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My comment was tongue in cheek. If Groupon IPOs or sells for a bajillion dollars it will do more for internet companies in Chicago than anything I can think of, ever.

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They already have a billion plus valuation, thanks to the investment by the Russian money laundering operation DST.

I really don't think location matters so much when it comes to dot coms. If you can get traction and revenue, does it really matter where you're located?

Why are you calling it a money laundering operation? Are they not legit or are you just being casual?

Its majority owned by an oligarch named Usmanov. Like most of his fellow post-Soviet oligarchs, they've been trying very hard to funnel their undeserved wealth out of Russia and into Western assets and banks. I guess it's some consolation that this money is ending up in the hands of Silicon Valley (or Chicago, in the case of Groupon), instead of it just going to British soccer teams and yachts in the Riviera.

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