89th Edition

This Week on Landon’s Loop:

✍🏽 5 Reasons to be Bullish on Chicago’s Startup Ecosystem in 2025

📆 Events Around the City

📊 Chart of the Week

🔙 Previous Newsletter Editions

🔙 Highlights from Last Week

We hosted our 14th AI Tinkerers Chicago meetup, which featured three demos and a fireside chat with one of our healthcare portcos: Seam👇🏽

We co-hosted the Vast World Tour with our portfolio company Vast Data. This event focused on bringing the Chicago HPC and infrastructure community together in the same room 👇🏽

I attended a quantum luncheon hosted by Governor Pritzker and PsiQuantum, just hours before IBM made history as the first Fortune 500 to join our new Quantum Computing Campus.

Thank you to Bernstein for the invitation! 👇🏽

✍🏽 5 Reasons to be Bullish on Chicago's Startup Ecosystem in 2025

Each year around this time, I publish a blog on the 5 reasons to be bullish on Chicago’s startup ecosystem as we head into the new year.

Click below to read the full blog, and feel free to share it with your own insights! 👇🏽

Here’s a quick preview of the 5 reasons:

1. Public Markets and Deal Activity

IPOs and M&A momentum are back, with Tempus, Tegus, and Kellanova leading major wins in 2024. Expect deal activity to accelerate in 2025, unlocking liquidity and fueling Chicago’s tech flywheel.

2. Thriving Technical Community

Communities like AI Tinkerers Chicago, Compute Collective, and ChiDemoNight are bringing builders together. Expect even more meetups in 2025, driving collaboration and sparking new startups.

3. Quantum

Chicago is doubling down on quantum innovation with PsiQuantum, IBM, and DARPA investments. The city has a unique edge in quantum hardware, networking, and software, positioning itself as a leader in the next computing frontier.

4. Early-Stage Momentum

Fresh funds (like Lightbank’s $290M) and programs (UChicago’s Transform AI Accelerator) are boosting early-stage opportunities. Chicago ranks #2 among non-coastal cities for companies raising two rounds since 2022.

5. Relocations and Expansions

Chicago remains #1 for corporate relocations, with big moves from Rivian, Kellanova, and Google. This influx creates jobs, attracts enterprise customers, and strengthens the startup ecosystem.

📆 Events Around the City

The EdTech Institute Bookstore Holiday Event

• Tuesday

• RSVP

GenAI Collective 🎄 Chicago Demo Night

• Tuesday

• RSVP

Chicago Apache DataFusion Meetup

• Wednesday

• RSVP

AI 2030 Summit - Responsible AI Leaders Forum

• Wednesday

• RSVP

Webflow Chicago meetup

• Wednesday

• RSVP

Chicago Meetup with Health Tech Nerds

• Wednesday

• RSVP

📊 Chart of the Week

I more than doubled our newsletter subscription rate this year, and I want to thank all of our loyal readers who tune in every week!

🗞 Previous Newsletter Editions:

#88 - Chicago's Position in Biosciences

#87 - Chicago’s Trading Legacy

#86 - New Illinois Institute for Semiconductors

#85 - The Story of Livongo

👋 See you next week!

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