Chicago is the third largest city in the US, population wise and it is situated in North East Illinois. It is the biggest city in the Midwest and is its main economic and cultural center. Chicago is the second industrial center in the US and belongs to the “manufacturing-belt”. The city is also one of the main financial centers and the first agricultural stock exchange center in the world. The price of wheat and soy for the US are decided in Chicago.
The economic capital of the Midwest has a GDP over 530 billions dollars (4th regional GDP). More than of 25% of the GDP is produced within 300 miles around Chicago with 45% of American consumers living within 4h of the city. Chicago is one of the largest distribution centers in the country : the Chicago region is one of the first air, road and railway centers in the US. The Midwest economy is diversified. Traditionally oriented towards agriculture with companies such as Cargill, ADM, John Deer, Conagra that have developed and supported research, Chicago also possesses strong R&D capacities in the car and metallurgical sectors and is today expanding in sectors such as electronics and pharmacy (Abbott Laboratories, Astellas, Baxter Healthcare Corporation, Hospira, AbbVie…).
To the historical domains such as the steel industry, agriculture, industrial and agricultural equipment and electronic appliances, new sectors are now taking over such as health and life sciences, web and mobile, telecommunication and information technologies, energy storage, smart grids, clean techs, cyber-infrastructures and industry and technologies for food and food processing
Chicago and its suburbs host several American giants such as: Boeing, MacDonald’s, Abbott, Baxter, United Airlines, Motorala, Kraft… but also several French flagships such as Alcatel-Lucent, Saint Gobain, Veolia Environnement, Safran, Publicis, UBS, Axa assistance
Because of its exceptional geographic location, Chicago is one of the major centers of communication for terrestrial, air (2 international airports) or railway traffic.
Chicago has a complete ecosystem for research and innovation : universities, laboratories, incubators, capital venture, networks, technological and innovations hubs…
Since the 1890, Chicago is one of the main cities for research and education around the world. The city has more than 40 universities. Among the top universities : the University of Chicago (Top 9 in the world), The Illinois Institute of Technology, The University of Northwestern, the University of Illinois or University DePaul. Nearly 100 Nobel, including nearly 30 in economy are in Chicago or have spent part of their carreer here.
More than 1700 patents are filed each year and the city hosts over 300 R&D structures and many recent success stories (Groupon, Careerbuilder, GrubHub, Orbitz…).
is a personalized support program that offers a personalized support, opportunity analysis and development of technological partnerships in the United States, for young and innovative French startups.
