Hey Friends!
Welcome to Issue #25 of the Driver’s Seat 🚙
As Labor Day weekend comes to an end, I’m excited to get back on the road and visit universities this upcoming semester.
I’ve already scheduled a few university trips, where I plan on meeting with student founders, discussing our pre-seed program, and organizing AI meetups on campus.
The first schools on my list are the University of Michigan, CMU, NYU, and UIUC.
If you’re interested in learning more / getting involved lmk!
📍 Today’s Lineup:
💰 Federal Funds for Illinois Innovation
🧬 Chicago’s Biotech Boom
👩🏻💻 Dev Tools for Early-Stage Founders
🗺 Events Around the City
🔙 Previous Issues of the Driver’s Seat
Make sure you’re subscribed to the Driver’s Seat 🚙 for the best insights on Chicago's GROWING innovation economy 🙏
Let’s dive in! 🚙 🚙 🚙
💰 Federal Funding for Illinois Innovation
AI-Generated Image
High Level Insights
Three of our major universities formed a coalition called Innovate Illinois to help designate federal funds for innovative efforts to Illinois.
The universities leading the charge are Northwestern, University of Chicago, and the University of Urbana-Champaign.
These funds (from the EDA) will be used to transform Illinois into a hub for Quantum Technology and Biotech.
What is the EDA
The Economic Development Organization is the only federal agency focused exclusively on economic development.
Earlier this year, the EDA announced a Tech Hub Program, which will designate 20 new tech hubs across the United States.
The funding is drawn from the greater $52B CHIPS and Science Act.
Why It Matters
Each week, I write about the importance of narrowing in on select industries that will help Chicago differentiate itself from other ecosystems.
Chicago’s economic diversity is undoubtedly a unique aspect, but I believe it can also present challenges on the path to transforming the city into a top-tier hub.
If we want to draw in exceptional founders at a global scale, we must make Chicago a focal point for specific sectors. A city where founders can readily access top-tier talent, customers, and investments for specific sectors.
Today, two of those industries that our city is taking bets on are Quantum and Biotech.
🧬 Chicago’s Biotech Boom
High Level Insights
Chicago is seeing a high increase of interest in Biotech at the university level.
Our biotech sector led all industries in Illinois with over 120 startups created in the last six years. (15%)
Biotech startups in Illinois have raised over $655M in the last six years. (This includes med-tech)
The Catalysts
Two years ago, Governor Pritzker announced a $15.4M initiative called Rebuild Illinois Capital Funding, which boosted wet lab development on our campuses.
Our three major universities came together and won a major bid for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which is $250M investment to develop a new biotech hub focused on nano centers / disease prevention in Chicago.
We’ve seen an increase of major biotech companies relocating to Chicago like Xeriscape Biopharma (from Texas) and Talis Medical (from California)
We also have established companies in this field like Abbott, Tempus, and Baxter Labs.
Overall
Looking at the surge of investment, talent, and entrepreneurial activity entering the biotech sector in Chicago, it's clear that this field will remain a focus in Chicago for years to come.
Bullish on biotech in Chicago!
👩🏻💻 Dev Tools for Early-Stage Founders
I came across a list of free developer tools for founders looking to get started with building.
Check it out below!
🗺️ Events Around The City
Learn Vector Search "the Hard Way"
Hosted by Doug Turnbull-Chicago Search Community
Tuesday Sep 5
ETH Chicago Co-Working Day
Hosted by GENESIS and Drive Capital
Wednesday Sep 6
Steps for Building a HardTech Business
Hosted by mHUB
Wednesday Sep 6
Cold Calling Workshop
Hosted by mHUB
Thursday Sep 7
👋 See you next time!
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