Top Tech Startups in Chicago, IL in 2026

Autopilot is building the platform enterprises use to deploy, manage, and scale autonomous systems in the physical world. We are still in stealth, but we’ve closed our latest round and are adding key hires to round out our world-class team. From drones to autonomous vehicles, our founding team has built and sold more robots than most teams in the world. Our mission is to free people from repetitive, dangerous, and physically demanding work so they can spend more time doing the things people do best: creating, connecting, solving problems, and caring for one another. We believe the future of work should be more human, not less. Today, bringing robots and other intelligent machines into real business environments remains fragmented, complex, and difficult to scale. Autopilot connects hardware, software, workflows, and human support to turn autonomous technology into reliable operational outcomes. We are currently operating in stealth and working alongside leading enterprises, robotics companies, and infrastructure partners across mission-critical industries. Our team brings experience commercializing autonomous systems, enterprise software, and emerging technologies. We are backed by leading venture and industrial investors. Our philosophy is simple: do good, have fun, and make money. We want to build a consequential company, create meaningful value for our customers and communities, and enjoy the people and the process along the way. If you want to help shape how intelligence enters the physical world while building a future that gives people more freedom, agency, and time for the things that matter, we would love to meet you.

Since opening its doors in 2009, Codal has built a wide range of digital products, serving clients in retail, healthcare, legal, finance, agriculture, non-profit, and food and beverage. With cutting-edge tools and a data-driven approach, we provide elegant solutions to real business problems, equipping our clients with the tools and resources they need to succeed in the current and future business landscape. Our specialties include eCommerce, product strategy, user experience design, legacy modernization, enterprise integrations, and data analytics. Many of Codal’s top leaders work out of the Chicago office, spearheading projects to create a better tomorrow for our clients, employees, and partners.

an online platform that utilizes the power of the community to make team sports (currently soccer) accessible and enjoyable for our users.

We build the engine behind predictable, scalable revenue. Because growth breaks at the system level – not the channel level.

Schmick is a groundbreaking social media platform designed to challenge the status quo of how we connect online. Unlike conventional platforms that emphasize superficial interactions, Schmick fosters meaningful connections by lowering the barriers to entry for real, substantive engagement. We aim to revolutionize the way people communicate, offering users a more authentic, transparent, and fulfilling social experience. Our platform is built with a mission to provide seamless interaction while addressing key pain points like overly curated content, social pressures, and the lack of genuine conversation. By integrating cutting-edge features and a user-first approach, Schmick empowers users to express themselves authentically and connect with others who share their values and interests.

Frontier is on a mission to make hundreds of millions of critical frontline workers superhuman through a hardware and software AI voice wearable. The company, which is headquartered in Chicago and in stealth mode, has multimillion dollar contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense and just raised $5.3M in funding from tier 1 investors, including the first investor in Oculus. The company has more than 10 of the most critical U.S. companies as paid pilot customers, including one of the top 3 largest U.S. steel companies and top five U.S. airlines. It has an extremely talented and ambitious team committed to building a foundational company.

DeepSigns is revolutionizing document processing in the construction industry through advanced AI. We're currently in stealth working with a design partner in solving a critical industry pain point: the time-consuming, error-prone process of extracting meaningful data from contracts, bonds, and financial statements. Our AI-powered platform offers: - Intelligent document processing: Converting complex construction documents into structured, actionable data - Automated data extraction: Transforming unstructured documents into organized, searchable information - Smart document analysis: Quickly processing and standardizing varied document types across construction workflows Initial results: - 95% reduction in document processing time - Potential for millions in cost savings for construction firms - An estimated 1.5 million labor hours saved if our technology was applied across our design partner's industry We're creating a new standard for document processing in construction, moving outside of our current design partner's niche sector to the entire construction ecosystem. Our market is massive and underserved. The U.S. construction industry alone is worth over $1.3 trillion, with billions spent annually on document processing and management. We're well positioned to go after this market. DeepSigns isn't just another AI-wrapper startup. We're tackling real-world problems with solutions that can reshape an entire industry, and our solutions only get better with better frontier models. No worries of being 'steamrolled' here as the models improve. Our goal: become the obvious choice for construction document processing, saving clients time, money, and headaches. Join us in bringing clarity to construction's complex documentation.