AOL founder invests in Keywell startup
ptake, Brad Keywell's fast-growing Big Data startup, raised a big pile of cash from some old friends.
A $40 million round was led by Revolution Growth, a fund launched by AOL founder Steve Case and Ted Leonsis. The deal values Uptake at more than $2 billion, according to a source familiar with the transaction.
Leonsis, an early backer and board member of Groupon, which Keywell helped launch, will join Uptake's board.
Uptake, founded in 2014, raised $45 million in late 2015. The company specializes in helping big companies, such as Caterpillar, gather and analyze data from their operations to improve efficiency and create new products.
It's grown at an astonishing rate,
more than doubling headcount last year as it moved into new industries, such as aerospace and health care—though it has not identified customers other than Cat.
The company now has nearly 700 employees.
Article:
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...eywells-uptake
Energy-trading software startup gets $19 million
Aquilon Energy Services, a small Lisle-based software company, has caught the attention of some very big players.
The company raised $19 million from Citi, Goldman Sachs, Macquarie Group and Chicago-based Invenergy. Aquilon's software helps buyers and sellers of contracts for electricity and natural gas reconcile those transactions after delivery. It's a process that's mostly done manually with spreadsheets, says Jeff Wagner, who founded the company about five years ago.
The company has grown to 32 people, up from 12 a year ago. Six employees are in Houston. Wagner hopes to have 50 employees by year-end, including 30 in Chicago. Most of the growth will be in Houston, where much of the U.S. energy trading business is conducted. Aquilon plans to build out the platform to include petroleum products, as well as electricity and natural gas, as well as companies that transport energy, such as natural gas.
Article:
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...m-citi-goldman
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http://www.prnewswire.com/news-relea...300400011.html