DJX VentureSource has released its Q1 2016 venture capital report, which tracks investments into companies that have received at least one round of venture funding. Chicago’s $177.5 million VC dollars invested in Q1 2016 increased significantly from the $97.6 million raised in Q1 2015. Investment rounds were also up, with 20 rounds in Q1 2016 compared to 13 in Q1 2015. Notably, two of the three top IPOs in Q1 2016 are Illinois companies (see IPO list below).

On Thursday, April 21, the second Chicago Venture Summit took place. An exclusive group of top investors came to Chicago to meet the best venture-backed companies in the Midwest. In conjunction with the Venture Summit, Picthbook released a report on VC trends in the Midwest, Illinois, and Chicago. The report is available here.

The following chart displays Chicago’s performance in Q1 2012 – 2016.¹

The following charts compare Chicago’s first quarter 2016 performance with other select metro areas, followed by lists of major VC deals, investors, IPOs and M&As in Chicago and across the U.S.²

Major VC Deals in Chicago, Q1 2016²

• Sprout Social, Information Technology ($42M)
• ParkWhiz, Consumer Services ($24M)
• Geofeedia, Information Technology ($17M)
• SwervePay, Business and Financial Services ($10M)
• HighGround Enterprise Solutions, Information Technology ($7.6M)

Active Investors in Chicago, Q1 2016²

• Chicago Ventures (3 deals)
• Jump Capital (2)
• Hyde Park Venture Partners (2)
• Angel Investors (2)
• Mohr Davidow Ventures (2)
• Garland Capital Group (2)

Major VC Deals in the U.S., Q1 2016²

• Mersana Therapeutics Inc., Healthcare ($800M)
• Magic Leap Inc., Information Technology ($794M)
• WeWork Companies Inc., Business and Financial Services ($430M)
• Relativity Media LLC, Consumer Services ($400M)
• Oscar Insurance Corp., Healthcare ($400M)

Active Investors in the U.S., Q1 2016²

• New Enterprise Associates Inc. (21 deals)
• Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (16)
• Y Combinator (12)
• Lightspeed Venture Partners (12)
• Khosla Ventures (12)

Top IPOs in the U.S., Q1 2016²

• AveXis Inc., Bannockburn, IL, Biotechnology/Healthcare ($95.00M)
• Editas Medicine Inc., Cambridge, MA, Biotechnology/Healthcare ($94.40M)
• Corvus Pharmaceuticals Inc., Burlingame, IL Biotechnology/Healthcare ($70.50M)

Top M&As in the U.S., Q1 2016²

• Wanda Group acquisition of Legend Pictures LLC., Burbank, CA, Consumer Services ($3,500.00M)
• Cisco Systems acquisition of Jasper Technologies Inc., Santa Clara, CA, Information Technology ($1,400.00M)
• NetApp Inc. acquisition of SolidFire Inc., Boulder, CO, Business and Financial Services ($870.00M)

¹ Alternate sources (CB Insights, CrunchBase, PitchBook, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, etc.) have various methods for collecting and tracking venture capital data, resulting in disparate figures.
² Lists are not exhaustive.

The investment figures included in this release are based on aggregate findings of Dow Jones’ proprietary research collected through surveys of professional firms, interviews with company executives, and from secondary sources. Information reflects equity financing, including cash investments into companies that have received at least one round of venture funding, and does not include companies receiving funding solely from corporate, individual and/or government investors. Figures are subject to change. For more information, please refer to the DJX VentureSource website.
Additional sources: U.S. Census 2014 population estimates for metros; ACS  2014 5-year population estimate for Orange County.

Chaired by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, World Business Chicago is the public-private partnership leading the Plan for Economic Growth and Jobs in order to drive business development, cultivate talent, and put Chicago at the forefront of the global economy.

WBC’s “Economic Briefs” track indicators from month to month to gauge the strength of several aspects of Chicago’s economy, including unemployment, population, venture capital, job openings and new hires, home sales, tourism, etc. This data provides a clear analytic framework for specific Plan strategies and initiatives. For a summary of these and other economic indicators, refer to WBC’s monthly Chicago By The Numbers.