April Showers… ➡️🌷

⏰ Midwest Minute 

The Midwest is bursting into bloom—and we mean that literally. In Holland, Michigan, millions of tulips are popping up ahead of the annual Tulip Time Festival. Chicago’s Garfield Park Conservatory is packed with spring visitors ogling the blooming azaleas. Wildflowers are getting ready to blanket the prairie trails in Nebraska, and Missouri’s dogwood trees are putting on their annual show. We might recommend a few of the best waterfall-laden hikes to backdrop the spring ephemerals, especially as it’s prime time for the arrival of maypops, jack-in-the-pulpit, prairie trillium (all 3 kinds!), the region’s diverse lineup of orchid species, and the elusive-but-worth-it French’s shooting star (if you can hit the trails this week yet, that is!). From botanical gardens in Minneapolis to daffodils in Indiana, if you need a sign of spring, look no further than the Midwest in full floral mode.

In seeding news (plus Series A & beyond)… Chicago’s ActiveCampaign acquired Hilos for an undisclosed amount. Pittsburgh-based Outerbase was acquired by Cloudflare. Luma, a Cincinnati-based fintech startup, raised a $63M Series C. Ann Arbor-based Optilogic raised a $40M Series B. More of the latest funding announcements below!

Congratulations to our 2025 Midwest Madness Champion: Omaha, NE! The #1 seed fended off Fargo, ND (1) to win the Championship round. Stay tuned for celebration details!

Have any insights into the Midwest ecosystem or a funding announcement to share? Want to share your favorite place in the Midwest during spring? Send us an email: [email protected] 

📰 Notable News

Exits

• Chicago-based ActiveCampaign acquired Hilos for an undisclosed amount

• Pittsburgh-based Outerbase acquired by Cloudflare for an undisclosed amount

• Indianapolis-based DriverReach acquired by Tenstreet for an undisclosed amount

• Chicago-based Logik AI to be acquired by ServiceNow for an undisclosed amount

Startup Funding

• Luma Financial Technologies - $63M Series C led by Sixth Street Growth | Cincinnati

• Optilogic - $40M Series B led by NewRoad Capital Partners | Ann Arbor

• Cargado - $12M Series A led by LGVP | Chicago

• Vinyl Equity - $11.5M Seed co-led by Index Ventures and Spark Capital | Chicago

• Ambient - $7.2M Seed from a16z, Delphi Digital and Amber Group | Chicago

• SecondWave Systems - $7M Series A led by Treo Ventures | St. Paul, MN

• ClearCOGS - $3.8M Seed led by Closed Loop Partners | Chicago

• Sizl - $3.5M Seed led by Yellow Rocks | Chicago

• Ideem - $2.4M Seed from Sovereigns Capital, Quona Ventures, Everywhere Ventures, Hustle Fund, Oread Angels and Network KS | Kansas City

• Alpaca - $1.8M Seed co-led by Nelnet and Invest Nebraska | Omaha

• Mandos - $1M round led by Render Capital | Louisville

VC Funds

• 11 Tribes - $46M FII | Chicago 

Other News

• NXTSTAGE Customer Traction Cohort

• Building culture and community: The ongoing journey of startup founder Rick Knudtson

• A confluence of factors is cited in the demise of one-time agtech unicorn Benson Hill, now bankrupt

• 'That’s how you bring manufacturing back,' Gov. Walz on Philips expansion in Plymouth

📆 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]