Another boost for Chicago’s developing technological landscape TechNova, a Chicago-based startup company, revealed today that the firm has already closed its Series C at $150m. Sequoia Capital spearheaded the funding round, a record for any single funding round for a Chicago headquartered tech firm in 2024.
TechNova based in Chicago was established in March, 2020 by University of Chicago former student, Sarah Chen and Michael Rodriguez, has grown to be among the most promising companies in artificial intelligence especially by virtue of a natural language processing. About Less Than, the company’s primary offering, an AI-based language translation tool, has found a welcoming audience across the world and attracted interest from leading technology companies as well as investors.
Other investors who invested in the round include Accel Partners, First Round Capital, Lerer Ventures, SV Angel, Kevin Hartz, Michael Birch, Dave Goldberg, and several strategic angel investors: Hyde Park Venture Partners from Chicago and Andreessen Horowitz. This latest spur of funding takes the cumulative amount of investment raised by TechNova to $200 million, thereby strategically positioning the firm among Chicago’s fastest-growing Unicorn tech companies.
The funding was welcomed by CEO Sarah Chen, who noted, “This funding is a confirmation of the journey that we have taken as a team and of the technological hub that Chicago is. It is a pleasure to be backed by such accomplished investors while the company advances in expanding its artificial intelligence developments and growing its international presence.
There has been a positive response to the news from the local technology stakeholders and city hall. Mayor Lori Lightfoot added: “TechNova’s story of growth is an example for others and demonstrates the potential of Chicago to become one of the largest technology centers in the country. TechNova needs to be supported in order to become one of the economy’s main growth points: for this reason, we are devoted to create the right conditions.
Several observers of the Chicago tech scene see this funding round as a particularly important one. Forrester Research tech analyst John Anderson says: “This kind of commitment to a Chicago-based firm shows that the face of the technology industry is changing.” That’s why we are witnessing more investors starting their search not only in the Silicon Valley but also in such a city as Chicago.
TechNova will leverage the new funding by fast tracking its product development, hiring more personnel and increasing its market footprint outside of Asia. It has recently outlined its intention to open more offices in London and Singapore before the year ends and wanted to employ more workers doubling its current staff strength of two hundred.
TechNova is just one of the many organizations that are aggressively growing the ranks of Chicago based technology companies. As per the recent data published by the World Business Chicago the technology job listings have increased by 15% over last one year and significant growth has been registered in the Artificial intelligence, Fintech and Health Technology fields.
This funding news is, however, the latest of several other important events that have occurred in Chicago’s technology sector. In the past month, healthcare AI company MedAI was bought by Google for $500 million and PayEase a fintech was also planning to go public this year.
Such talent and capital attraction have also been seen to impact Chicago’s economy positively through the emerging tech economy. Developers say that more companies are leasing office space in technology-oriented areas like the Fulton Market and River North and that local Universities are increasing their computer science and engineering courses in response to the growing need for technical workers.
While Chicago is establishing itself as a seriously competitive location for technology companies, experts are paying special attention to companies such as TechNova. As per the recent funding, it is set up to spearhead the technology revolution of the city and probably brought more success stories not only from the Windy City but also from the entire country.
TechNova can feel the positive ripple effect of its success not only in the satisfaction of customer needs as already defined but also in broader circles. It benefits other local initiatives as well as a referendum and a guide to more money on ventures and venture capitalists. While many observe and reflect on how Chicago’s tech ecosystem has grown over the years, most people believe this is the start of turning around the economic fortune of Chicago city.
