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Lightbank

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lightbank
TypeFinancial organization/venture fund
IndustryFinance
venture funding
Founded2010; 16 years ago (2010)
FoundersEric Lefkofsky
Brad Keywell
Headquarters,
Key people
  • Eric Lefkofsky
  • Brad Keywell
  • Paul Lee
Websitelightbank.com

Lightbank is a Chicago-based venture capital firm founded in 2010 by Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell.[1][2][3]

History

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The company was founded in 2010[2] by Groupon co-founders Brad Keywell and Eric Lefkofsky.[4] Lefkofsky was a special advisor of Lightbank in 2014 and 2015, then became managing partner in November 2015.[5] Other partners include Eric Ong, Matt Sacks, and Bill Pescatello.

In 2011, Lightbank had raised over $700 million and had a $290 million Fund III. Its investments included Groupon, Tempus AI, Fiverr and Udemy.[6] By 2013, other investments included Sprout Social and Belly.[7] It invested in Boom Technology in 2017,[8] SpotHero in 2014,[9] and BenchPrep and Qwiki by 2021 among others.[10]

References

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  1. Rogers, Bruce (2012-10-24). "How Chicago-Based Lightbank Is Fixing A Broken VC Model". Forbes. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  2. 1 2 Baverman, Laura (2012-12-20). "Lightbank and Kleiner Perkins create Windy City vs. Silicon Valley design fight". Bizjournals. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  3. Marek, Lynne (2012-06-11). "Lightbank shines on more startups". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  4. Business Insider "INSIDE GROUPON: The Truth About The World's Most Controversial Company" October 31, 2011
  5. Sky, Blue (30 November 2015). "Lefkofsky lands back at Lightbank after stepping down as Groupon CEO". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2016-06-13.
  6. Wolinsky, David (12 October 2011). "Lightbank Gives $3 Million in Financing to Udemy". NBC Chicago. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
  7. Truong, Alice (2013-08-27). "Belly Raises $12.1 Million To Replace Loyalty Cards With Its App". Fast Company. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
  8. "Japan Airlines and Boom Announce Partnership for Supersonic Air Travel". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2019-02-28.
  9. "Investors park $4.5 million in SpotHero". Crain's Chicago Business. 2014-06-10. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
  10. "Hello Divorce raises $2M so that couples can say 'good-bye' easier". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
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