Tech & Startup Events in Chicago

Chicago is the Midwest's strongest startup hub, with deep roots in B2B SaaS, logistics, fintech, and manufacturing tech. The city hosts hundreds of founder events each year. Browse upcoming startup and networking events in Chicago.

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Mon, Oct 12

Tue, Oct 13

Tue, Oct 13

Women in Tech Chicago 2026

We're looking for a host in Chicago! - TBA, Chicago, IL 02108, Chicago, IL, US

8:00 PM - 10:30 PMOutGeekWomen - Badass Pros

Thu, Oct 15

Fri, Oct 16

Fri, Oct 16

Mon, Oct 19

Tue, Oct 20

Tue, Oct 20

The Complete Innovator

The Second City - 230 West North Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614, Chicago, IL, US

4:00 PM - 7:30 PMChicago Innovation

Tue, Oct 27

Wed, Oct 28

Fri, Oct 30

Mon, Nov 2

Tech Pulse 2030

Discovery Partners Institute - 200 South Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL, 60606, US

Time TBDeventbrite.com

Tue, Nov 3

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Related guides

Resources for founders and operators in this city.

City Guides

Chicago Startup Events: What Founders Need to Know

Find the best Chicago startup events for founders. Curated list of B2B SaaS meetups, logistics tech events, and networking dinners in Chicago.

Upcoming events in Chicago

Mon, Oct 12

Investing Essentials: Secrets to Building Effective Slide Decks

Venue to be announced

12:00 PM - 1:00 PMpolsky.uchicago.edu

<p>The Polsky Center Investor-in-Residence Tim Kelly, MBA \'00, will discuss the ways to build a presentation that communicates your ideas and inspires your audience. This workshop will help you understand the structure of a “winning” slide deck that helps tell a compelling story. It will be particularly helpful for students participating in the Private Equity...</p>\n

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Tue, Oct 13

College New Venture Challenge (CNVC): Application Workshop and Quick Pitch Event

Charles M. Harper Center, 5807 S Woodlawn Ave, C01, Chicago, Illinois 60637 - 5807 S Woodlawn Ave, Chicago, Illinois, Chicago

5:00 PM - 6:00 PMpolsky.uchicago.edu

<p>Undergraduate students interested in applying to the College New Venture Challenge (CNVC) are encouraged to attend this workshop. During the session, we’ll review the different components of the application and answer questions. Time will also be reserved for optional quick pitches where students can share their venture ideas and connect with peers.</p>\n

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Women in Tech 2026 - Chicago Team Ticket

Looking for a host! - hello@outgeek.org, 5th Floor, Chicago, IL 02110, Chicago, IL, US

5:00 PM - 7:30 PMOutGeek: Women in Tech

Everyone is invited. Are you in? #womenintech #outgeekwomen

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Chicago AI Pilot Exchange: Startups, Operators & Real Use Cases

TeamWorking by TechNexus - 20 North Wacker Drive, #12th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606, Chicago, IL, US

6:00 PM - 9:00 PMChicago Emerging Tech Network

AI founders meet operators and business leaders around real pilot opportunities—not generic pitching, panels or open networking mixers.

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Tue, Oct 13

Women in Tech Chicago 2026

We're looking for a host in Chicago! - TBA, Chicago, IL 02108, Chicago, IL, US

8:00 PM - 10:30 PMOutGeekWomen - Badass Pros

All the badass women in tech, are you in? #outgeekwomen #womenintech

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InsurTech Chicago - AI: Limited or Limitless?

Willis Tower - 233 South Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60606, Chicago, IL, US

4:00 PM - 7:00 PMInsurTech Chicago

Join us for AI: Limited or Limitless on October 14, 2026. Explore the real impact of AI on the workforce and discuss what the future holds.

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Thu, Oct 15

Business Acumen: From Solo to Team – Hiring, HR, and Managing People

Polsky Exchange North, 1452 E 53rd St, Chicago, Illinois 60615 - 1452 E 53rd St, Chicago, Illinois, Illinois 60615

10:00 AM - 12:00 PMpolsky.uchicago.edu

<p>This session covers the full arc from identifying when you’re ready to hire to recruiting, onboarding, and managing people effectively on a small business budget, including the strategic use of interns. Speakers will address how AI is reshaping hiring: from AI-assisted job description writing and candidate screening to onboarding tools that help small businesses deliver...</p>\n

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AI TECH Startup Pitch & Investor Connect — Chicago

Emerald Loop Bar & Grill - 216 North Wabash Avenue, Chicago, IL 60601, Chicago, IL, US

6:00 PM - 9:00 PMNomad Global Hub

Evening designed specifically for investors, scouts, enture-ready founders and Tech enthusiasts in Chicago

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Fri, Oct 16

Application Deadline: Private Equity and Venture Capital (PE/VC) Lab

Venue to be announced

3:00 PMpolsky.uchicago.edu

<p>The Private Equity and Venture Capital Lab (PE/VC Lab) was created for Chicago Booth MBA students to learn firsthand about the PE and VC industries. Through the combination of an intensive internship at a PE or VC firm and an academic course, students become active participants in the analysis of real-world investment decisions made by...</p>\n

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Fri, Oct 16

Chicago Tech & Finance Networking Event

Joy District - 112 West Hubbard Street, Chicago, IL 60654, Chicago, IL, US

7:00 PM - 9:00 PMSUM OF FIVE USA

SUM OF FIVE | Chicago Tech & Finance Networking Event

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Mon, Oct 19

Info Session: Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC)

Venue to be announced

5:00 PM - 6:00 PMpolsky.uchicago.edu

<p>The Chicago Booth Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC) is a VC simulation that allows students to think and act as venture capitalists and helps the school identify top student representatives for regional and national intercollegiate competitions.</p>\n

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Tue, Oct 20

DePaul's Cyber Risk: Supply Chain Risk in the Age of Agentic AI Conference

DePaul University - DePaul Center - 1 East Jackson Boulevard, 8th Floor Conference Center 8005, Chicago, IL 60604, Chicago, IL, US

9:00 AM - 5:00 PMDePaul Department of Finance and Real Estate

Agentic AI is reshaping supply chain risk—creating new threats, resilience tools, and urgent questions around liability and accountability.

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Entrepreneurship Essentials (E2): AI Prototyping 101 with Cathy Kiriakos

Charles M. Harper Center, C08 5807 S Woodlawn Ave, Chicago, Illinois 60637 - 5807 S Woodlawn Ave, Chicago, Illinois, Illinois 60637

12:00 PM - 1:00 PMpolsky.uchicago.edu

<p>Join the Polsky Center and Cathy Kiriakos, director of the Center for Applied AI at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, for an informative workshop on prototyping your MVP with AI tools and making the most of your credits. Whether you\'re pre-idea, mid-build, or preparing to pitch, you\'ll leave with concrete next steps...</p>\n

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Info Session and Kickoff (Harper): New Venture Challenge (NVC)

Charles M. Harper Center, 5807 S Woodlawn Ave, C-25, Chicago, Illinois 60637 - 5807 S Woodlawn Ave, Chicago, Illinois, Chicago

5:00 PM - 7:00 PMpolsky.uchicago.edu

<p>Please join us for a kickoff for the 31st annual Edward L. Kaplan, ’71, New Venture Challenge. This session will introduce students to one of UChicago’s premier startup accelerator programs. Attendees will learn more about the application process, program structure, and resources available throughout the competition. 5:00 – 5:30 pm CT – Faculty Presentation 5:30...</p>\n

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Tue, Oct 20

The Complete Innovator

The Second City - 230 West North Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614, Chicago, IL, US

4:00 PM - 7:30 PMChicago Innovation

Join us at The Second City to learn how we can all become human-centric, tech-enabled leaders...

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Tue, Oct 27

Startup Pitch Events Chicago: 5 Founders on Stage

Joy District - 112 West Hubbard Street, Chicago, IL, 60654, US

Time TBDeventbrite.com

Five founders pitch, five minutes each, then the room opens. Startup, tech and founder events in Chicago, Wednesdays at 7:00 PM.

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Wed, Oct 28

Startup Tech & AI Networking in Chicago

Joy District - 112 West Hubbard Street, Chicago, IL 60654, Chicago, IL, US

7:00 PM - 10:00 PMStartup Ascent

Dive into tech with other professionals! Network and build strong relationships with investors, tech experts, and entrepreneurs in Chicago.

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Startup & Business Networking in Chicago

Joy District - 112 West Hubbard Street, Chicago, IL 60654, Chicago, IL, US

7:00 PM - 10:00 PMStartup Ascent

Chicago startup & business networking: connect with founders, investors & entrepreneurs. Build partnerships and scale your business.

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Fri, Oct 30

Mon, Nov 2

StartUps, Founders, Investors, Talent Networking & Pitch Chicago

2403 W Homer St - Green Eye Lounge, 2403 West Homer Street, Chicago, IL 60647, Chicago, IL, US

7:00 PM - 10:00 PMBusiness Minds Events

Join us for an evening of business-focused networking, bringing together entrepreneurs, startup founders, investors, and professionals.

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Tech Pulse 2030

Discovery Partners Institute - 200 South Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL, 60606, US

Time TBDeventbrite.com

Tech Pulse 2030 is a global movement convening leaders to explore real-world tech impact and advance responsible innovation.

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MedTech, HealthTech Networking & Pitch Event Chicago

1944 W Division St - Easy Bar, 1944 West Division Street, Chicago, IL, 60622, US

Time TBDeventbrite.com

Chicago HealthTech Connect: a night of networking with Health and MedTech startups, investors, entrepreneurs, and professionals

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Tue, Nov 3

MedTech, HealthTech Networking & Pitch Event Chicago

1944 W Division St - Easy Bar, 1944 West Division Street, Chicago, IL 60622, Chicago, IL, US

7:00 PM - 10:00 PMBusiness Minds Events

Chicago HealthTech Connect: a night of networking with Health and MedTech startups, investors, entrepreneurs, and professionals

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Thu, Nov 12

AI Engineering Summit

Courtyard by Marriott Chicago Downtown/Magnificent Mile - 165 East Ontario Street, Chicago, IL, 60611, US

Time TBDeventbrite.com

Explore how engineering teams are building, deploying, and scaling intelligent AI systems from code to production

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Fri, Nov 20

Application Deadline: Q2B26 x Chicago Quantum Summit Pitch Competition

Venue to be announced

3:00 PMpolsky.uchicago.edu

<p>Calling all early-stage quantum startups: Duality Accelerator invites you to pitch your quantum innovation on a global stage. Apply to compete in the Q2B26 x Chicago Quantum Summit Pitch Competition and showcase your startup to hundreds of venture capitalists, investors, and industry leaders—live on December 8, 2026. What\'s at Stake The winning startup receives a...</p>\n

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Related guides

More resources for founders and operators in this city.

City Guides

Chicago Startup Events: What Founders Need to Know

Find the best Chicago startup events for founders. Curated list of B2B SaaS meetups, logistics tech events, and networking dinners in Chicago.