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In this week’s newsletter: upcoming fireside with Techstars co-founder Brad Feld, Chicago startups that hit $100M by founding year, and a local dev’s city-trained ChatGPT: landonsloop.com/p/115

Let’s talk about it: lu.ma/3c39pddp

How cool would it be if Chicago became the first city to subsidize AI infra for startups. Just read about the #MeluXina supercomputer in Luxembourg 🇱🇺 which lets startups access 1,500 GPU hours + 10 TB of storage AND 80% cash back on extra HPC costs. We have Aurora (largest

Gear up for Lollapalooza with a pre-festival tech immersion during TechChicago Week on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. Experience sounds from All Love Chi on our rooftop, where innovation meets festival fun against the backdrop of the Chicago skyline. Register: lu.ma/zn6woxwi

The next breakout in AI won’t be a model. It’ll be the layer that makes models usable. Most teams don’t want to deal with the complexities of managing LLMs. They just want to build and ship. That’s why the real battle in AI is happening in the layer above the model:

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Chicago owns about 10,000 vacant lots mostly on the South and West Sides. On top of that, there are over 16,600 more lots the City is in the process of taking over. A ton of space that could support new housing.

The greatest emerging market for venture is America 🇺🇸 🚙

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Last week I met the CEO of Celadyne Technologies, a Chicago startup making hydrogen tech more efficient. The more we talked, the clearer it became: Chicago is built for hydrogen With clean energy, water, and heavy machinery already in place it’s a natural fit: landonsloop.com/p/116

Day 2 of The Daily Grind: Midwest Startup Edition h/t Landon for first sharing our featured headline about Drive Capital, who had a massive week. Plus wisdom from OG adman Claude C. Hopkins, and an intention-setting question to start your week. Enjoy!

Illinois has a little bit of everything on the clean energy front: 💨 Strong wind in the central part of the state ♻️ Biomass ☢️ Largest nuclear fleet in the country

Today, Illinois is the heart of America’s nuclear backbone. But tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to light the path for the next wave of innovation while keeping the lights on at home. Let’s lean in. Great op-ed Micky Horstman

Well that’s 🆒 Thanks for flagging! Ben Putano 📚

Honestly didn't know much about Drive Capital until this week, but their strategy seems very cohesive: 1. Focus on “boring” industries. Where startups in Silicon Valley often aim for novelty, Drive’s focus is on disrupting old, forgotten industries, like auto insurance (Root),

⏰ Less than 3 weeks away! Hear from Landon , investor and Chicago GM at Drive Capital and learn why he's excited for this year's Capital Summit during TechChicago week!