Chicago’s 1871 tech incubator ranks ninth in the world and fourth in the U.S. among university-associated business incubators, according to UBI Index, a Sweden-based organization that analyzes and benchmarks business incubators.
1871, based at Merchandise Mart, follows U.S. incubators in Youngstown, Ohio (ranked No. 1 globally), Columbus, Ohio (No. 3 globally), and Los Angeles (No. 6 globally) in UBI Index’s global top 10 of university-associated business incubators for this year.
Incubators in this category work closely with universities but have no formal affiliation with any university, UBI Index says. The organization lists 1871’s associated universities as Northwestern University, University of Chicago, Illinois Institute of Technology, University of Illinois and DePaul University.
1871 said in a news release that “Northwestern University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois and Illinois Institute of Technology all have dedicated spaces at 1871 where students and faculty come to work on their businesses and immerse themselves in Chicago’s entrepreneurial community.”
1871 CEO Howard Tullman said in the release: “The UBI Index ranking confirms that 1871 is a global leader in its support of innovation and the entrepreneurial community.”
The UBI Index website said it surveyed 800 incubators across 67 countries. It said it measured more than 60 key performance indicators including jobs created, revenue per client, survival rate and available funding.
Rice University’s Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship ranked No. 1 in the organization’s global top 25
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among university business incubators.