Best Life Sciences Companies in Chicago, United States
The 205 best Life Sciences companies in Chicago, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Tempus.
Our analysis of 164 Life Sciences companies
$34.7b in tracked funding; 83% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2025.
Ranked: Best Life Sciences companies in Chicago
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Stage | Employees | Founder | Tech stack | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tempus 🦄 Developer of genomic testing and artificial intelligence tools for medicine | $1.1B | 44 mo ago | Public | 772 | Eric Lefkofsky Founder & CEO | Cart FunctionalityWordPressApple iCloud Mail+33 | 594 patents AI-powered medical diagnostics: imaging biomarkers, liquid biopsy genomics, and cardiac ECG analysis | — |
| 2 | Xeris Pharmaceuticals Developer of liquid-stable injectables for the delivery of drugs | $155M | 53 mo ago | Public | 294 294 → 506 (+72%) | Steve Prestrelski Co-Founder & CSO | DrupalApple iCloud MailPHP+32 | 249 patents Stable drug formulations, especially levothyroxine, using aprotic polar solvents | 1 internship · 1 award |
| 3 | Evozyne Developer of proteins using protein engineering technology | $144M | 33 mo ago | Series B | 73 | Rama Ranganathan Co-Founder & CSO | WordPressMySQLPHP+17 | 2 patents AI-driven design of synthetic proteins for protein engineering applications | — |
| 4 | Cour Pharma Developer of biotech nano-particles for immune diseases | $135M | 28 mo ago | Series A | 31 | John Puisis Founder | — | — | — |
| 5 | Questia Resource Library for researchers | $130M | 268 mo ago | Acqui-Hired | 14 | — | — | — | — |
| 6 | Vanqua Bio Developer of therapeutics to treat neurodegenerative diseases | $130M | 28 mo ago | Series B | 29 | Jim Sullivan Co-Founder and CEO | — | — | — |
| 7 | Chromatin Developer of plant breeding technologies for resilient and productive agri-food systems | $122M | 108 mo ago | Series F | 92 | Mich Hein CEO | — | 90 patents Engineering crop herbicide tolerance and synthetic minichromosomes via ACC mutations and centromere manipulation | — |
| 8 | Pathos 🦄 Provider of AI based drug discovery platform for drug development | $102M | 14 mo ago | Series D | 12 | Ryan Fukushima Co-Founder | DudaApple iCloud MailGoogle Workspace+14 | — | 2 job openings · 1 internship |
| 9 | Sparrow Pharmaceuticals Developer of drugs for the treatment of endocrine disorders | $61M | 12 mo ago | Series B | 10 | — | — | — | — |
| 10 | Nucle AI AI-assisted platform for image analysis | $60M | 26 mo ago | Series B | 9 | Lotan Chorev Co-Founder and VP R&D | — | — | — |
| 11 | Attune Medical Esophageal cooling device | $38M | 66 mo ago | Acquired | 41 | — | — | — | — |
| 12 | Celsis Microbial screening systems. | $37M | 201 mo ago | Acquired | 93 | — | — | 4 patents Microbial detection diagnostics and nucleic‑acid extraction reagents for cell lysis. | — |
| 13 | Novian Health Developer of a device for the treatment of malignant and benign breast tumors | $33M | 29 mo ago | Series B | 10 | Chip Appelbaum President & CEO | — | — | — |
| 14 | SIA Developer of bioabsorbable mesh for reconstructive and aesthetic surgery. | $28M | 54 mo ago | Acquired | 14 | Alexei Mlodinow Co-Founder & CEO | — | — | — |
| 15 | Xentria Developer of therapeutics for treating cancer, metabolic diseases & musculoskeletal diseases | $25M | 44 mo ago | Series B | 2 | Tom Shea CEO | SalesforceAOSHSTS+4 | 11 patents Immunogenicity assays for anti‑TNFα biologics and TNF‑α antibody therapies for sarcoidosis | — |
| 16 | Dimension Inx Provider of 3D bio materials for regenerative medicine | $18M | 40 mo ago | Series A | 27 | Ramille Shah Co-Founder & CSO | — | 12 patents 3D-printed self-gelling biomaterials for implantable cell-encapsulation devices. | 1 internship |
| 17 | Atraverse Medical Developing next-generation tools for left-heart access | $18M | 13 mo ago | Acquired | — | Eric Sauter Co-Founder | WordPressMySQLPHP+15 | — | 5 job openings |
| 18 | Cardiosense Developer of wearable sensor and AI platform for cardiac monitoring | $15M | 42 mo ago | Series A | 15 | Amit Gupta Co-Founder & CEO | — | 2 patents Wearable and implantable physiological monitoring devices with data analysis and presentation. | 1 launch |
| 19 | ClostraBio Developer of therapeutics to treat inflammatory bowel disease and food allergy | $14M | 44 mo ago | Series A | 6 | — | WeeblyMySQLPHP+13 | 10 patents Patents concentrated in health & consumer products | 2 awards |
| 20 | Edge Surgical Provider of digital depth gauge for the measurement of bones 27Moat top 32%Funding top 36%Patents top 38%Innovation top 42% All 8 signals ▾Moattop 32% Fundingtop 36% Patentstop 38% Innovationtop 42% Producttop 46% Techbottom 47% Globalbottom 40% Marketbottom 22% Moat: Editorial + unicorn rating 7/10 · IP moat: 71 patents Funding: Raised $14.4M across 10 rounds · 10 rounds over 10 yrs (1.0/yr) rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 27/100 | $14M | 13 mo ago | Series A | 8 | — | WordPress Site EditorWordPressMySQL+21 | 71 patents Precision depth-sensing surgical tools and robot-assisted handheld medical devices | — |
| 21 | Amphix Bio Developer of supramolecular therapeutic peptides for regenerative medicine applications | $13M | 6 mo ago | Seed | 2 | Samuel Stupp Co-Founder | — | — | — |
| 22 | Vodori Cloud based marketing solutions for life sciences companies | $12M | 56 mo ago | Series A | 38 38 → 57 (+50%) | — | HubSpot CMS HubYouTubeEnvoy+14 | — | 1 job opening |
| 23 | Madison Scientific Developer of an integrated management solution for hydrocephalus treatment optimization | $11M | 17 mo ago | Series A | — | Tyler Wanke Co-Founder & CEO | — | — | 1 partnership |
| 24 | Simergent Manufacturer of automated peritoneal dialysis system | $11M | 26 mo ago | Series A | 8 | — | — | 24 patents Automated peritoneal dialysis systems with customizable dialysate delivery | — |
| 25 | Clarix Imaging Provider of 3D specimen radiography medical imaging devices | $10M | 32 mo ago | Series A | 15 15 → 28 (+87%) | — | JoomlaPHPHelix Ultimate+10 | 16 patents Intraoperative volumetric imaging and co-registration of tissue specimens for pathology guidance | — |
| 26 | DeNovX Pharmaceutical company that provides platform products for pharmaceutical and medical nutrition uses | $10M | 15 mo ago | Funding Raised | 7 | Andrew Bond Co-Founder & COO | — | 12 patents Controlled crystal nucleation using surface‑energy‑modified amorphous substrates in solution | — |
| 27 | BiomeSense Developer of AI-enabled technology platform for microbiome data generation and analysis | $8M | 15 mo ago | Seed | 5 | Jack Gilbert Co-Founder | WebflowGSAPLenis+11 | 11 patents Microbiome diagnostic tools for stool sample collection and analysis | — |
| 28 | MAIA Developer of immunotherapeutic solutions for cancer treatment | $8M | 5 mo ago | Public | 18 18 → 25 (+39%) | Vlad Vitoc Md Founder and CEO | WordPressMySQLPHP+17 | — | 1 expansion |
| 29 | Oxalo Therapeutics Developing innovative therapeutics for rare kidney diseases and recurrent kidney stones | $7M | 16 mo ago | Funding Raised | 2 | Hatim Hassan Co-Founder | — | — | — |
| 30 | CiRC Biosciences Developer of cell therapies for eye diseases | $7M | 26 mo ago | Funding Raised | 6 | — | — | — | — |
| 31 | BriteSeed Surgical tools using hyperspectral imaging for safer, more effective procedures | $6M | 10 mo ago | Funding Raised | 8 | Mayank Vijayvergia Lead Engineer and Co-founder | — | 85 patents Intraoperative optical and electrical tissue/vessel characterization and imaging systems. | — |
| 32 | MetaMe Health Provider of digital therapeutics for gut health | $6M | 26 mo ago | Seed | 8 | — | — | — | — |
| 33 | Syenex Developer of cell-specific delivery systems and programmable cell engineering payloads | $5M | 17 mo ago | Series B | 9 | Jay Rosanelli CEO & Co-Founder | — | 5 patents Targeted biologic delivery using receptor‑engaging engineered lipid particles | — |
| 34 | Microsensor Labs Developer of lab-on-chip diagnostic technology for cancer and HAI | $5M | 8 mo ago | Funding Raised | — | Peng Paul Liu President and CEO | — | 14 patents Automated microbial detection, cell sorting, and hygiene compliance monitoring systems | — |
| 35 | Hubly Developer of electrical bed system for intracranial access | $4M | 35 mo ago | Seed | 5 | Casey Grage Founder & CEO | Cart FunctionalityWordPressMySQL+22 | 20 patents Orthopedic surgical drilling systems with integrated guide hubs, automatic retraction, and plunge protection | — |
| 36 | Vivacelle Bio Developer of nano-micelles technology-based colloids for restoring blood pressure | $4M | 16 mo ago | Series A | 4 | Harven Deshield Jd Chief Executive Officer | — | — | — |
| 37 | OrisDX Developer of genomic-based diagnostic test for cancer | $4M | 12 mo ago | Seed | 3 | Nishant Agrawal Co-Founder | — | — | — |
| 38 | Grove Biopharma Developer of AI-based drug modality platform for protein-based drugs | $4M | 13 mo ago | Series A | 7 | Geoff Duyk Co-Founder | WebflowGSAPcore-js+10 | — | — |
| 39 | Aqualung Therapeutics Biotech developing novel anti-inflammatory therapies for immune-driven diseases | $3M | 6 mo ago | Series A | 5 | Joe Gn Garcia Md Founder and CEO | — | — | — |
| 40 | Neopenda Provider of wearable neonatal signs monitor 16Moat top 38%Funding top 42%Tech top 43%Talent bottom 49% All 12 signals ▾Moattop 38% Fundingtop 42% Techtop 43% Talentbottom 49% Productbottom 47% Growthbottom 43% Globalbottom 37% Innovationbottom 36% Patentsbottom 25% Marketbottom 22% Fin. healthbottom 19% Newsbottom 18% Moat: Editorial + unicorn rating 7/10 · IP moat: 3 patents Funding: Raised $2.7M across 12 rounds · 12 rounds over 8 yrs (1.5/yr) rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 16/100 | $3M | 1 mo ago | Seed | 14 | Teresa Cauvel Co-founder and CTO | WixSentryBootstrap+14 | 3 patents Wearable neonatal vital‑sign monitoring systems | 1 job opening · 1 launch · 1 expansion |
| 41 | Belay Diagnostics Developer of sequencing technologies to detect brain and spinal cord cancers | $3M | 13 mo ago | Funding Raised | — | Jonathan Dudley Co-Founder | — | — | 2 job openings |
| 42 | Flow Medical Developer of medical device for interventional pulmonary embolism treatment | $2M | 18 mo ago | Seed | 5 | Osman Ahmed Co-Founder | Cart FunctionalitySquarespace CommerceSquarespace+14 | — | — |
| 43 | HumanImage Developer of three-dimensional imaging device for skin lesion and cancer tracking | $2M | 2 mo ago | Seed | — | David Teplica Founder & CEO & CMO | — | 5 patents Three‑dimensional body surface imaging for medical and fitness avatar creation | — |
| 44 | Exactics Developer of rapid diagnostic solutions for convenient at-home healthcare use | $2M | 8 mo ago | Funding Raised | — | Dylan Murray Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer | — | — | — |
| 45 | Oxygen Imaging Developer of oxygen imaging instruments for cancer and regenerative medicine therapies | $1M | 12 mo ago | Funding Raised | — | Mrignayani Kotecha CEO | — | — | — |
| 46 | Opera Bioscience Developer of proteins for biotech and therapeutics purposes | $874K | 13 mo ago | Funding Raised | 2 | Gerry Sapienza Cofounder | — | — | — |
| 47 | Nuago Therapeutics Developer of gene therapies for cancer treatment | $550K | 21 mo ago | Seed | — | Robert Schickel Chief Executive Officer | — | — | — |
| 48 | Tango Biosciences Provider of biomarkers and proteins for expression and purification methods | $314K | 11 mo ago | Funding Raised | 4 | Brian Kay Co-founder & President | WordPress Block EditorWordPressMySQL+23 | — | 1 launch · 1 expansion |
| 49 | SNC Therapeutics Provider of drug and nonviral gene delivery platform technology for immunotherapy | $250K | 10 mo ago | Seed | — | Jeffrey Hubbell Co-Founder | — | — | — |
| 50 | Inomagen Developer of gene therapy for treating cardiovascular diseases | $200K | 12 mo ago | Seed | 5 | Rishi Arora CEO | — | — | — |
Top 12 Life Sciences companies in Chicago
#1
Seed · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2015 · 14 employees$2.7Mraised▾
Provider of wearable neonatal signs monitor. The device is a small low-cost neonatal vital signs monitor integrated into a baby hat and uses a simple sensor array to measure heart rate, respiratory rate, blood oxygen saturation, and temperature. The sensors are powered by rechargeable batteries, and wirelessly transmit data to a central monitor which alerts attending healthcare professionals when a newborn is in immediate danger. It is intended for critically ill newborns being cared for in hospitals in low-resource countries such as Uganda.
- Apr 2026Conventional Debt$35K
- Nov 2024Conventional Debt$200K
- Sep 2022Conventional Debt$700K
- Apr 2021Seed$1.4M
#2
Series B · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2013 · 10 employees$61.4Mraised▾
Developer of drugs for the treatment of endocrine disorders. The company is developing targeted therapies that utilize HSD-1 inhibition to address unmet needs in endocrinology and rheumatology such as endogenous Cushing’s syndrome (Cushing’s) and autonomous cortisol secretion (ACS), and autoimmune diseases such as polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR).
- Jun 2025Series B$95M
- Apr 2024Series A$10M
- May 2021Series A$50M
- Jan 2021Series A$1.1M
#3
Public · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2018 · 18 employees$8Mraised▾
Developer of immunotherapeutic solutions for cancer treatment. It offers telomere targeting agent MAIA and THIO for the treatment of multiple cancer by targeting and modifying telomeric structures of cancer cells through cancer-cell intrinsic telomerase activity.
- Dec 2025Post IPO$1.5M
- Sep 2025Post IPO$3M
- Sep 2025Grant (prize money)$770.2K
- May 2025Post IPO$695K
#4
Pathos 🦄Series D · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2022 · 12 employees$102Mraised▾
Provider of AI based drug discovery platform for drug development. The company licenses or co develops clinical stage therapeutics, optimizing patient selection strategies for accelerated, biomarker driven drug development. It utilizes real world oncology data and patient derived functional genomic data to identify and validate compelling biology, aiming to develop efficacious drugs for patients with unmet needs and enhance patient outcomes.
- Apr 2025Series D$283M
- Oct 2024Series C$62M
#5
Seed · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2019 · 2 employees$12.8Mraised▾
Developer of supramolecular therapeutic peptides for regenerative medicine applications. It focuses on creating regenerative therapeutics using supramolecular chemistry to promote healing after traumatic injury and improve human healthspan. The company's platform utilizes supramolecular structures to encode interactions between molecules, activate regenerative signals, and create scaffolds for tissue growth. This technology aims to regenerate cells and tissues effectively without the challenges associated with cell therapies. The company has pipeline programs in neurological and musculoskeletal regeneration.
- Dec 2025Seed$12.5M
- Sep 2024Grant (prize money)—
- Mar 2022Grant (prize money)$252.9K
#6
Series A · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2010 · 5 employees$3.1Mraised▾
Biotech developing novel anti-inflammatory therapies for immune-driven diseases. They focus on identifying and targeting key activators of inflammatory and fibrotic cascades. Their lead monoclonal antibody is designed to address unchecked inflammation in acute and chronic conditions. They employ a platform strategy involving monoclonal antibodies, biomarkers, and genotypes for serious inflammatory, fibrotic, and autoimmune disorders. They are committed to finding novel targets in the treatment of inflammatory diseases and working collaboratively with regulatory bodies to ensure appropriate review for unmet medical needs. They are exploring eNAMPT as a key target and applying the novel biologic therapeutic to address the “unchecked inflammation and fibrosis” elicited by dysregulated innate immunity pathways.
- Dec 2025Grant (prize money)$2.1M
- May 2025Grant (prize money)$2.5M
- Feb 2025Grant (prize money)$1.9M
- Sep 2022Grant (prize money)$259.6K
#7
Seed · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2021$1.5Mraised▾
Developer of three-dimensional imaging device for skin lesion and cancer tracking. The company develops AnthroCam, a 3D imaging device that creates high-resolution, life-sized avatars of skin surfaces using non-invasive visible light technology. It enables tracking subtle changes for early skin cancer detection, rooted in decades of anatomic imaging research.
- Mar 2026Seed$1.5M
#8
Funding Raised · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2012$4.9Mraised▾
Developer of lab-on-chip diagnostic technology for cancer and HAI. The company develops CMOS sensor technology systems with existing semiconductor manufacturing technology to address challenges faced by medical professionals and lab researchers. Initial applications being developed include liquid biopsy for cancer, diagnosis of hospital-acquired infections, and environmental monitoring.
- Sep 2025Grant (prize money)$181.5K
- Apr 2022Grant (prize money)$2M
- Jan 2019Grant (prize money)$300K
- Sep 2018Grant (prize money)$1.7M
#9
Series A · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2015 · 8 employees$14.4Mraised▾
Provider of digital depth gauge for the measurement of bones. The company's electronic depth gauge (The EDG) is a digital depth gauge for the orthopedics market. The device is intended to measure surgically created orthopedic bone screw holes. The device makes measurements during surgery, it can be held in one hand, and it consists of a lock to lock the reading of the device. The company also offers a device EDG SPINE which is specific to spine surgeries.
- Apr 2025Series A$1M
- Feb 2023Series A$735K
- Mar 2022Series A$820K
- May 2021Series A$323.6K
#10
Acquired · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2022$17.5Mraised▾
Developing next-generation tools for left-heart access. It offers medical devices and procedures that allow surgeons to access the left side of the heart to treat patients with heart failure and other heart conditions.
- Apr 2025Series A$29.4M
- Feb 2025Conventional Debt$15M
- May 2024Seed$12.5M
- Feb 2023Seed$5M
#11
Funding Raised · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2012 · 8 employees$6.5Mraised▾
Surgical tools using hyperspectral imaging for safer, more effective procedures. This company develops surgical instruments for the next generation operating room. They are delivering hyperspectral imaging technology integrated into laparoscopic and robotic surgical tools. This platform provides real-time sensing of critical structures to improve safety and outcomes of surgical procedures. They are developing a suite of surgical instruments, including advanced energy, stapler, and dissection solutions. This platform provides dynamic information to surgeons about the presence of hidden structures such as blood vessels, ureters, and nerves, as well as the quality of tissues. The integrated technology offers smart detection in your favorite tools with a smart vision engine for power and precision. It provides real-time visualization of critical structures and fits seamlessly into surgical workflows to provide critical, actionable information displayed onto existing surgical monitors. This is a B2B tech company in the medical device industry.
- Jul 2025Grant (prize money)$1.4M
- Sep 2024Grant (prize money)$306.7K
- May 2017Grant (prize money)$1.3M
- Dec 2016Grant (prize money)$1.4M
#12
Funding Raised · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2011 · 7 employees$9.7Mraised▾
DeNovX is an innovative pharmaceutical company that provides platform products for pharmaceutical uses. Its pharmaceutical products division is advancing the development of a treatment for ulcerative colitis. The lead product for the same is DNVX-078, for the treatment of mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis (UC), with platform extension opportunities into other diseases
- Mar 2025Grant (prize money)$2M
- Sep 2024Grant (prize money)$350K
- Sep 2022Grant (prize money)$2.5M
- Aug 2021Grant (prize money)$313.2K
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Life Sciences coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
How research on Biotechnology in Chicago is moving
A read on the academic research around Biotechnology in Chicago — which themes are gaining ground, the institutions and researchers driving them, and how the tone is shifting. Based on 53 papers.
University of Chicago, UIC, and Loyola dominantly research RNA modifications, epigenetics, and cancer gene regulation with an optimistic tone, breakthroughs outpacing concerns nearly 3-to-1.
- University of Chicago31
- University of Illinois Chicago18
- Loyola University Chicago7
- Chicago Department of Public Health2
- Messenger RNA5
- DNA methylation3
- DNA demethylation3
- Methylation2
- N6-Methyladenosine2
- Cell culture3
- Induced pluripotent stem cell2
- Cell growth2
- Phthalate2
- Gene expression2
- Effector1
- Transcription activator-like effector nuclease1
- Exploit1
- Mechanism (biology)1
- Cancer1