Funded Startups in Champaign
Champaign's funding activity across these 15 rounds spans June 2021 to July 2025, covering sectors as varied as biotechnology, agriculture, manufacturing,…
Champaign's funding activity across these 15 rounds spans June 2021 to July 2025, covering sectors as varied as biotechnology, agriculture, manufacturing, energy, and commerce. The largest disclosed round is SimBioSys' $15M Series A from October 2021; the most recent is APFusion's $6M Series A in July 2025. Cache Energy and PhotoniCare each raised $5M in 2023 and 2024 respectively, and 2023 alone accounts for five rounds — the densest single-year cluster in this window.
Agriculture and biotech each appear twice — HabiTerre and EarthSense in agtech, Epivara and SimBioSys in biotech — alongside manufacturing companies Autonomic Materials and H3 Manufacturing Group. A substantial portion of rounds carry "Series Unknown" designations or undisclosed amounts; community-oriented institutions like U of I Community Credit Union ($3M, January 2023) share the cohort with deep-tech seed-stage companies like Cache Energy and DeepWalk Research, reflecting the mixed early-stage character of this market.
Most recent rounds
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Frequently asked
What are the largest recent rounds among Champaign startups in this data?
SimBioSys leads with a $15M Series A closed in October 2021. APFusion ($6M Series A, July 2025), Cache Energy ($5M Seed, August 2023), and PhotoniCare ($5M in November 2024) are the next largest disclosed rounds. The remaining amounts are either under $1M or undisclosed.
Which sectors appear most frequently in Champaign funding rounds here?
Agriculture and biotech each account for two companies — HabiTerre and EarthSense in agtech, Epivara and SimBioSys in biotech. Manufacturing also appears twice with Autonomic Materials and H3 Manufacturing Group, spanning rounds from mid-2022 through early 2025.
How concentrated was deal activity in 2023?
Five of the 15 rounds closed in calendar year 2023: Cache Energy ($5M Seed), DeepWalk Research ($1M Seed), U of I Community Credit Union ($3M), HabiTerre ($250K), and Pavlov Media (undisclosed). That makes 2023 the highest-volume single year in this window.
How many formal Series A rounds are in this dataset?
Two — SimBioSys at $15M in October 2021 and APFusion at $6M in July 2025. The majority of rounds carry a "Series Unknown" label, with two Seed rounds and one grant (EarthSense, $50K, November 2021).
What is the smallest disclosed raise in this cohort, and what does the size distribution look like?
Alto Vineyards closed a $40K round in September 2023, the smallest disclosed figure, followed by EarthSense's $50K grant. Disclosed amounts otherwise range from $250K (HabiTerre) up to $15M (SimBioSys), with a cluster of $1M–$6M rounds accounting for the middle of the range.
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