CHICAGO, IL— Chicago’s chief technology officer, John Tolva, explains the city’s newest attempt to bring big investors into the area to help fund startup companies in Chicago with the launch of “Chicago Next”.
What Chicago needs, local entrepreneurs say, is a larger pool of investors. In a recent ranking of the Top 10 startup American cities, by USA Today and the Natural Venture Capital Association, Chicago came in 7th behind San Diego (6), Washington, DC (5), Los Angeles (4), New York (3), Boston (2), and Silicon Valley (1). The survey ranked cities according to how much funding young tech companies received in 2011. Chicago startups received 0 million, while investors in top-ranked Silicon Valley rolled out .8 billion.