DJX VentureSource released its Q4 2016 venture capital report, which tracks investments into companies that have received at least one round of venture funding.¹ Q4 2016 VC activity in the Chicago area was lower than usual at $140.1 million invested in 23 rounds. However, increased activity from Q1 to Q3 resulted in a total of $879.9 million invested in Chicago area companies in 2016. The total number of investment rounds increased to 91 in 2016, compared to 73 in 2015.

The following charts display Chicago’s VC activity from 2010 – 2016, as well as year-over-year VC activity in Q4.

The following chart compares Chicago’s annual 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, Q4 2016²

• Civis Analytics Inc., Database Software ($22M)
• Swap.com Inc., Clothing Retailer ($20M)
• Snapsheet Inc.,Shopping Facilitator ($20M)
• Kenna Security Inc., Network / Systems Software ($15M)
• Fourkites Inc., Procurement / Supply Chain ($13.4M)
• ForeverCar Holdings Inc., Shopping Facilitator ($10M)

Active Investors in Chicago, Q4 2016²

• Chicago Ventures (4 deals)
• M25 Group LLC (3)
• Math Venture Partners LLC (3)

Major VC Deals in the U.S., Q4 2016²

• ContextLogic Inc., Shopping Facilitator ($500M)
• WeWork Companies Inc., Facilities / Operations Management ($260M)
• Open Door Labs Inc., Real Estate ($210M)
• BuzzFeed Inc., Entertainment ($200M)
• Stripe Inc., Payment / Transactional Processing ($150)

Active Investors in the U.S., Q4 2016²

• Index Ventures (13 deals)
• SV Angel (11)
• Sequoia Capital (11)
• New Enterprise Associates Inc. (11)
• First Round Capital (11)

Top IPOs in the U.S., Q4 2016²

• Coupa Software Inc., Procurement / Supply Chain ($133M)
• AquaVenture Holdings LLC, Water Treatment ($117M)
• Quantenna Communications Inc., Wireless Communication ($107M)

Top M&As in the U.S., Q4 2016²

• Salesforce.com acquisition of Krux Digital Inc., Data Management, San Francisco, CA ($700M)
• Wipro Ltd. acquisition of Appirio Inc., Business Applications Software, Indianapolis, IN ($500M)
• Inphi Corp. acquisition of ClariPhy Communications Inc., Integrated Ciruits, Irvine, CA ($277M)