Before we dive in, here’s a quick recap of last week:

On Monday and Tuesday, I hosted a panel at Black Tech Week in Cincinnati on Pitching 101.

Throughout the panel, I shared my personal insights with founders, emphasizing the following key advice:

After Black Tech Week, I stopped by Web3 Investor Day hosted by Decasonic.

Web3 Investor Day is a yearly event that brings together a select group of investors, family offices, endowments, and builders who are at the forefront of the Web3 industry.

We need to continue creating spaces to discuss new technologies. I’m proud to say that Decasonic has been a key part of our community, first with expanding the dialogue of Web3 and now with AI.

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Let’s dive in! 🚙 🚙 🚙

Chicago is home to one of the most diverse economies in the US (no major industry takes up more than 13% of the overall economy)

Today, I want to spotlight one of our largest sectors, Agtech, which takes up 10% of our overall economy.

Let’s rewind to see how our Chicago and the greater Midwest region became a hub for Agtech:

The introduction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal in the 1840s played a significant role in creating the agricultural impact in our region.

The Illinois and Michigan Canal facilitated the transport of crops, which opened doors for the adoption of new farming technologies.

Between 1850 and 1900, farms in Illinois experienced rapid development, largely due to mechanization.

Farmers increasingly shared the costs of machinery, enabling greater connectivity and access to advanced farming equipment.

The usage of steam-powered machinery became the norm for those who could afford it. As automobiles gained popularity for transportation, farmers began utilizing gasoline engines for their machinery.

Illinois' influence in Agtech and manufacturing contributed to the wealth created through the mid-1900s, as evidenced by a chart depicting the richest regions in America in 1949.

The majority of modern farms are commercial in nature.

Over the past two decades, the industry has witnessed a notable increase in the use of new technologies and computers.

Computers are now employed for record-keeping, monitoring rainfall, crop yield, and soil quality.

Chicago has witnessed the rise of vertical farming, driven by limited space and the demand for locally grown produce.

Vertical farms utilize hydroponics, aeroponics, and advanced lighting systems to cultivate crops in stacked arrangements, maximizing yield while minimizing resource usage.

Companies like BrightFarms and FarmedHere, based in Chicago, have been at the forefront of this movement, providing fresh and sustainable produce to urban communities.

Today, the Midwest is home to 5 of the top 10 university AgTech programs in the U.S.

I believe the next wave of innovation in Agtech will be driven by the use of AI to find ways to extract valuable insights and knowledge from unstructured data.

This technology could play a crucial role in areas such as crop monitoring, commodity insights, and the promotion of sustainable practices in agriculture.

Last week we covered well-known alumni at the University of Chicago that changed the world through their innovations.

Orville Redenbacher, who was an agriculturalist and well-known founder of Orville Popcorn graduated in from Purdue in 1929.

According to industry estimates, the brand is still the national leader in the $1B annual popcorn market, accounting for about 45% of microwaved popcorn.

Brian Lamb co-founded C-SPAN, the cable and satellite television network. He graduated from Purdue with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech in 1963.

Marc Benioff attended the Purdue before moving to the West Coast, where he went on to co-found Salesforce, which is one of the world's largest CRM platforms.

Mohamed M. Atalla was a well-known engineer that founded MOSFET, which helped pioneer the silicon semiconductor movement.

He’s also known as the "Father of the PIN," acknowledging his development of the Personal Identification Number system in information security management.

Ian Ashley Murdock was the co-founder of Debian, which is a Linux distribution project. He developed the platform while an undergrad at Purdue in 1993.

Purdue’s goal is to become a top 10 Computer Science program in the US.

To accomplish this, the University recently announced the Purdue Computes initiative, which is a 5-year investment for 50 new computing faculty, 50 positions in physical AI, and $100M for semiconductor research and learning facilities.

During this past quarter, 19% of venture deals in the US were recorded from startups headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Over the past decade, we’ve seen a decline in venture deals in the Bay Area.

However, during the same period, other regions across the country have been increasing their efforts and making significant strides in the venture landscape.

Cities like Chicago, New York, Austin, and Seattle have steadily grown their startup ecosystems, attracting a diverse range of entrepreneurs and investors.

This diversification signals a healthy development for the U.S. startup scene, as innovation and economic growth are now spreading beyond the traditional technology hubs.

Of course, there’s still more work that must be done.

Before you check out the events for this week👇🏽 make sure you learn about our next Hackathon at Drive Chicago on August 12th.

This time around, we’ll be hosting a hackathon focused on Virtual Reality. Learn more here.

Google IO Extended: Building with Firebase and Google IO Panel

Machine Learning Seminar

Music Manager Forum Kickoff

Startup Founders Meetup + Founders Pitch Competition

Chicago Summer Tech Mixer

imnotArt Two Year Anniversary

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