Funded Energy Startups in Chicago
12 funded energy startups in chicago — recent funding rounds, disclosed amounts, and headquarters. Updated weekly, free to browse.
The disclosed rounds show a clear size split. NanoGraf Corporation’s $60M round on 2024-09-20 sits alone above the rest of the list, which includes one $5M Seed (Celadyne Technologies, 2024-02-15) and then a long tail down through $3M (Clean Core Thorium Energy, 2023-12-12) and sub-$1M deals such as Hecate Energy’s $550K (2023-01-24) and Bluestar’s much larger $100M but earlier (2022-09-14). The rounds also cluster in time: five of the twelve entries fall between 2023-08-02 and 2024-02-15, with the most recent close on 2024-09-20 and the oldest on 2021-04-08 (Volexion, $1M). Stage and classification mix is uneven as well: five of the twelve rows list “Series Unknown” (NanoGraf aside), while only a smaller set have named stages like Seed (Celadyne Technologies, 2024-02-15; Volexion, 2021-04-08) and Series D (Sun King, 2022-04-27).
Most recent rounds
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Frequently asked
What does the largest disclosed energy round in Chicago look like versus the rest of the list?
NanoGraf Corporation’s $60M (2024-09-20) is the only disclosed round above $50M. The next-largest disclosed amounts are far lower, including $100M (Bluestar Energy Capital, 2022-09-14), $260M (Sun King, 2022-04-27), $550M (Hecate Energy, 2023-01-24), and $3.0B (Invenergy, 2022-01-07), which means the biggest disclosed round is actually Invenergy’s $3.0B on 2022-01-07 and NanoGraf is not the top tier.
Are there notable date clusters among these Chicago energy funding rounds?
Yes. Five of twelve rounds occur between 2023-08-02 (Blip Energy, $20K) and 2024-02-15 (Celadyne Technologies, $5M), spanning roughly six and a half months. That concentration is followed by fewer entries into 2024, with only NanoGraf’s 2024-09-20 close appearing after 2024-02-15.
How concentrated are amounts at the low end, and which deals sit at the extremes?
The low end includes Blip Energy’s $20K (2023-08-02) and Evergreen Climate Innovations’ $750K (2023-11-09). On the high end, Invenergy’s $3.0B (2022-01-07) is the outlier, far above other large disclosed rounds like Sun King’s $260M (2022-04-27) and Hecate Energy’s $550M (2023-01-24).
What stage mix dominates the disclosed rounds in this Chicago set?
“Series Unknown” appears in 5 of 12 rows: NanoGraf Corporation (2024-09-20, $60M), Clean Core Thorium Energy (2023-12-12, $3M), Evergreen Climate Innovations (2023-11-09, $750K), Blip Energy (2023-08-02, $20K), and Hecate Energy (2023-01-24, $550M). Named stages are less common, including Seed for Celadyne Technologies ($5M, 2024-02-15) and Volexion ($1M, 2021-04-08), plus Series D for Sun King ($260M, 2022-04-27).
Which entries are most recent and oldest in the snapshot, and does that suggest a directional shift?
The most recent disclosed round is NanoGraf Corporation on 2024-09-20 for $60M, while the oldest is Volexion on 2021-04-08 for $1M. Within the interval, the list alternates between very large disclosed financings (e.g., Invenergy $3.0B on 2022-01-07) and smaller deals (e.g., EdgeMode with $2M on 2021-06-10), rather than showing a monotonic trend.
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