One year ago, we launched the Top Ten in Tech: Chicago, a bi-weekly newsletter designed to be your essential guide to the biggest news, events, and insights across the city's vibrant tech scene.
But we didn't stop at just the news. We've also brought you our unique perspective from the heart of TechNexus Venture Collaborative. Different members of our team have shared their expertise on everything from how we approach startup and corporate collaboration to our hands-on support for our portfolio companies long after our initial investment.
Now, as we celebrate this one-year milestone, we're shifting our focus from the past to the future. TechNexus founders Terry Howerton and Fred Hoch, who have been instrumental in building Chicago's tech ecosystem for over 20 years, are looking ahead. They're sharing 10 bold predictions for what Chicago's tech landscape will look like a decade from now.
Ten years from now, the current AI boom will have settled into a new normal. We’ll see driverless cars on our streets, new startups emerging to solve entirely new business challenges, and a city reborn by a deep-tech revolution.
10 Predictions for Chicago Tech in 2035
01 // Chicago Will Lead the Global Industrial AI Revolution
While the coasts battle for dominance in consumer AI, Chicago will emerge as the global leader in applying AI to legacy industries by 2035. Chicago’s unique strengths — its diversified economy and manufacturing prowess — position it as a city synonymous with industry reinvention.
Chicago's businesses, from agriculture to finance, are leveraging their vast history, proprietary data, and deep networks to integrate AI in new, transformative ways. This AI call to arms is forcing collaboration between sectors, creating an ecosystem where established companies and innovative startups are working together to solve some of the world’s most complex challenges.
The evidence is already here. Established giants like Caterpillar and John Deere have set up technology hubs in the city to build AI-powered digital tools for their operations. Similarly, financial leaders such as IMC and Morningstar are using AI and machine learning not as a side project, but as a core strategy to supercharge their financial operations and research. This shift proves that in Chicago, AI is about practical application and real-world results.
02 // Chicago Startups Will Become Acquirers, Signaling Ecosystem Maturity
The mergers and acquisitions landscape in Chicago will mature significantly as a new generation of high-growth startups transitions from being acquisition targets to becoming strategic acquirers themselves. A maturing ecosystem is not just measured by the size of its funding rounds, but by the ability of its successful companies to consolidate power and drive growth through strategic acquisitions. Chicago's tech community will evolve its ambition from being the “acquired” to being the “acquirer,” a signal of the city’s tech growth.
03 // In an AI Future, the Great Lakes Will Be a Strategic Asset
By 2035, the Great Lakes will be recognized as Chicago's most strategic natural resource for the data-driven economy. The Great Lakes, which contain approximately 20% of the world's freshwater, along with the region’s cool climate, make Chicago a highly attractive location for the "hot and thirsty" data centers required to power the AI revolution. Chicago will become a center of water innovation and a powerhouse in meeting our technological needs in the future. And the impacts of climate change will further boost the Great Lakes region in terms of both residents fleeing areas prone to extreme weather events, as well as climate-related technology companies increasingly choosing the region to build their businesses. This density of climate-tech startups will cement Chicago as a leading hub for climate innovation.
04 // Quantum Will Be the Core of Chicago's Global Identity
In 10 years, Chicago will be globally recognized as the central hub for quantum technology, an identity as defining as Silicon Valley's in the software industry. This is not a matter of chance, but the result of a coordinated, decade-long effort. Chicago’s bet on quantum is a purposeful and long-term strategic investment, a calculated risk that is now paying off.
Quantum isn’t here just because Chicago made a $500 million investment in 2024; it’s here because we are the right place for it. With the ecosystem Chicago has established around quantum, from local universities, national labs, industry partners, and government support, the pieces are in place for a quantum revolution. And let's not forget our history: Chicago is no stranger to world-changing scientific breakthroughs (ahem, the atomic bomb). We're built for this kind of innovation.
05 // Chicago’s Affordability Advantage Will Compound as the Costs Swell on the Coasts
Chicago’s long-standing affordability will become a critical differentiator, attracting talent and companies that find coastal hubs economically unsustainable. Chicago’s apartment rents remain lower than other large U.S. cities, and office rental rates are a fraction of those in New York City and San Francisco. This economic advantage, coupled with a diverse and resilient economy, creates a compelling value proposition for founders and employees alike.
06 // A New Wave of Tech-Powered Leaders Will Reshape Chicago's Civic Landscape
In 10 years, the civic and business leadership vacuum will be filled by a new class of leaders who have scaled technology companies and now apply a founder's mindset to civic and philanthropic challenges. Chicago works when there is a strong business community juxtaposed with a strong city leadership, including politicians, philanthropists, community builders, and volunteers. Today, Chicago has holes in both. On the business side, many of the great leaders of the past — Crown, Wirtz, Zell, McKenna — have passed along. A new group of leaders will arise from Chicago companies, in particular tech companies, to take a more active role in the civic elements of our city. In doing so, they will work to solidify Chicago as a leading technology city.
07 // Chicago's Universities Will Become Engines of Commercialization, Reversing the Brain Drain
The historical "brain drain" of top talent leaving Chicago will be definitively reversed as the city's universities and national labs become the primary engines for commercializing research and creating high-growth businesses that stay local. Chicago ranks third in the nation for producing STEM degrees, yet it also has one of the highest net losses of college-educated residents. This talent supply and demand gap is a core problem that the ecosystem is actively working to solve. Efforts like Alchemist Chicago and Harper Court Ventures, both affiliated with the University of Chicago, are working to turn university research into commercialized technology.
08 // Corporate Innovation Will Shift from "Theatre" to Genuine Partnership
In 10 years, Chicago's deep bench of Fortune 500 companies will have abandoned superficial "innovation centers" in favor of deep, meaningful collaborations and venture-style investments in startups. The era of "innovation theatre" is over; for a top corporation to remain competitive, it must integrate external innovation in a meaningful way.
09 // Tech Companies Demand Office Space That’s Community First and Flexible
As AI becomes ever-present, handling most of our routine tasks, the physical office evolves into a critical space for connection. In Chicago, workplaces will be intentionally designed to foster purposeful collaboration and combat the isolation of our digital world. Ultimately, the office becomes a space for human creativity and genuine connection that AI can't replicate. AI will have a profound impact not just on office space, but how buildings and entire business districts are redesigned and repositioned, disrupting the very concept of work and workplace.
10 // The "Midwest Modest" Brand Will Be Replaced by Bold, Global Confidence
The historic "Midwest modest" culture will be replaced by a bold, confident, and loud leadership style that aggressively trumpets Chicago's tech success on the national and global stages. For too long, Chicago's culture of humility was seen as a barrier to attracting a level of attention commensurate with its strengths. Led by a new wave of leaders from Gen Z, Millennial, and Gen X generations who are rejecting this historical nature, this change is a strategic effort beyond simply marketing that changes external perception and attracts capital.