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- 🚂 Chicago's Logistics Engine
76th Edition
✍🏽 This Week on Landon in the Loop:
🚂 Chicago's Logistics Engine
📊 Chart of the Week
📆 Events Around the City
🔙 Highlights from Last Week
On Tuesday, we hosted a dinner for AI Tinkerers Chicago, part of our ongoing effort to bring the technical community in Chicago together through more frequent gatherings. Stay up to date with our community on Twitter.👇🏽
On Wednesday, we welcomed Chicago Blend into our space for an alumni gathering. 👇🏽
On Thursday, we hosted an AI infrastructure event focused on GPU clusters, data centers, and compute management, in collaboration with our portfolio company, Vast Data.👇🏽
On Friday, we hosted a meetup for our early-stage Chicago portfolio companies. 👇🏽
🚂 Chicago’s Logistics Engine
Chicago has always been a vital piece of America's transportation (ground and aviation) network.
Our prime location and developments in transportation infrastructure have solidified our position as a pivotal hub connecting the nation.
Let’s take a look at how we got here:
From Riverways to Railroads to the Sky
In 1673, explorers Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette traveled the Mississippi River, showing how important Illinois' rivers were for trade and settlement.
The Illinois and Michigan Canal, which finished in 1848, connected Chicago to the Gulf of Mexico and helped increase trade in the region.
The mid-19th century railroads transformed Chicago into the nation's premier rail hub by the 1870s, connecting the city to both coasts and driving economic growth.
In 1890, Chicago engineer Octave Chanute designed a biplane that influenced the Wright Brothers' historic flight in 1903, establishing Chicago's early role in aviation.
Infrastructure Expansion
The early 20th century automobile boom spurred the development of paved roads like Route 4, the precursor to the iconic Route 66. Illinois embraced the automobile era, expanding its highway system to accommodate increasing traffic.
In 1972, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) was established to unify and streamline transportation efforts, improving efficiency across all modes.
Advancements in freight transportation, including the expansion of rail and highway networks, positioned Illinois as a key logistics hub in the mid-20th century.
Modern Centers and Future Innovations
Research at University of Illinois led to key advancements in pavement design, improving road durability and performance.
Centers like the Advanced Transportation Research and Engineering Laboratory (ATREL) and the Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT) have positioned Illinois as a leader in transportation research, with a focus on infrastructure longevity.
Chicago’s airports, especially O’Hare, are among the world’s busiest, with Midway and regional airports like Quad Cities, Peoria, and Bloomington-Normal enhancing Illinois’ aviation network.
📊 Chart of the Week
Illinois is the second-largest data center market in the US, with a capacity of 836MW.
📆 Events Around the City
AI Tinkerers #12
Hosted by Drive Capital
Tuesday
Future of Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science
Hosted by Illinois Tech
Tuesday
What is Product Management?
Hosted by Illinois Tech
Tuesday
Chicago Climate Connect
Hosted by CCC
Tuesday
HardTech Startup & Investor Day
Hosted by mHUB
Thursday
AI & UX: Shaping the Future of Human-Centered Design
Hosted by UX Synergies
Thursday
Founder Fire!
Hosted by Department of Growth
Thursday
AI/ML Industry Innovation - Chicago Tech Day
Hosted by Google
Friday
#73 - Chip Growth in Chicago
👋 See you next week!
I'd love to connect with any tinkerers or founders in the Midwest that are thinking about AI data centers, data center performance optimization, sustainable computing, etc
Very important areas. Makes sense to build here.
— Landon (@landon20s)
6:57 PM • Sep 9, 2024