Happy Fall and one final goodbye to Q3. 🍂👋

⏰ Midwest Minute 

It’s the busiest runway of the year, and the skies themselves begin their great exodus. More than 300 species of migratory birds trace north-south corridors through our region as part of the Mississippi Flyway each year. On a single night this fall, radar-based systems estimated 101,500 birds passing over just one Michigan county, part of a multi-million-bird wave sweeping southward for warmer months. Meanwhile, long-term records show that the average wintering ranges for more than 300 North American bird species have shifted at least 40 miles northward between 1966 and 2013. The Mississippi Flyway, which cuts straight through the Midwest, carries hundreds of bird species twice a year—like sandhill cranes, Canadian geese, warblers, herons and hawks. Peak fall migration season in the Midwest usually runs from late August through October, depending on the species. Monarch butterflies migrate up to 3,000 miles from September into early October from the Midwest and Canada to central Mexico—one of the longest insect migrations on Earth—that is often visible around Lake Michigan’s shores.

The instinct to move with the changing seasons isn’t limited to feathered travelers. The Midwest is home to a lot of “snowbirds” — retirees who head to Florida, Arizona or Texas as temperatures drop. Around 1M Americans migrate seasonally this way. Among Americans who don’t live in their ideal climate, about 20 percent say they’re actively considering a move to chase better weather. Cities like Chicago, Minneapolis and Detroit all see measurable seasonal population dips tied to winter outflow. Find the latest funding announcements below!

Have any insights into the Midwest ecosystem or a funding announcement to share? Want to share where you’re migrating to once the cold weather arrives? Send us an email: [email protected] 

📰 Notable News

Featured

• Kin Insurance earns “Excellent” 4.9/5 Trustpilot rating with 6,000+ reviews

Exits

• Chicago-based Potbelly Corporation to be acquired by RaceTrac for $566M 

Startup Funding

• Zerohash - $104M Series D led by Interactive Brokers at a $1B+ valuation | Chicago

• GEOH - $30M round led by Council Capital | Indianapolis

• BizzyCar - $20M Series B led by Dealer Tire | St. Peters, MO

• DEXA - $15M Seed led by G2A Investment Partners | Dayton

• Madison Scientific - $10M Seed co-led by WARF and two undisclosed investors | Chicago

• Iris Finance - $6.2M Seed led by Glasswing Ventures | Chicago

• Trailly - $4.7M Seed led by Flyover Capital | Kansas City

• Arvist - $4M Seed led by Rackhouse | Chicago

• Nestimate - $3M round led by S3 Ventures | Lincoln

Other News

• The annual refresh of our Midwest City Resources is here!

• Tune into the Startup Wisconsin podcast

• Life sciences gaining momentum in Chicago amid expected government pullback

• U.S. Investors, Trump Close In on TikTok Deal With China

• Nvidia buys $5B stake in Intel, planning AI chip collaboration

• IEDC board votes to release results of forensic analysis — after legal review

• FTC accuses Live Nation and Ticketmaster of illegally reselling event tickets

• Is an MBA still worth it if you want to make it in VC?

• Pittsburgh Tops U.S. Cities in AI Funding Share Beating the Bay Area

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]