Hey Friends!
We’re back with the 29th edition of the Driver’s Seat! 🚙
Last week, we invited students from Illinois Tech to Drive Chicago for an office tour.
They got to meet a few of our early-stage founders / hear about our ambitious plans for the city.
On Tuesday, I’ll be heading up to the IIT to host an AI Meetup on Campus! 👇
Before we dive in, big thanks to our readers who return each week to learn about Chicago's innovation journey.
Since starting the Driver's Seat in March, I've been focused on exploring our city's direction, showing why you should be bullish on Chicago.
It's great to see our message resonating, as shown by our newsletter's retention rate.👆
📍 Today’s Lineup:
🏙 The Windy City’s Economic Engine
🤖 Chicago’s AI Landscape
📊 Chart of the Week
🗺 Events Around the City
🔙 Previous Issues of the Driver’s Seat
Subscribe to the Driver’s Seat 🚙 for the best insights on Chicago's GROWING innovation economy 🙏
Let’s dive in! 🚙 🚙 🚙
🏙 The Windy City’s Economic Engine
I read a report published by World Business Chicago on the state of our economy and went ahead and pulled the most important insights below 👇
Chicago is Growing
Chicago is the nation's third largest economy and ranks among the top 20 economies worldwide. (larger than most nations)
Our GDP currently sits close to $700B, only behind NYC and LA.
There are 4.9M Chicagoans in our workforce (the third largest)
Our Talent
Chicago is the third largest talent producer in the US, with over 147,000 students completing post-secondary programs.
We have 500 postsecondary programs (a mix of colleges and trade schools)
Chicago is the fourth largest producer of STEM talent, with over 28,700 students completing programs in 2021.
Our Innovation
It’s common that Chicago founders are exploring new fields like gene therapy, carbon capture, hydrogen energy, generative AI, and quantum computing.
Collectively, these companies have raised $21B in investments from 570 investors over the past nine years.
418 awards have been made by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Illinois in 2022, totaling $235M.
Why Does This Matter
The size of our city and its unique diversity sets Chicago apart.
Our city has a variety of well-established industries which provide a stable economic base. We’re also home to leading innovation hubs and universities that drive advancements in different fields.
Lastly, the affordable costs in comparison to other major cities make it a practical option for many.
🤖 Chicago’s AI Landscape
This Moment in Time
We’re at a pivotal moment in time with the utilization of AI and large language models (LLMs), which can allow us to make sense of large unstructured data to solve real problems.
Because of this, both large enterprises and fresh startups are quickly reshaping their business strategies to make use of this technology.
For many, this buzz mirrors the early excitement of the internet era, which brought us instant access to global information and connection.
AI will make us faster in accomplishing the tasks we aim to complete. This is the Efficiency Age.
Why Chicago
Chicago holds a significant place in the history of AI, being the city where the first paper on neural networks was published.
Additionally, it was among the pioneers in offering open data from the city, showcasing a commitment to transparency / innovation. 👇
Through these actions, Chicago has laid a foundation for AI and data-driven initiatives, helping to foster a culture of technological advancement and open information sharing in the region.
In today's world, data is the new gold. Chicago's founders have a range of opportunities to harness the city's data.
Chicago Companies Leveraging LLMs
It's time we keep shining the spotlight on Chicago companies making waves with this technology.
Here are nine Chicago companies leveraging the AI platform shift to deliver added value for users and customers:
Tempus is healthcare data analytics platform intended to make precision medicine a reality by applying AI in healthcare.
Thoughtful AI is an AI-powered healthcare admin that helps organizations maximize profitability / unlock operational excellence. 🚙
Tegus leverages AI to categorize interview data with topic tags, improving data accessibility and relevance for investors on its platform.
Rivet uses AI to help musicians discover and engage with their top fans. 🚙
Uptake harnesses data acquisition / AI to provide a unified, contextualized view of every asset within an operation.
Civis Analytics leverages AI to help organizations drive and inform their decision-making. 🚙
Tackle AI uses AI to convert unstructured documents into structured data, automating tasks and streamlining workflows for organizations
Ascent is an AI-driven platform that generates obligations / keeps them updated as rules change. 🚙
Evozyne is using AI to change the drug discovery process.
Companies with a ‘🚙 ‘ next to it denotes Drive portcos.
📊 Chart of the Week
New Stack Ventures shared data comparing VC deployment $ in Q1 2023 to Q2 2023.
Both the US as a whole and the SF / Bay Area region experienced declines in deal value. The US was a 33% decline and the Bay Area was a 64% decline.
Unlike the national and SF/Bay Area trends, Chicago experienced a small but positive change in VC funding.
The funding increased from $46m to $49m, which is a 6.5% growth, shows an uptick in investment.
This suggests that Chicago investors might be altering their focus or tweaking their strategies in response to developments in other regions.
🗺️ Events Around The City
Startup 101 with CEC
Hosted by DePaul University
Monday October 2
AI Meetup on Campus: Illinois Tech
Hosted by Drive Capital
Tuesday October 3
AI Tinkerers Chicago - Inaugural Meetup
Hosted by Drive Capital and AI Tinkerers
Wednesday October 4
Chicago Women in Technology Conference 2023
Hosted by CHIWITCON
Wednesday October 4
Finding PMF
Hosted by Rev1
Thursday October 5
👋 See you next week!
Follow me on Twitter and Instagram for even more Chicago startup news and photos of my favorite restaurants in the city.
