of funding rounds: 2 Number of investors: 2 You can find their website here
49) Raise Raise is a gift card marketplace (exchange) that is the world's largest direct-to-consumer seller of digital gift cards.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2013 Founders: George Bousis Industries: E-Commerce, Gift Card, Marketplace Number of employees: 251-500 Funding amount: $147,200,000 Number of funding rounds: 6 Number of investors: 12 You can find their website here
50) Samya.AI Samya.AI is a revenue-generating AI firm that harnesses the potential of deep learning.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2019 Founders: Deepinder Singh Dhingra, Pavan Palety, Shailendra Singh Industries: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Software Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: $6,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 1 Number of investors: 5 You can find their website here
51) FarEye FarEye is a low-code Intelligent Delivery Management Platform that aims to improve everyone's delivery experience.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2013 Founders: Gaurav Srivastava, Gautam Kumar, Kushal Nahata Industries: Artificial Intelligence, Delivery, Enterprise Software, Last Mile Transportation, Logistics Number of employees: 251-500 Funding amount: $150,739,000 Number of funding rounds: 7 Number of investors: 10 You can find their website here
52) PharmaCann PharmaCann is a vertically integrated and unified medicinal cannabis firm that is revolutionizing the cannabis industry.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2014 Founders: Teddy Scott Industries: Cannabis, Health Care, Medical Number of employees: 251-500 Funding amount: $121,315,821 Number of funding rounds: 5 You can find their website here
53) Tock Tock is a cloud-based platform with customizable data structures that allows users to book restaurants and events.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2014 Founders: Brian Fitzpatrick, Nick Kokonas Industries: Cloud Data Services, Food and Beverage, Hospitality, Restaurants, Software Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: $27,525,000 Number of funding rounds: 4 Number of investors: 5 You can find their website here
54) Vibes Vibes is a software platform for mobile marketing.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 1998 Founders: Alex Campbell, Jack Philbin Industries: Digital Marketing, Marketing Automation, Messaging, Mobile, Mobile Advertising, Personalization, SaaS, Software Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: $60,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 2 Number of investors: 2 You can find their website here
55) QuillBot QuillBot is a firm that is developing an artificial intelligence (AI) writing tool that reconstructs its users' writing to make it more clear and succinct.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2017 Founders: Anil Jason, David Silin, Rohan Gupta Industries: Artificial Intelligence, Education, Software Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: $4,200,000 Number of funding rounds: 1 Number of investors: 3 You can find their website here
56) Tagomi Tagomi is a cryptocurrency trading platform that aims to improve trade execution so that clients can keep more of their profits.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2018 Founders: Greg Tusar, Jennifer Campbell, Kevin Johnson, Marc Bhargava Industries: Bitcoin, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Financial Services, FinTech Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: $40,725,857 Number of funding rounds: 4 Number of investors: 19 You can find their website here
57) ThreeKit ThreeKit is a 3D product configuration and visualization platform that helps businesses develop and manage stunning images at scale.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2005 Founders: Ben Houston Industries: 3D Printing, Computer, Information Technology, Product Design, SaaS, Software Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: $30,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 2 Number of investors: 3 You can find their website here
58) Five to Nine So you can focus on improving the employee experience, Five to Nine oversees and assesses virtual event programming.
Details of the startup:
Started in: 2018 Founders: Denise Umubyeyi, Jasmine Shells Industries: B2B, Communities, Employee Benefits, Millennials, Social Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: $1,150,000 Number of funding rounds: 2 Number of investors: 7 You can find their website here
