Hey Friends! 🚙 👋🏽

Another week, Another Driver’s Seat. Welcome to issue #41.

To our new subscribers: check out www.bullishonchicago.com for your up-to-date encyclopedia on all things Chicago for founders. 👇🏽

📍 Today’s Lineup:

💾 Illinois Computing Chip Innovation

🏆 Chicago Inno 25 Under 25

📊 Chart of the Week

🗺 Events Around the City

🔙 Previous Issues of the Driver’s Seat

Let’s dive in! 🚙 💨

💾 Illinois Computing Chip Innovation

Moving to the Midwest

For the longest time, semiconductor and chip development was centered in Silicon Valley. But this is changing.

Major catalysts like the CHIPs Act and also local technical talent are boosting Midwest chip innovation. Both of these have led to events like Intel's new $20B facility in Columbus and Ann Arbor's $238M microelectronics hub.

There are numerous semiconductor achievements happening in the Midwest. And as onshoring gains momentum, it’s expected to boost chip development within the United States, with a significant portion of this growth happening outside the traditional tech hubs like Silicon Valley.

Let’s take a quick look into semiconductor innovation happening in Illinois, specifically the Manufacturing Illinois Chips for Real Opportunity Act (MICRO):

What is MICRO

• The Manufacturing Illinois Chips for Real Opportunity Act is a bill designed to boost our state's semiconductor industry by targeting both large and small projects with tailored incentives.

• For large projects, the MICRO Act offers a 15-year tax credit, requiring a $1.5B investment and the creation of at least 500 jobs.

• Small projects benefit from a 10-year tax credit under the MICRO Act, with an investment threshold of over $20M and a requirement to create 50 new jobs within four years.

Why Does This Matter

The MICRO Act signifies Illinois' strategic role in the Midwest's emerging high-tech manufacturing movement, enhancing the region's potential as a semiconductor innovation hub.

MICRO has even led to Chicago’s $11B bid for a new semiconductor plant (there are currently 5 in Illinois).

🏆 Chicago Inno Under 25

Five of our pre-seed founders made it onto Chicago Inno’s latest 25 under 25 list:

Andrew Gunderman from Coherence 👇🏽

Alex Bahram from Pathize Health 👇🏽

Anj Fayemi, Simran Pabla, and Nafim Rahman from Rivet 👇🏽

Congratulations to them and all the other 25 under 25 builders.

📊 Chart of the Week

Tech talent is increasingly leaving coastal areas and entering other locations between the coasts.

And when it comes to recent college grads, Chicago is the second top destination in the US.

Our city’s lower cost of living compared to coastal areas reduces expenses in hiring top talent / establishing a successful company. We also have less competition for hiring top talent.

🗺️ Events Around The City

Considerations for Migrating SQL Databases

• Hosted by Chicago Sub SQL User Group

• Tuesday Jan 16

• RSVP

1871 Stories: Tim Barry, CEO & Co-Founder of VillageMD

• Hosted by 1871

• Wednesday Jan 17

• RSVP

Gigazine Launch Event

• Hosted by Keep it Crypto

• Thursday Jan 18

• RSVP

Angel Squad Chicago Q1 Meet Up

• Hosted by Hustle Fund Chicago

• Thursday Jan 18

• RSVP

Chicago Databricks Meetup: Data Monetization, Generative AI with RAG

• Databricks Community Meetup Chicago

• Thursday Jan 18

• RSVP

How to Build your Financial Model for a Successful Fundraise

• Hosted by Bionic Colabs

• Thursday Jan 18

• RSVP

👋 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.

🗞 Previous Issues of the Driver’s Seat

#40 - The History of the First Group Chat

#39 - First Driver’s Seat of 2024

#38 - 5 reasons to be bullish on Chicago in 2024

#37 - Co-working Trends in Chicago

#36 - Chicago Communities on the Rise