CHICAGO | Economic & Business Development

[Randomguy34]

More good news for life sciences

Northwestern biotech startup moving to Fulton Labs

Biotech startup Vanqua Bio is moving south to Fulton Market, taking about 25,000 square feet in a new lab facility.

Vanqua Bio, a Northwestern University spinout that’s developing treatments for Parkinson’s Disease, is moving early next year to more space at Fulton Labs. It's coming from a Sterling Bay-owned research building next to the former Lurie Children's Hospital site in Lincoln Park.

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/commerci...ch-startup-vanqua-bio-moving-fulton-labs

[SIGSEGV]

I don't quite undestand the scale of this, but interesting:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/...04-xyavqtwsbjbkjfpposqjogtbby-story.html

Department of Defense to open innovation office in Chicago


The Department of Defense’s innovation unit will open a regional office in Chicago as the Pentagon looks for the newest tools to fend off cyberattacks and related threats.

The opening of the Defense Innovation Unit or DIU office in Chicago next year allows the Pentagon to tap into what officials call a “growing innovation ecosystem” in Illinois and 11 other Midwestern states. The idea is to link the military with a startup that has created the latest in secure software, for example.

Less than a decade old, the DIU was created to fast-track the acquisition of technology in a Defense Department that was built to buy planes and satellites, said Ryan Whelan, a U.S. Army Reserve major who is heading the Midwest effort.

[galleyfox]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

I don't quite undestand the scale of this, but interesting:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/...04-xyavqtwsbjbkjfpposqjogtbby-story.html

Seems like a small consultant’s office to cover the Midwest more than anything important.

The DIU plans to hire two full-time employees to help expand the agency’s work in Chicago and the Midwest. The office likely won’t ever become very large, Whelan said.

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/technolo...ense-innovation-unit-open-chicago-office

[marothisu]

^ I think this is more for having an office to basically scout out Chicago offices that can more easily get defense department contracts. I'm sure it'll grow to more people but it probably won't be that big.

I see it as
1) Recognition that the tech industry in Chicago is growing and has reached a certain amount of obvious talent.

2) A way to attract even more tech talent or companies even opening offices in Chicago. The DC area has TONS of tech talent big time because of the ability for companies to get defense department contracts (among other agencies). Depending on how they operate, it could possibly attract some companies to open up offices in Chicago who are vying for contracts. Maybe - we'll see.

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Catholic App Hallow Passes 1 Million Downloads, Raises $40 Million Series B to Help Christians Around the World Find Peace

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/catholic-app-hallow-passes-1-123000046.html



I don't think they have many employees - maybe at most 30 - but good for them.

What is the business model here? Tithing via an app? Does that somehow guarantee that a prayer will be answered? How have they already raised $50 million?? From the article: "Anyone can download the Hallow app and access content for free. Hallow's subscription option, Hallow Plus, unlocks the full suite of content for $60 per year ($5 per month) after a 30-day free trial." Why use an app when you can just go to church, or I dunno, pray by yourself at home? Jesus Christ indeed...

[Randomguy34]

I don't have access to the full article, but this looks significant. Chime Financial, a fintech based in SF, is filling the last remaining vacancy at 333 N Green St. They've grown pretty rapidly in the last few years, and have plans to go public at a valuation of $35-45 billion.

Financial Tech Firm Chime Plans Fulton Market Office in Chicago

A financial technology company valued at $25 billion plans to open its first permanent Chicago office in the Fulton Market district, filling the last space in a building that opened before the pandemic.

https://www.costar.com/article/780960113...me-plans-fulton-market-office-in-chicago

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Randomguy34

I don't have access to the full article, but this looks significant. Chime Financial, a fintech based in SF, is filling the last remaining vacancy at 333 N Green St. They've grown pretty rapidly in the last few years, and have plans to go public at a valuation of $35-45 billion.

Financial Tech Firm Chime Plans Fulton Market Office in Chicago

https://www.costar.com/article/780960113...me-plans-fulton-market-office-in-chicago

Chime is the largest of the "neo banks" which almost all aren't actually nationally chartered banks. The only one that is, is the 2nd largest which is Varo. Their hallmark is being more of a tech company than bank since again, only 1 of them is actually a nationally chartered bank. They make money off of debit card interchange fees and can get more than the big banks. A lot of them have lower fees and higher interest rates for checking/savings but they also lack a lot of the services of a traditional bank. Chime has a ton of funding though - $2.6B+. From a tech side it's good but it's hard for me to see any of them as an actual legit challenger bank all around. If all you need is checking/savings then sure but if you need something a little more complex then no. With that being said they have a lot of funding so who knows. I see it more as a tech thing and that big banks will just purchase them for their tech (which has happened..).

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/banking/what-is-a-neobank/

With that being said, I don't think bringing more tech, business, marketing, etc talent to a city is a bad thing. According to BuiltIn, they have over 100 employees in Chicago already so opening an office and expanding makes sense.


Funny enough, my wife interviewed with both Chime and Varo as it was becoming more of a reality of moving and she wanted to switch jobs. It was funny because Varo mentioned "you know we have a ton of people applying from Chicago..." but their offices are all on the West Coast. I was thinking "isn't that your tip to open a Chicago office?"

[marothisu]

MoLo Solutions Is Growing Fast, With a New Office and 300 Planned Hires

https://www.builtinchicago.org/2021/11/08/molo-solutions-new-office-hiring-growth

In a sea of logistics companies in Chicago, MoLo Solutions stands out as one of the fastest growing.

MoLo Solutions recently shared its plans to go on a hiring spree and move into a new office space in the West Loop. The company has signed a lease for 93,710 square feet of office space in 167 N Green Street, a luxe new office building situated in Fulton Market. MoLo will take up two floors of the building and will have space to comfortably fit 900 employees.

..

MoLo says it plans to move into the new office space next summer.

..

MoLo Solutions has built a tech platform that acts as a freight broker — connecting shippers to carriers. Let’s say you’re a big company like Kraft Heinz, and you need to get your products to customers and retailers across the company. You’d use the MoLo platform in order to find the right network of freight providers in order to distribute that product for the best available price.

..

This helped MoLo rank on the Inc. 5000 list as the No. 1 fastest growing Illinois company in 2021, and No. 41 in the country. MoLo was also just named a Top Workplace by the Chicago Tribune, taking the 13th spot in a list of 140.

MoLo plans to continue this growth trajectory by hiring 300 over the next year. The company currently has a handful of open jobs listed, with roles across all sides of the business. MoLo expects to reach 1,000 employees over the next few years.

--

Fyllo Raises $40 M Series C to Scale SaaS Platform

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases...-c-to-scale-saas-platform-301417877.html

As the need for compliant marketing and data solutions continues to grow Fyllo, the leader in compliance-first SaaS solutions for highly regulated industries, has closed a $40M Series C round led by Eminence Capital. New venture firms that participated in the round include Longview Capital Advisors and ArrowMark Partners.

Fyllo is leading the development of much needed compliance, data and marketing solutions to enable companies in highly regulated sectors like cannabis to scale effectively. Today, companies across the cannabis supply chain rely on Fyllo's compliance-first solutions to navigate the industry's ever-changing regulatory environment. For both cannabis and mainstream brands, Fyllo's Data Marketplace provides unparalleled access to cannabis and CBD audiences, a lucrative and rapidly growing consumer segment.

..

The funds will be used to continue to invest in hiring top talent and for accretive acquisitions to enhance the company's technology stack following the February 2021 purchase of retail and marketing platform DataOwl. Since the beginning of the year, Fyllo's business has grown over 100%, and its team has grown by nearly 275%, with the addition of executives from Twitter, Salesforce and major cannabis brands.

---

FingerprintJS Secures $32M Series B, Plans to Hire

https://www.builtinchicago.org/2021/11/05/fingerprintjs-secures-32m-series-b-chicago-hiring

FingerprintJS, a Chicago-based fraud prevention software startup, announced it secured $32 million in a Series B funding round.

Founded in 2019 by Dan Pinto, who now serves as the company’s CEO, and Valentin Vasilyev, the company’s CTO, the tech startup offers both an open-source and paid fraud prevention software that works independent of web browsers and not as a plug-in.

Instead, it creates APIs that connect software to websites and uses hundreds of identifying factors that “fingerprints” users, giving them a unique ID. With the ID, the software is able to determine if that user has previously committed fraud or if there are irregular patterns or unusual behavior indicating fraud, spam or an account takeover.

..

FingerprintJS will also be looking to expand its team to 100 employees by the end of 2022. It will be adding members to its engineering, products, sales, marketing and customer success teams.

FingerprintJS’ open source software has been downloaded over 14 million times and is used by eBay, Coinbase and Yahoo. The software is also used on more than 20,000 websites, according to Pinto.

[marothisu]

Chicago area VC nearing is on $5.75B now for the year.


Visual commerce startup Threekit raises $35 million

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/technology/visual-commerce-startup-threekit-raises-35-million

Augmented reality and visual commerce startup Threekit has raised more funding as it seeks to grow its software-as-a-service platform.

The startup has raised $35 million from investors, bringing its total funding raised to more than $65 million since it was founded in 2005.

Threekit has developed a software platform for retailers and manufacturers that allows them to develop realistic and detailed images of items they sell online. Threekit’s software is used by brands like Crate & Barrel to showcase couches, Steelcase to showcase office chairs and HP to showcase computers. Altogether, the startup says it has about 200 clients.

By using Threekit, retailers can avoid taking thousands and sometimes millions of photos of their merchandise to display on websites. Instead, Threekit can create realistic digital images of items that allow online shoppers to customize merchandise, add parts, and zoom-in and rotate to get a better look. To date, Threekit says it has driven over $1 billion in sales for its customers.

..

Gorniak said the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated business for Threekit as the demand for online shopping has grown even larger and retailers see the value in making merchandise look good online. Gorniak declined to disclose revenue and said the startup is not yet profitable, but said Threekit is positioned for “rapid growth.”

“We’re comfortable with our metrics,” said Gorniak, adding that Threekit subscriptions have tripled year over year.

The startup currently employs 110 people and plans to hire about 100 more within the next year.

..

The new financing will be used to build new features for Threekit’s software platform and expand e-commerce integrations.

[galleyfox]

Cinespace sold to buyout firm for $1 billion
.
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/greg-hin...on-company-cinespace-sold-1-billion-deal

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by galleyfox

Cinespace sold to buyout firm for $1 billion
.
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/greg-hin...on-company-cinespace-sold-1-billion-deal

Damn paywall :/

[the urban politician]

Wow

[bnk]

Originally Posted by sentinel

Damn paywall :/

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/greg-hin...on-company-cinespace-sold-1-billion-deal

Cinespace sold to buyout firm for $1 billion



The company that put Chicago on the map as a major film and TV production center is staying put and expanding.




Greg Hinz  

The family-owned company that put Chicago on the map as a major film and TV production center is being sold, reportedly for $1 billion.

Cinespace, the home of TV shows such as “Chicago Fire,” “The Chi” and earlier “Empire,” is being sold to TPG, a Texas- and California-based buyout firm that has been ramping up its already considerable holdings in the entertainment industry.

...

TPG, in a statement, is confirming that its TPG Real Estate Partners unit has made the acquisition. The statement does not indicate a price, but a source close to the matter tells me the total price for the Chicago and Toronto operations combined was $1.1 billion.

“We have been studying the content creation and production landscape as an investment theme for a few years, and in that time have developed a relationship with the family behind Cinespace,” said TPG Real Estate co-head Avi Banyasz. Added Managing Director Jacob Muller, “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to expand on their vision by building a best-in-class studio platform.”

...

The statement did not give any details on expansion but says Cinespace “intends to grow its employee base” in both Chicago and Toronto.





“Illinois is proud to welcome TPG’s investment in Cinespace and Illinois’ booming film industry,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in the same statement. Said Mayor Lori Lightfoot, “Chicago has a compelling, beautiful cityscape with so much potential for film productions of all mediums and sizes. I am thrilled to see this acquisition expand out capability for content creation and look forward to the jobs and productions it will bring to our region.”

..

Pissios is best known for luring legendary TV producer — Wolf of “Law & Order” fame here, with Wolf using Cinespace to shoot NBC shows “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago P.D.” and “Chicago Med.”

But his firm has gained from an explosion in demand for web-streamed, and not just broadcast film and TV, productions, with Cinespace growing and other entrepreneurs setting up shop, too, such as Regal Mile Studios in South Shore.

Given that, the state and city film offices are hoping to soon grow film production here to a $1 billion-a-year industry. Cinespace officials in the past have asserted that their operations have created 20,000 jobs, not only actors and writers, but also backstage crew, caterers, transportation personnel and others.


...

[galleyfox]

Originally Posted by sentinel

Damn paywall :/

Cinespace owner Alex Pissios and other members of his family no longer will be involved in active management of the company, with TPG bringing in its own team. But the firm will remain based here and is interested in expanding beyond the 55 active soundstages it now operates at two campuses at the old Ryerson Steel distribution facility at 2621 W. 15th Place and at 31st St. and Kedzie Ave., I am told.

TPG already has an ownership interest in STX Entertainment, Univision, Vice and Creative Artist Agency, a prominent Hollywood talent firm. The firm has been expanding its entertainment involvement, and may seek to take the Cinespace name global.

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/greg-hin...on-company-cinespace-sold-1-billion-deal

[sentinel]

Thank you both

I know a lot of folks who work at Cinespace-based productions, and three of them have mentioned this to me in the past month or so, but weren't sure on timing.
Cinespace had recently acquired additional space to create new soundspaces, as others have mentioned here in the past. Thankful that the Chicago film and tv-sphere is continuing to grow..

[emathias]

Originally Posted by sentinel

Thank you both

I know a lot of folks who work at Cinespace-based productions, and three of them have mentioned this to me in the past month or so, but weren't sure on timing.
Cinespace had recently acquired additional space to create new soundspaces, as others have mentioned here in the past. Thankful that the Chicago film and tv-sphere is continuing to grow..

I hope it keeps growing, too, and that I'll never again see a "Chicago" set scene with mountains in the background ...

[LouisVanDerWright]

Obviously I'm very excited about the Cinespace news. Douglass Park is about to explode. Then there's this abomination selling for over $250k/unit:


https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/3025-W...ink&2010988919=variant&813945303=variant

[Via Chicago]

that ones definitely a bit of a head scratcher. would love to see the numbers that buyer ran....

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by Via Chicago

that ones definitely a bit of a head scratcher. would love to see the numbers that buyer ran....

Doubt they ran any numbers, they relisted it after being under contract for months two weeks before Riotfest.

Undoubtedly some punk saw the black and grey paint and Edison bulbs and their eyes rolled back in their heads and they started foaming at the mouth.

What I want to see is the appraisal, how the hell did they justify this price unless it was a cash sale? Obviously I'm thrilled since I'm doing a massive cash out refi before Jpow calls out last call on the free money. I just don't get how any conventional loan happens at that price and location.

[marothisu]

Fulton Market lands Deere lease, jobs

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/commercial-real-estate/fulton-market-lands-deere-lease-jobs

The maker of John Deere tractors is expected to bring more than 150 jobs to Chicago as it beefs up its software development arm and has inked a new lease in the Fulton Market District to make room for them.

Moline-based Deere recently leased more than 38,000 square feet at 800 W. Fulton Market, according to sources familiar with the deal, teeing up its first major office in downtown Chicago. The company's specific hiring plans are unclear and a spokesman couldn't be reached, but a source said the new office will house many software engineering roles as Deere looks to ramp up its GPS guidance technology and that the space could accommodate between 150 and 200 workers.

Deere is said to be receiving incentives from the state and city tied to job-hiring for the new office, though the nature of the incentives was not immediately clear.

..

The Deere lease is particularly good news for New York-based developer Thor Equities, which recently completed the 19-story building at 800 W. Fulton Market. Aspen Dental is the building's largest tenant, and the Deere lease brings the property to more than 70% leased.