Leveraging technology to rebuild during COVID-19 and beyond

Supporting startups and small businesses within the tech ecosystem for economic impact and job creation.

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Now entering Phase Two: mobilizing the tech community for economic recovery


As net job creators, the CPR COVID-19 initiative is growing the number of startups currently supported by mHUB, MATTER and 1871.The Chicago Proactive Response (CPR) collaboration, launched in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, enters phase two of the initiative by supporting startups and small businesses as they build a road to economic recovery through wealth and job creation. In May 2021, the initiative received a 2.78M federal grant enabling many programatic enhancements, including: a continuous learning system for entrepreneurial training, small business digitization support, technical and prototyping support for hardtech innovation, a regional manufacturing and business services supplier network, and entrepreneurial development programs that support regional economic recovery as Illinois rebuilds. 

Read the full press release announcing Phase Two of the Chicago Proactive Response collaboration.


Special thanks to extensive community of supporters that have made this latest initiative possible. 


Are you interested in supporting startups and small businesses as they build a road to economic recovery?

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Engaging our underrepresented business talent

The CPR COVID-19 initiative is anchored by diversity and inclusion commitments to support underrepresented business talent and narrow the equity gap for founders across all of Chicago's 77 neighborhoods and the State's underestimated communities at large.

Phase One successes: our immediate front line response

Phase One of CPR COVID-19 raised $1.55M in funding and brought together Chicago's biomedical and tech communities to collaborate and provide a swift response to the COVID-19 crisis.


In six months, the collaboration between Chicago's innovation centers identified over 300 technology ventures with relevant solutions and helped them connect with state, city and healthcare officials to deploy. Over 4,500+ volunteer hours were provided by hardtech innovators to prototyping and producing vital PPE, respirators, ventilators, and sterilization solutions, including over 14,000 face shields designed for Chicago's healthcare community. 1,669 free memberships to mHUB, MATTER and 1871 were delivered to connect tech innovators with analytics experts and key decision makers at the state, city and in health systems. 


This was made possible by the generous support of the Searle Funds at the Chicago Community Trust as well as the Walder Foundation and Bank of America.

Press and News

Stay up to date with news and announcements about the CPR COVID-19 initiative.

  • mHUB
  • 1871
  • MATTER

The Broader Ecosystem for Economic Recovery

More than 50 companies, community organizations and public officials wrote letters to the EDA supporting the application of mHUB, MATTER and 1871.

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  • mHUB
  • 1871
  • MATTER

mHUB, MATTER and 1871 Secure $2.78M Federal Grant to Rebuild Illinois Economy Post-COVID-19 Through Tech and Manufacturing Innovation

Chicago’s leading innovation centers, mHUB, MATTER and 1871, secure a $2.78M federal grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to invigorate startups and small businesses through their Chicago Proactive Response (CPR) COVID-19 initiative.

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  • mHUB
  • 1871
  • MATTER

Workplace Culture Meets COVID-19 : Lessons From Cross-industry Leaders

In mid-March, the world of work changed abruptly for most across Chicagoland. The COVID-19 shelter-in-place measures led to an abrupt shift to remote working which has tested many organizations. The right culture—a culture that embraces change, recognizes the new challenges facing employees and encourages them to take the initiative, do things differently and more effectively—can support this shift, easing the transition and driving productivity.

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  • mHUB

Chicago Sun-Times: Pandemic shows the need for an American manufacturing revival that Chicago could lead

Among companies already moving us in that direction: mHUB, a product startup incubator, Azul 3D, with leading 3D printers, and Fusion OEM, with robots that operate alongside humans.

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  • mHUB
  • 1871
  • MATTER

Returning to the Workplace safely: Lessons from cross-industry leaders

Taking the lens of an employee’s journey, leaders have made decisions and found solutions that can serve as a foundation for others preparing to bring employees, visitors, and customers safely both physically and psychologically back to the workplace.

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  • mHUB
  • 1871
  • MATTER

mHUB, MATTER and 1871 Raise $1.55M in Funding to Mobilize the Chicago Tech Community to Fight COVID-19

mHUB, MATTER and 1871 announced today $1.55M in funding for Chicago Proactive Response (CPR) COVID-19, a collaborative initiative to develop and accelerate technologies to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic and provide economic relief for the region’s early stage startups. The funding comes through a $1M grant from the Searle Funds at the Chicago Community Trust, along with additional support from the Walder Foundation and Bank of America.

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  • mHUB

Chicago Ideas: Chicago Start-Ups Join Forces to Supply Vital PPE

Workers on the front lines, essential agents in the fight against the ravaging effects of COVID-19, need to protect themselves so that they can continue to treat the ill and infirm. With a shortage of equipment for doing just that, anxiety about the fallout shot through Chicago’s healthcare community. Leaders in Chicago’s entrepreneurial world didn’t stand by idly.

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  • 1871

Betsy Ziegler on Bootstrapping in America, Talking Collaboration to Fight COVID-19

Betsy Ziegler is the CEO of 1871, which is the #1 Private incubator in the world. They are home to ~400+ early-stage, high growth digital startups and count 670 alumni still operating. Recently they announced a partnership with mHUB, the world's fastest-growing physical product innovation center in the nation, and MATTER, Chicago's healthcare incubator, & accelerator, to seek solutions to combat the COVID -19 pandemic.

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  • mHUB

BBC covers guerrilla efforts to produce PPE in Chicago

In some cases, hospitals are reaching out directly. Haven Allen is the CEO and co-founder of MHub, a non-profit manufacturing firm that after shutting down its 63,000-square-foot facility last month, is now using its equipment, materials and idle engineers to help Chicago-area hospitals get supplies.

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Rebuilding Together

Read the stories of innovators leading the way in the fight against COVID-19.

  • MATTER

How physIQ's AI technology became the perfect pandemic response tool

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses across healthcare have faced the challenge of retooling and pivoting their solutions to focus on the fight against COVID-19. But for MATTER startup physIQ, no pivoting, revising or overhauling was necessary: The company’s predictive analytics technologies were already uniquely suited to meet several of the needs and use cases of COVID-19 — and ready to deploy.

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  • mHUB

Neopenda pivots neoGuard vitals monitoring technology for use in adults and youth

mHUB member, Neopenda, is a Chicago startup that is evolving health tech in markets that need it the most with its revolutionary product neoGuard.

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  • mHUB

Proxfinity pivots technology for application in contract tracing

Proxfinity, an 1871 and mHUB Alumni Company, is pivoting its event networking technology to focus on safely returning to the work environment amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Join companies like Proxfinity, mHUB, MATTER, and 1871 and pivot for change.

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  • mHUB
  • 1871
  • MATTER

mHUB, MATTER and 1871 rally the tech ecosystem to fight COVID-19

The Chicago Proactive Response: COVID-19 (CPR) initiative was formed to leveraging technology in response to the pandemic. The communities within mHUB, MATTER, and 1871 are coming together to use their resources and expertise to mobilize the tech ecosystem within Chicago to fight COVID-19 head on.

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  • mHUB

Innovators & Entrepreneurs are Pivoting for COVID-19 at mHUB

Entrepreneurs and engineers at mHUB have come together to pivot their focus onto creating new solutions for PPE and medical equipment. They are leveraging readily available and low-cost materials that can be developed quickly in the immediate fight against COVID-19. Pivot for a cause. Join the fight.

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  • MATTER

The hospital of the future: Sheba Medical Center shares innovation focus during COVID-19

Over the last few weeks, we have hosted private roundtables for a number of health systems around the country. Eyal Zimilchman, deputy director, chief medical officer and chief innovation officer of Sheba Medical Center, joined us for a recent conversation.

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  • MATTER

How BayCare and Clearstep launched a COVID-19 screener in 9 days

Less than two weeks after the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a pandemic and one week after California became the first state in the U.S. to tell residents to stay home — MATTER startup member Clearstep and MATTER partner BayCare launched an online COVID-19 symptom screener.

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  • 1871

Rheaply: Pivot to Fight COVID-19

The PPE shortage is one of the most immediate threats to those on the clinical frontlines in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Rheaply, an 1871 Alumni Company, has created ERx, the Emergency Resource Exchange platform, to connect those who need supplies to those who have them. The goal is to move fast, come together, and support our frontline heroes.

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  • MATTER

In the COVID-19 era, this mental health startup wants users to feel relief

Across the world, the “new normal” created by COVID-19 has caused a ripple effect for mental health. Digital mental health startup and MATTER member, Sentio Solutions, is doing their part to ensure that everyone gets the mental health care they need.

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Phase One: Supporting the Fight

See existing solutions with the potential to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • mHUB

mHUB start-up solutions fighting COVID-19

Across the country, companies and entrepreneurs are pivoting to develop and accelerate technologies to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. In March, we put out an open call in collaboration with 1871 and MATTER to rally the tech ecosystem around fighting Coronavirus. The energy and enthusiasm we've seen in response is inspiring and we're continuing to talk to entrepreneurs, front line experts, civic leaders and influencers every day to accelerate the development of life-saving technology. See below for a list of new products and existing technology from mHUB with direct application to challenges posed by the pandemic.

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  • MATTER

MATTER start-up solutions fighting COVID-19

Many MATTER member companies are developing solutions for the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is a growing list of companies who are changing retooling, accelerating, and providing to get ahead of this pandemic.

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  • mHUB

Open Source Face Shield Design

mHUB has pulled together a team of engineers and entrepreneurs to develop low-cost solutions to quickly increase the supply of ventilators. These solutions will include both hardware and software technologies. There is an open call to medical partners, local hospitals and greater community for problem statements and challenges around prototyping and manufacturing new technologies to support patient care, testing and worker safety. Submit problem statements or ideas >>

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