Sharpen your pencils, it’s almost Q4. 📝

⏰ Midwest Minute 

Head to the top of the class! We’re back wrapping up the quarter and school is back in session at colleges and universities nationwide. This week we’re celebrating the best of September in the Midwest, specifically the return of college football (we spy many a Big Ten school on this list of best tailgates) and the beauty of some of the Midwest’s most picturesque college campuses. In addition, with the start of the new semester, it’s a great time to remind collegians and non-students alike that the Midwest is home to some of the best on-campus ice cream you can find, from Berkey Creamery at Penn State (go for the Cinnamon Caramel Apple but stay for the regional darling Grilled Stickies) to The Daily Scoop in University of Wisconsin’s Memorial Union to the Dairy Salesroom at University of Minnesota, nothing says Midwest like a good dairy program (note from the editors: we’re yet to make the trip to U of M for this - please send recs for our future trips!). If you’re headed to the far Midwest, we’d be remiss not to mention the dairy program at SDSU in Brookings, known for creating perennial fan favorite Cookies and Cream — just make sure to hit up all of these before the cold starts to set in!

For the scoop on funding news: STL-based Wugen announced a $155M round led by Fidelity Investments, Chicago-based Kin Insurance announced a $50M Series E round at a $2B valuation, and Indianapolis-based The Juice announced their acquisition by Technology Advice for an undisclosed amount. Read on for more on these and other funding and acquisition announcements below!

Have any insights into the Midwest ecosystem or a funding announcement to share? Want to share your alma mater or give ice cream making the old college try? Send us an email: [email protected] 

📰 Notable News

Featured

• TandemStride Raises $5.5M to Expand Program for Trauma Survivors Across Ohio

Exits

• Chicago-based Synidgo acquired 1WorldSync for an undisclosed amount

• Minneapolis-based Tarmac.IO acquired Warecorp for an undisclosed amount

• Indianapolis-based The Juice acquired by TechnologyAdvice for an undisclosed amount

Startup Funding

• Wugen - $115M round led by Fidelity Investments | St. Louis

• KnowledgeLake - $65M round from Edison Partners | St. Louis

• Kin Insurance - $50M Series E led by QED and Activate at a $2B valuation | Chicago

• UnDesked - $3M Seed from investors like Keyhorse Capital and Nashville Capital Network | Bowling Green, KY

Other News

• What’s behind Klarna’s $14B IPO valuation

• Mark Zuckerberg - no, not that one - sues Facebook for account shutdowns

• Nvidia unveils AI chips for video, software generation

• Tune into the Startup Wisconsin podcast

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]