Time for a hockey celly! 🎉🏒

⏰ Midwest Minute 

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are heating up—and the Midwest is well-represented on the ice. The St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets are battling it out in a hard-fought first-round matchup, bringing a fierce Central Division rivalry to the postseason spotlight. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Wild are taking on the Vegas Golden Knights, with the Wild hoping to build on a season where they notched 43 wins and standout forward Kirill Kaprizov tallied 88 points. It’s been a solid year for Midwest teams overall: both the Jets and Blues finished with winning records, and Minnesota stayed competitive in a crowded Western Conference despite injury setbacks.

This postseason also marks the end of an era: legendary Marc-André Fleury—currently on Minnesota’s roster—is retiring. A three-time Stanley Cup champion and likely future Hall of Famer, Fleury’s career has spanned 20 seasons with stops in Pittsburgh, Chicago, Vegas and now Minnesota. Known as much for his iconic saves as his easygoing charisma, Fleury has become a fan favorite across the league. His Midwest legacy includes a stint with the Blackhawks and now this final run with the Wild, giving fans across the region one last chance to cheer on one of hockey’s most beloved figures. Find the latest funding news down below.

Have any insights into the Midwest ecosystem or a funding announcement to share? Want to share what team you’re rooting for? Send us an email: [email protected] 

📰 Notable News

Startup Funding

• Ocient - $42.1M Series B extension from Allstate Strategic Ventures, Blue Bear Capital and others | Chicago

• Grove Biopharma - $30M Series A led by DCVC | Chicago

• Growers Edge - $25M in funding co-led by S2G Investments, Cibus Capital and Lowercarbon Capital | Johnston

• Irrigreen - $19M Series A led by new and returning investors like Natural Ventures, Burnt Island Ventures and Ulu Ventures | Edina

• HealthPlan Data Solutions - $15M in funding led by MK Capital | Columbus

• Coologics - $3M Seed led by Prevail Innovative Health Strategies | Cleveland

Other News

• Early-stage VC firm M25 taps startup founder Ryan Coon as venture partner

• Startup funding hit records in Q1. But the outlook for 2025 is still awful.

• Duolingo launches 148 course created with AI after sharing plans to replace contractors with AI

• TitletownTech preceded Green Bay Packers' bold draft pick with a surprise of its own

• How Chicago is building up life sciences — and where it still lags

• Pitchbook Unicorn companies tracker

📆 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]