Chicago is no longer simply the place where Groupon was born; the city is now home to a maturing, thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem [2]. In 2012, the Windy City became a technology force to be reckoned with, launching a new digital startup every 44 hours.
Built In Chicago [3], an online community for digital startups, entrepreneurs and innovators, recently released its 2012 Chicago Digital Startup Report [4], detailing the rapid growth of the city’s startup scene in the past year.
Innovators and entrepreneurs launched a record-breaking 197 startups in Chicago last year, and the fastest growing sectors were consumer web, marketing and eCommerce.
Out of those 197 startups, 59 companies — including photo-storage solution Picturelife [5] and consumer-loyalty rewards platform Belly [6] — raised over $1 million in 2012, which represents a 34 percent increase from 2011.
Digital healthcare companies did especially well in 2012, earning 27 percent of total funding dollars. Healthcare insurance portal GoHealth [7] received $50 million from investment firm Norwest Equity Partners.
Check out the full infographic below to learn more about Chicago’s growing digital startup scene.
