GrubHub co-founder and CEO Matt Maloney, along with more than 20 other Chicago companies, joined Mayor Rahm Emanuel this afternoon, pledging to add 2,000 local jobs by 2015.
The companies, which come from many different industries, made the announcement from GrubHub’s new downtown headquarters. The announcement featured demos from several of the businesses, providing onlookers with a sense of what they bring to the city.
Maloney, whose food delivery search service plans to add 250 jobs in the next three years, said he is thankful for Chicago’s help.
“We’ve often said that GrubHub wouldn’t be what it is without Chicago, and I believe this is a sentiment that is shared across the entire tech community,” Maloney said.
Jon Morris, founder and CEO of digital marketing company Rise Interactive, echoed his feeling.
“Chicago provides Rise Interactive with three essential elements to help us achieve rapid, sustainable growth: first-rate talent, world-class clients and a central location to best serve the nation’s biggest brands,” Morris said.
Starting as an idea scribbled on a napkin in 2004, GrubHub now provides their services for over 300 cities, including Chapel Hill. Maloney’s plan to add jobs in Chicago serves as an appreciative gesture to the city it grew up in.
“Chicago supported us as we built GrubHub into the nation’s number one food ordering service, and now we’re working to build one of the nation’s largest tech cultures in the city of Chicago,” Maloney said.
The announcement bolsters Emanuel’s plan to turn Chicago into a top tech city. Earlier today, he launched the Chicago Broadband Challenge, which aims to bring startups and tech companies to the city by offering affordable high-speed broadband options. Eventually, Emanuel hopes to offer disadvantaged neighborhoods and schools these speeds and improve the city’s infrastructure.
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