INNOVATE® Chicago Vol.1

Established in 2002 as the Chicago Innovation Awards, Chicago Innovation has grown from a single awards ceremony to a year-round series of events and programs to empower Chicago’s innovation ecosystem. Its vision is to solidify the Chicago region as a global hub of innovation and ensure that innovation is for...

They both grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and met in high school. When Barrett Lombardo and Andy Crestodina graduated, they headed off to the University of Iowa together.   They shared a dorm room and one of those boxy Macintosh computers. It was the early 1990s. Most people...

PechaKucha was born in 2003 because people talk too much. That’s what happens when passionate people gather together to share ideas and creations. PechaKucha, which means “chit-chat” in Japanese, was founded in Tokyo by architects Mark Dytham and Astrid Klein of Klein Dytham architecture. It originated as a “20×20’’ live...

86 Repairs is the repair and maintenance management platform built for the restaurant industry. Our tech-enabled solution includes on-demand repair management and preventative maintenance. With 86 Repairs, restaurants have access to data-driven insights and 24/7 support to control their facilities, reduce their R&M costs, and spend less of their team’s...

ALIS is the primary offering of Medtelligent, a health-tech company serving the senior housing industry. Built from the ground up to match the needs of assisted living operators and providers, ALIS is the preferred software choice for fast-growing portfolios in the sector. Medtelligent was founded in 2005 with an original...

Chicago HOPES for Kids is the only organization in Chicago that provides educational after school and remote learning programs for students experiencing homelessness in grades Kindergarten through 9th, directly to the shelters and communities where they live. It is our mission to provide students with the resources and encouragement they...

OUR STORYFast Radius is a leading cloud manufacturing company. Our Cloud Manufacturing Platform™ is a first-of-its-kind solution that provides end to-end solutions for manufacturers to design, make, and move parts in an easier, more accessible, and more sustainable way. Founded in 2017, Fast Radius is headquartered in Chicago with offices...

SIWA Therapeutics, Inc. has developed 318H, a monoclonal antibody that we believe can become a broadly effective cancer immunotherapeutic. Most recently, we showed that 318H enabled complete remission of pancreatic cancer in vivo in humanized mice – we hope to file an IND application for pancreatic cancer next year. Our...

Steadfast began in 1998 as an internet-technology passion project for Steadfast’s Founder, Karl Zimmerman, when he was only 14 years old. Karl’s dream to help companies with their data hosting and security needs started early on, and through these relationships, Karl learned there was a frustrating gap with many hosting...

At MATTER — a global innovation hub headquartered in Chicago — entrepreneurs come together with industry leaders, scientists and clinicians from across the globe to collaborate on developing next-generation healthcare technologies. We believe that collaboration between entrepreneurs and industry leaders is the fastest, most effective way to accelerate innovation, advance...

Providers have too much to do and not enough time to do it. And the people this really impacts are their most vulnerable patients. TimeDoc Health makes it easier for overstretched providers to support chronically ill patients between visits – while also maximizing reimbursements. They do this by combining the...

Enduvo was born at the University of Illinois and initially funded through a Jump Applied Research for Community Health through Engineering and Simulation (ARCHES) grant. These grants support collaborative research and development between OSF Healthcare and the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria. Dr. Matt Bramlet, Justin Drawz,...

We exist to empower humanity with full access and visibility of deep sea data that enables a deeper understanding and accountability of impact to drive better decision making.   We believe that a deeper understanding of the oceans is achievable through technological advancements in robotic autonomy and data visualization —...

LoggerHead Tools’ mission is to create innovative hand tools manufactured in America. The company’s flagship product is the Bionic Wrench™, a tool that combines the convenience of pliers with the performance of a wrench. The company launched the Bionic Wrench at the National Hardware Show in 2005 and has since...

Our solution offers a platform that accelerates the process of collaborating on agreements, signing contracts utilizing electronic signatures and providing the easiest, most convenient way to pay. We may have finally replaced the fax machine and are swiftly on our way to automating many of the redundant and repetitive tasks...

Already a successful tech entrepreneur, Alex Skryl had not intended to take on another similar venture. However, Alex was deeply moved by the growing epidemic of chronic disease in the United States. He felt that it was time to put his entrepreneurial mindset towards giving back to the community. Thus,...

A former traveling salesman driving more than 3,000 miles each week, Farmer’s Fridge Founder and CEO Luke Saunders was frustrated with the lack of healthy, 24/7 options available on the road. Determined to solve this challenge, he built a high-tech smart Fridge that dispenses fresh meals within seconds. Despite facing...

It’s no secret that we live in a fast-paced world. Technology is constantly changing, cyber security attacks are on the rise, and consumer interests and needs continue to evolve. To keep up, Managed Service Providers (MSP) and Managed Security Service Providers (MSSP) are having to modify their offerings to adhere...

Revoou is a product review and product recommendation content producer and website that provides Spanish-language online shoppers with independent and trustworthy, easy-to-digest information and comparison tables about products and services to make the most informed online purchasing decisions. It’s a model English-speakers have seen dozens of times, but the team...

According to the National Network to End Domestic Violence’s 2021 DV Counts Report, agencies were unable to provide emergency shelter to 1,982 adults and 1,184 children nationwide in just one day. Annualized, that’s 723,430 adults and 432,160 children who are left without access to emergency domestic violence shelters each year....

The acute shortage of technology workers in the United States has driven up wages significantly. The median annual salary of an entry-level employee working on a help desk is $53,470, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The median salary for all tech workers is $81,000. The expected growth...

INSTASHIELD FILLS PPE SHORTAGE, DONATES 1 MILLION SHIELDS TO PEOPLE IN NEED InstaShield™ is a new kind of face shield that ships flat and is folded to fit over a cap or visor. The company was founded in March 2020 by Dan Brown Jr. to help fill the nation’s PPE...