Funding

July 17, 2026

Midwest Startup Funding for the week ending July 17 2026

StartMidwest

Image: Watch those pennies. Andrii Yalanskyi / shutterstock - altered by AI
Image: Watch those pennies. Andrii Yalanskyi / shutterstock - altered by AI

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Another interesting week in funding across the Midwest, here are the investments we’ve been able to track and verify this week, ending July 17 2026.

***While you’re here: If you’d like to make sure you’re notified about any funds raised from the six states we cover - Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin - then make sure you’re subscribed to our newsletter***

Auxilium Health

Location: Cleveland, Ohio

Business Type: Healthtech

Amount Raised: $3.4m

What they do: 

Develops advanced biomaterial aerogels for wound care, bone regeneration, and localized drug delivery, reducing bacterial colonization and promoting tissue healing, while advancing products toward FDA clearance and clinical trials.

Link to announcement. 

Rock River Laboratory

Location: Watertown, Wisconsin

Business Type: Agtech & Food

Amount Raised: Undisclosed

What they do: 

Provides advanced agronomic, soil, feed, forage, environmental, and water testing services, delivering data‑driven diagnostics to improve agricultural productivity, sustainability, and carbon‑footprint efficiency.

Link to announcement. 

Inspectorio

Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota

Business Type: SaaS

Amount Raised: Undisclosed

What they do: 

Provides an AI‑powered SaaS platform that digitizes production‑chain processes, enabling brands and retailers to manage quality, compliance, ESG audits, and traceability across suppliers in real time.

Link to announcement. 

NxLite

Location: Detroit, Michigan

Business Type: Sustainability

Amount Raised: $16.6m

What they do: 

Manufactures air‑stable, low‑emissivity coatings for glass and polymer substrates that improve energy efficiency and reduce weight, serving window, refrigeration, transportation, and related industries.

Link to announcement. 

ReElement Technologies

Location: Indianapolis, Indiana

Business Type: Manufacturing

Amount Raised: $25m

What they do: 

Expands domestic refining of rare‑earth and critical minerals by processing recycled magnets and materials, producing high‑purity oxides and elements to secure U.S. defense supply chains.

Link to announcement.