Chicago, IL October 27th, 2016 — FourKites has been named one of the winners of the 15th annual Chicago Innovation Awards.
The winners were announced at an event held at Chicago’s Harris Theater on Tuesday, October 25, with nearly 1500 business and civic leaders and supporters of innovation in attendance. The Chicago Innovation Awards, celebrating its 15 year, is the Chicago region’s foremost recognition of the most innovative new products or services brought to market or to public service each year.
Founded in 2014, FourKites created a new transportation software category with real-time tracking and henceforth began the modernization of industry standards. FourKites’ award-winning innovation, its comprehensive real-time tracking platform uses a combination of data sources and software – mobile, cloud, and analytics – to provide real-time load tracking across more than 2.5 million trucks that serve as the backbone of global commerce.
FourKites recently raised $13 million in Series A funding, led by Bain Capital Ventures, to expand its disruption of the $700 billion transportation industry with additional innovative B2B applications.
“Local innovators continue to illuminate the Chicago region as a growing hotbed of creative activity that cuts across all sectors and industries,” said Tom Kuczmarski, co-founder with Chicago journalist Dan Miller of the awards. “Every winner of the Chicago Innovation Awards demonstrates how a unique solution to an unmet need can bring transformative impact in the marketplace.”
“Innovations arise from a striking need – a pain point – that an industry is experiencing,” said FourKites CEO Matt Elenjickal. “Many forward-thinking Chicago institutions – from Kellogg School of Management to some of our initial investors at Hyde Park Angels and Hyde Park Venture Partners, among others – recognized that FourKites could solve these pain points and nurtured our growth and success. I’m very fortunate to be surrounded by some of the brightest minds in the country.”
The winning organizations receive a variety of honors including the opportunity to ring the NASDAQ Bell in New York City, and meetings with the Mayor, Governor and Cook County President.
“A record-breaking 643 organizations nominated for this year’s awards,” said Luke Tanen, Executive Director of the Chicago Innovation Awards. “We are seeing an influx of talent and capital that continues to fuel innovation activity in the Chicago region.”
The complete list of this year’s Chicago Innovation Award winners can be found at www.chicagoinnovationawards.com.
The Chicago Innovation Awards are supported by Gold Sponsors Comcast Business, Wintrust Financial and SMS Assist; Silver Sponsors Tyson, Vedder Price, LinkedIn, and others.
