Chicago
Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI CSA Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin
Activity by quarter
| Year | Startup raises | Startup dollars | Venture funds | Venture fund dollars |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q4 2020–Q3 2021 | 191 | $2.7B | 40 | $3.2B |
| Q4 2021–Q3 2022 | 185 | $1.9B | 50 | $4.2B |
| Q4 2022–Q3 2023 | 167 | $8.8B | 53 | $2B |
| Q4 2023–Q3 2024 | 135 | $1.3B | 45 | $1B |
| Q4 2024–Q3 2025 | 127 | $1.7B | 41 | $1.7B |
| Q4 2025–Q3 2026 | 141 | $572M | 59 | $642M |
Score breakdown
Development scales each six-year total 0–100 between the smallest and largest ranked metro areas; Growth is each measure’s momentum as a percentile among them.
| Measure | Six-year total | Development | Last 2 years vs prior 2 | Last year vs prior | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Startup raises | 946 | 54.2 | −11% | +11% | 41.9 |
| Startup dollars raised | $17.1B | 56.1 | −77% | −67% | 0.0 |
| Venture funds | 288 | 58.1 | +2% | +44% | 35.5 |
| Venture fund dollars | $12.8B | 62.1 | −23% | −62% | 16.1 |
Venture firms headquartered here
From our Venture Capital Fund Index, with commitments that public LPs (Alameda County Employees' Retirement Association (ACERA), Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation (APFC), Alaska Retirement Management Board (ARMB), Andra AP-fonden (AP2), Arkansas Teacher Retirement System (ATRS), CalPERS, CalSTRS, Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund (CTPF), Colorado Public Employees' Retirement Association (Colorado PERA), Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds (CRPTF), Contra Costa County Employees' Retirement Association (CCCERA), District of Columbia Retirement Board (DCRB), Employees' Retirement System of Rhode Island (ERSRI), Employees' Retirement System of the State of Hawaii (HIERS), Enterprise Ireland (Seed and Venture Capital Scheme), European Investment Fund (EIF), Fire and Police Pension Association of Colorado (FPPA), Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF), Illinois Growth and Innovation Fund (Illinois State Treasurer), International Finance Corporation (IFC), Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, Kentucky Public Pensions Authority (KPPA), KfW Capital, Korea Venture Investment Corp. (Foreign VC Investment Fund), LACERA, Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System (LACERS), Maine Public Employees Retirement System (MainePERS), Merseyside Pension Fund, Minnesota State Board of Investment, Montana Board of Investments, NYC Board of Education Retirement System (BERS), NYC Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS), NYC Fire Pension Fund, NYC Police Pension Fund, NYC Teachers' Retirement System, Nebraska Investment Council, New Hampshire Retirement System (NHRS), New Jersey Division of Investment, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board (NMERB), New Mexico State Investment Council, New York State Common Retirement Fund, New York Ventures (Empire State Development), New Zealand Superannuation Fund, Norfund (Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries), North Carolina Retirement Systems (NCRS), Orange County Employees Retirement System (OCERS), Oregon Growth Account (Oregon Growth Board), Oregon State Treasury (OPERF), Pennsylvania PSERS, Pennsylvania SERS, Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho (PERSI), Public School and Education Employee Retirement Systems of Missouri (PSRS/PEERS), San Bernardino County Employees' Retirement Association (SBCERA), San Diego County Employees Retirement Association (SDCERA), South Carolina Retirement System Investment Commission (RSIC), South Dakota Investment Council (South Dakota Retirement System), State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS), State of Michigan Retirement System (SMRS), State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB), Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma (OTRS), Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois (TRS), Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Kentucky (TRS), Texas Municipal Retirement System, US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), UTIMCO (Permanent University Fund), University of California, Washington State Investment Board, West Yorkshire Pension Fund (WYPF)) report to each firm’s funds.
| Firm | Headquarters | Latest fund | Public LP commitments |
|---|---|---|---|
| ARCH Venture Partners | Chicago | $3B | $844M |
| CMT Digital | Chicago | $66M | — |
Public LPs report $844M committed to 28 funds managed by these firms (all vintages). Commitments aren’t part of the score.
How the index works
Every company and fund raising money privately in the US files a Form D notice with the SEC within 15 days of its first sale. We count each new offering once, in the quarter of its first notice, at the amount sold in its latest amendment. Startup raises are offerings by operating companies in technology, health care, energy, manufacturing, business services, and financial services (excluding banks and debt-only offerings). Venture funds are pooled funds that describe themselves as venture capital funds, excluding single-deal and series vehicles (SPVs) and feeder funds.
Offerings are placed by the issuer’s ZIP code in its combined statistical area, or its metropolitan area where there isn’t one. Addresses shared by 25 or more unrelated issuers (registered agents, fund administrators, mail drops) are left out, because they don’t say where a company works.
Development averages four measures over the whole period: the number of startup raises, the dollars they sold, the number of venture funds, and the dollars they raised. Each is scaled 0–100 on a log scale between the smallest and largest ranked area. Growth averages, for the same four measures, the change in the last two years against the two before and in the last year against the one before, as a percentile among ranked areas. Overall is 70% Development plus 30% Growth. Areas need 150 startup raises and 10 venture funds in the period to be ranked.
Form D undercounts: some issuers never file, and amounts are self-reported. Amounts sold grow as issuers amend their notices, so the latest quarters’ dollars run low until they do. Delaware and Wyoming still include companies that list a smaller registered agent’s address rather than where they work. Firms are placed in a metro by their headquarters city. Data through September 30, 2026. Sources: SEC Form D data sets; US Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA to county relationship file; OMB 2023 metropolitan area delineations (NBER county crosswalk).