Opinion
October 21, 2026
Straylight Capital’s Caroline Wolanin on why many Midwest startups are compounders, not rockets, and when growth equity fits better than venture capital.
Funding
October 18, 2026
Michigan startups raised $147.2 million across 12 deals in Q3 2026, down 81% on Q2. Sling Therapeutics' $123 million Series C in Ann Arbor is 84% of the total.
Ohio startups raised $1.11 billion across 17 deals in Q3 2026, its largest quarter since Start Midwest began tracking. Keyfactor's $1 billion is 90% of it.
Ecosystem
UnDemo Day 2026 drew a record 850 registrations to Detroit, Michigan, alongside Venture Forward's emerging manager program and PitchMI's final semifinal.
By
Phil Vella
•
October 23, 2026
Illinois startups raised $431.4 million across 27 deals in Q3 2026, the most rounds in the Midwest, led by CADDi's $114 million Series D and no dominant check.
Wisconsin startups raised $37.8 million across 8 deals in Q3 2026, up 89% on Q2 on a venture basis. Rentable's $25 million Madison round is two-thirds of it.
Michigan's water-tech startups, from Ann Arbor to Detroit, are drawing new Great Lakes programs and funding. Four ways founders and operators can get involved.
Smaller communities in the nation’s heartland are emerging as an overlooked growth engine: manufacturing, energy, healthcare, and logistics opportunities are already taking shape.
Agricultural AI is helping Midwest farmers manage weather and costs, with startups in Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois building the tools.
Oracle plans to draw 125 to 250 MW from the Point Beach nuclear plant for its AI data center in Port Washington, Wisconsin. Ratepayers are asking who pays.
Erin Wall of Minneapolis-based Lunr Capital on funding consumer brands before the purchase order, and why Minnesota's corporate giants need to move faster.
START UP Season 14 spotlights 13 entrepreneurs from Columbus, Chicago and across Ohio and Illinois, premiering October 4 on WORLD Channel and PBS.
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September 9, 2026
People
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