Best Environment Companies in Chicago, United States
The 66 best Environment companies in Chicago, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Invenergy.
Our analysis of 90 Environment companies
$38.2b in tracked funding; 89% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2025.
Ranked: Best Environment companies in Chicago
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Stage | Founder | Founded | Tech stack | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Invenergy Developer and operator of sustainable energy solutions 64Funding top 22%Tech top 37%Growth top 40%Market top 43% All 8 signals ▾Fundingtop 22% Techtop 37% Growthtop 40% Markettop 43% Newstop 43% Talenttop 46% Moattop 48% Globalbottom 39% Funding: Raised $575M across 6 rounds · 6 rounds over 17 yrs (0.4/yr) Tech: 29 technologies across 4/8 capability areas · Cloud: Cloudflare, Vercel rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 64/100 | $575M | 17 mo ago | Acquired | Jim Murphy Co-Founder | 2000 | ContentstackApple iCloud MailNode.js+21 | — | 1 internship · 1 partnership |
| 2 | Exelon Provider of energy services with an electric and natural gas distribution | $20M | 86 mo ago | Public | Chris Crane CEO | 2000 | DrupalApple iCloud MailMicrosoft 365+28 | 7 patents Patents concentrated in computing, sensing & instrumentation | — |
| 3 | Lincoln Clean Energy Leading American renewable energy company developing and operating wind, solar, and storage projects | $14M | 101 mo ago | Acquired | — | 2009 | — | — | — |
| 4 | Cultivate Power It is a distributed solar and storage project developer focused on strengthening communities, the grid, and… | $10M | 32 mo ago | Series A | Noah Hyte Managing Director | 2008 | — | — | 4 job openings |
| 5 | Mycocycle Provider of solid waste recycling services 48Growth top 13%Funding top 35%Patents top 36%Innovation top 37% All 11 signals ▾Growthtop 13% Fundingtop 35% Patentstop 36% Innovationtop 37% Talentbottom 49% Fin. healthbottom 45% Techbottom 37% Globalbottom 37% Moatbottom 28% Newsbottom 22% Marketbottom 13% Growth: Revenue +122% YoY · Fresh capital in last 24 mo Funding: Raised $7.5M across 4 rounds · 4 rounds over 5 yrs (0.8/yr) rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 48/100 | $8M | 10 mo ago | Seed | Joanne Rodriguez Founder & CEO | 2018 | WordPress Block EditorWordPressMySQL+12 | 16 patents Fungal bioremediation of waste and gypsum; biodegradable polymer production for environmental cleanup | — |
| 6 | Waterly Provider of affordable water data management software 32Growth top 35%Funding top 41%Tech top 43%Global bottom 33% All 5 signals ▾Growthtop 35% Fundingtop 41% Techtop 43% Globalbottom 33% Marketbottom 12% Growth: Fresh capital in last 24 mo Funding: Raised $4.0M across 1 rounds · 1 rounds over 1 yrs (1.0/yr) rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 32/100 | $4M | 10 mo ago | Series A | — | 2017 | Cart FunctionalitySquarespace CommerceSquarespace+18 | — | — |
| 7 | Sagegreenlife Developer of green living wall systems | $3M | 136 mo ago | Series A | John Oberon COO | 2009 | Cart FunctionalityBootstrapBackbone.js+25 | 2 patents Smart control systems for automated vertical garden/vegetation wall environments | — |
| 8 | Trajectory Energy Partners Solar‑development company that focuses on building community‑scale and utility‑scale solar projects | $2M | 107 mo ago | Funding Raised | Josh Bushinsky Co-Founder | 2017 | — | — | — |
| 9 | Demi It aims to make composting mainstream by partnering with building managers to offer residents a convenient… | $100K | 36 mo ago | Seed | Andrew Lee Co-Founder | 2022 | — | — | — |
Top 12 Environment companies in Chicago
#1
Acquired · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2000 · 1276 employees$575Mraised▾
Developer and operator of sustainable energy solutions
- Jan 2025Series D—
- Aug 2023Conventional Debt$1.5B
- Jun 2023Series D—
- Jan 2022Series D—
#2
Seed · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2018 · 12 employees$7.5Mraised▾
Provider of solid waste recycling services
- Aug 2025Seed$2.1M
- Mar 2024Seed$3.9M
- May 2023Seed$2.2M
- 2022Seed$100K
#3
Series A · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2017 · 7 employees$4Mraised▾
Provider of affordable water data management software. This software simplifies water and wastewater operations by replacing spreadsheets and clipboards with a user-friendly digital solution. It facilitates real-time data transmission, enabling efficient data-driven decision-making and streamlined reporting. The software offers features for chemical dosage calculation, sample management, and regulatory report generation, improving operational efficiency and compliance. It integrates with various data sources, providing a comprehensive view of utility performance. The system is designed for ease of use and accessibility across various devices.
- Aug 2025Series A$4M
#4
Series A · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2020 · 9 employees$20Kraised▾
Provider of drink water services
- Apr 2026Series A$150K
- Oct 2025Series A$9.1M
- Dec 2022Seed—
- 2022Seed$20K
#5
Series A · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2008$10Mraised▾
It is a distributed solar and storage project developer that focuses on strengthening communities, the grid, and climate stability. They develop distributed energy resources and are committed to clean energy infrastructure in emerging community solar markets.
- Oct 2023Series A$10M
#6
Public · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2000 · 466 employees$20.3Mraised▾
Provider of energy services with an electric and natural gas distribution. The company is one of the largest operators of nuclear power plants in the United States. It was created in October 2000 by the merger of PECO Energy Company and Unicom, of Philadelphia and Chicago respectively. Producing 521-MW utility-scale & distributed solar power and claims to be the 4th largest solar power producer globally. The company has operations and business activities in 47 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada. The company merged with Constellation Energy Group in March 2012. In 2022, the company recorded annual revenues of $19.07B and a net profit of $2.17B.
- Apr 2019Post IPO$2M
- Jul 2012Grant (prize money)$18.3M
#7
Acquired · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2009 · 18 employees$14Mraised▾
Leading American renewable energy company developing and operating wind, solar, and storage projects. They develop, construct, and operate renewable projects, delivering reliable, sustainable, domestic energy across the United States. They are committed to building and shaping America’s clean energy industry, creating jobs, boosting economies, partnering with local communities, and conserving nature. Their approach includes workforce development, local community partnerships, and biodiversity conservation. They offer offshore wind, onshore wind, solar and storage, and power-to-X solutions. They are focused on a green transformation, moving from fossil fuels to renewables, and aim to achieve net-zero emissions across their entire value chain. They are a global clean energy leader, developing, constructing, and operating offshore and land-based wind farms, solar farms, energy storage facilities, and bioenergy plants.
- Jan 2018Conventional Debt—
- Apr 2011Venture Debt$41M
- Jan 2011Series A$14M
#8
Series A · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2009 · 25 employees$3.4Mraised▾
Developer of green living wall systems
- Feb 2015Series A$3.4M
#9
Funding Raised · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2017 · 22 employees$1.8Mraised▾
Solar‑development company that focuses on building community‑scale and utility‑scale solar projects. It collaborates with landowners, local communities, and organizations. Its services include site identification, permitting, community outreach, project financing, and managing construction through to energization.
- Jul 2017Conventional Debt$1.8M
#10
Seed · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2022 · 5 employees$100Kraised▾
It is a company that aims to make composting mainstream by partnering with building managers to offer residents a convenient and sleek composting solution. They provide sustainable merchandise and offer an online shop with free domestic shipping. Demi is focused on reducing food waste and its impact on the environment.
- 2023Seed$100K
#11
Seed · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2022 · 12 employees—raised▾
Developer of solar and wind energy power projects
- Apr 2023Seed—
#12
Seed · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2019 · 3 employees—raised▾
Provider of shopping platform for green buildings
- Apr 2021Seed—
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Environment coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
How research on Environmental Monitoring is moving in the United States
A read on the academic research around Environmental Monitoring — which themes are gaining ground, the institutions and researchers driving them, and how the tone is shifting. Based on 3,039 United States-affiliated papers.
- United States Geological Survey157
- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies112
- Environmental Protection Agency84
- National Research Council79
- National Park Service76
- Software deployment2→31
- Pollution3→27
- Air quality index1→25
- Water quality10→34
- Air pollution3→25
- Air quality index14→60
- Air pollution8→51
- Pollutant4→32
- Sampling (signal processing)14→42
- Water quality23→48
- Human health1→32
- Pollution4→33
- Air quality index6→31
- Pollutant6→28
- Biodiversity1→22
Where environmental monitoring is researched across United States
Location clusters by institution affiliation — each city's volume, stance tone, and a quick read on its hot topic, what's advancing, the opening opportunity, and the main concern.
Who's filing environmental monitoring patents in the United States
United States environmental monitoring patent filing is accelerating — 450 filings from 343 assignees (2016–2025), led by LEEO, Valencell, United Parcel Service; annual filings 47→49.
- LEEO41
- Valencell25
- United Parcel Service21
- Honeywell INT20
- Apple18
- Venturedyne18
- Pillar TECH17
- IND Scient16
Common questions
Rohit lives in the feed. He covers what's moving right now — the funding rounds, launches and shifts breaking across the trade press — and ties them back to where the sector is heading.