Chicago's startup ecosystem continues to evolve, and one of the most quietly potent categories on the rise is Cloud, Cybersecurity, and DevOps. While often overshadowed by flashier verticals like fintech or healthtech, this infrastructure layer of the tech stack powers the very software and data systems that modern startups, enterprises, and governments rely on. In mapping the early-stage ventures shaping this space, we found a diverse array of founders solving real pain points – from developer tooling and application infrastructure to cybersecurity and threat response.
The Boring But Critical Layer of the Stack
What’s unique about Chicago’s early-stage Cloud / Cyber / DevOps category is its practicality. Many of these ventures focus not on moonshots but on immediate, value-driving solutions – no-code dev tools, cloud cost analytics, load testing, and compliance automation. They're building the boring stuff – and that's a good thing. This is infrastructure Chicago can win at: practical, foundational tech solving complex enterprise challenges.
Select sub-categories TechNexus is watching closely:
App Development & Digital Infrastructure
With ‘vibe-coding’ now in the modern lexicon, it’s no secret that there is an influx of tools and platforms helping both expert and amateur software engineers push out more product.
- Draftbit and Ulap empower users to build and deploy apps without code or requiring expert-level DevOps know-how
- Airro and Xupe offer end-to-end design, AI-support, and development services for startups and enterprises alike
- Kove delivers high-performance memory infrastructure, bringing cloud efficiency to hardware
DevOps Tooling & Performance Analytics
Performance, documentation, and reliability remain evergreen needs – especially as engineering teams are expected to move faster without sacrificing stability. As systems scale and toolchains fragment, developer experience and cost awareness have become as important as code quality.
- Dev-docs, Perforator, and Testable help developers document, test, and optimize with minimal friction
- CloudForecast and Tractiv (acquired by Inveniam Capital Partners this May) give engineering teams granular visibility into AWS spend and data traceability
Network Management & Emergency Response:
61% of organizations now operate hybrid network environments that combine on-premise infrastructure with public and/or private cloud services (think of a hospital system running critical patient data locally for compliance, while using AWS for analytics and storage at scale). This complexity necessitates advanced network management solutions capable of providing seamless visibility and control across platforms.
- Kognitive Networks, and EyeOTmonitor are rethinking how physical networks are built, secured, and visualized
- Kinetic Global and Aegis App provide critical response platforms to safeguard employees in moments of crisis and ensure powerful authentication services
Why It Matters
These are the companies making software faster to build, cheaper to deploy, safer to use, and easier to maintain. And in a city built on industry and execution, it makes sense that Chicago is producing startups in Cloud / Cyber / DevOps that are gritty, technical, and commercially grounded.
Are we missing any ventures in our landscape? Reach out to joey@technexus.com to share your thoughts.