We are the Champions! 👑

⏰ Midwest Minute 

It’s been a season of champions across the Midwest. The NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament wrapped up with the Michigan Wolverines men's basketball cutting down the nets, capping off a dominant showing for the Big Ten and celebrating in front of a giant bracket plastered along the side of the JW Marriott Indianapolis, a fitting backdrop for a weekend full of festivities across downtown Indianapolis. On the women’s side, the Big Ten still had reason to celebrate as UCLA Bruins women's basketball took home the national title. And closer to home, our own bracket delivered an underdog story: with help from community champion Brienne Maner, and Startup Sioux Falls, they stormed through the field to win this year’s Midwest Madness crown. If there’s one lesson across all these brackets, expect the unexpected.

A handful of big moves across the Midwest from the past few weeks highlight both capital formation and company growth. Chicago-based Madison Air is preparing for a $2.2B IPO, while venture-backed startups continue to raise across sectors. Indianapolis-based SpectronRx pulled in an $85M round from OrbiMed to expand its cancer treatment platform, and Ann Arbor’s Censys secured $40M led by Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital + $30M in debt funding—a fitting Michigan win in the wake of the Wolverines’ national championship run. On the investor side, Corazon Capital closed it’s $100M fifth fund. More on these deals and the rest of the week’s news below.

Have any insights into the Midwest ecosystem or a funding announcement to share? Want to share your March Madness bracket point total? Send us an email: [email protected] 

📰 Notable News

Exits

• Chicago-based Madison Air to IPO for $2.2B

• Cincinnati-based Atomic Robot acquired by Ingage Partners for an undisclosed amount

• St. Louis-based GiftAMeal acquired by Swipe Savvy for an undisclosed amount

Startup Funding

• SpectronRx - $85M round led by OrbiMed | Indianapolis

• Censys - $40M Series D led by Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital | Ann Arbor

• memQ - $10M Series A co-led by Quantonation and Ocean Azul Partners

• Carecubes - $6.5M Series A from investors like Schooner Capital and Lifeforce Capital | St. Paul, MN

• Rowan - $3.3M Seed led by DRW | Chicago

VC Funds

• Corazon Capital - $100M FIV | Chicago

• Gateway Capital - First Close of $25M FII | Milwaukee

Other News

• Anthropic debuts preview of powerful new AI model Mythos in new cybersecurity initiative

• Clayco appearance on Inc.'s Midwest list of fastest-growing companies shows data center impact

• New Jersey cannot regulate Kalshi's prediction market, US appeals court rules

• Anthropic Races to Contain Leak of Code Behind Claude AI Agent

• AI is reviving tech sectors that VCs had all but forgotten

• Waymo’s skyrocketing ridership in one chart

• QC Ware, CQE to co-host Q2B x Chicago Quantum Summit, underscoring growing strength of Quantum Prairie

Have exciting news to share? If you're announcing a funding round, exit or other milestone, send your press release to [email protected] to be featured. While we can’t share everything, we love to feature great stories from across the region.

📆 Mark your Calendar

Need to fill your social calendar? We’ve scoured newsletters, scanned LinkedIn and found some of the latest tech + startup events in the region. Know of any upcoming events and want to share them in our next newsletter? Send us an email: [email protected]