Organizers for the Chicago Venture Summit announce today that Travis Kalanick, CEO and Co-Founder of Uber, will be a featured luncheon speaker at the Chicago Venture Summit on Oct. 15.

Uber, the wildly successful technology platform, has been valued at $18 billion with operations in more than 200 cities across 45 countries.

Kalanick, a long-time entrepreneur and angel investor,  will discuss the powerful impact of innovation and disruption on consumers and cities. Uber has raised $1.5 billion in funding since 2009, when Kalanick and Co-Founder Garrett Camp started the ride-sharing service with $200,000 in seed funding.

Chicago was Uber’s 4th city – launching in September 2011 – and is currently one of its fastest growing markets. It is also home to the company’s regional headquarters that is projected to add hundreds of new jobs to Chicago in the coming months.

During the Chicago Venture Summit, more than two dozen of the Midwest’s top emerging technology companies will present in front of hundreds of investment professionals, as well as participate in panel discussions with the nation’s leading technologists. In addition to Kalanick, summit speakers include investor and PayPal founder Peter Thiel, Cisco Systems Chief Technology & Strategy Officer Padmasree Warrior and investor and former AOL executive Ted Leonsis.

“Entrepreneurs and innovators no longer need to go to the coasts to attract the talent or the funding that they need to grow technology businesses in Chicago,” said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “The Chicago Venture Summit will bring to Chicago a cross-section of the innovators and funders that are shaping the tech economy of tomorrow, showcase Chicago’s growing tech economy and reinforce efforts already in place to support this thriving sector.”

During the first six months of 2014, new investments in Chicago-area tech companies reached nearly a half-billion dollars while acquisitions and initial public offering valuations topped $5 billion, according to Built in Chicago. Three companies – GrubHub, Fieldglass and Paylocity – have each had billion-dollar plus liquidity events in that time period, and several others have had nine-figure exits. Nearly 30 early- and growth-stage companies with billion-dollar potential will be presenting at the Chicago Venture Summit.

For more information or to register for the Chicago Venture Summit, visit www.chicagoventuresummit.com.

About the Chicago Venture Summit 

The Chicago Venture Summit will be held at Venue Six10 on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue. The Summit’s agenda includes presentations by dozens of the top emerging tech companies in the Midwest, panel discussions with national technology experts, and private dinners with C-suite leaders of the Midwest’s Fortune 100 companies.

About ChicagoNEXT

ChicagoNEXT seeks to create innovative programs to foster technology and entrepreneurship in Chicago, including shared space partnerships, exchange programs for entrepreneurs and outreach to venture capital firms and technology talent. ChicagoNEXT is part of World Business Chicago, chaired by Mayor Rahm Emanuel. WBC leads the city’s business retention, attraction and expansion efforts, raises Chicago’s position as a premier global business destination, and guides implementation of the Plan for Economic Growth & Jobs.