Local tech companies are riding a wave of venture capital that is sweeping across the U.S. and world at record levels.
The local tech sector is actually ahead of the curve nationally in terms of year-over-year percentage increase, and that hasn’t always been the case.
The Indiana Chamber’s 2021 Report Card shows that while capital raised by Indiana companies has increased in recent years, the state’s ranking for venture capital activity declined from 30th to 36th compared to other states.
There’s a reason why having a strong capital stream to Indiana tech companies is critical to the state’s overall economy.
Technology is among Indiana’s fastest growing sectors, with more than 184,000 net tech jobs posted this year generating a $51 billion impact on the state’s economy, according to CompTIA’s Cyberstates 2021 report. With an average wage of $69,813, median tech wages in Indiana are 73% higher than the median state wage.
Venture and growth capital is critical to many of the states promising young tech companies as they build their products and launch marketing campaigns needed to grow sales and grow their staffs.
Hoosier tech firms this year have procured more in three quarters – $492.8 million – than in any full year since local trade organization TechPoint started tracking capital raises in 2014.
This year is far ahead of the record $358.1 million amassed in all of 2019, the last pre-pandemic year, and has more than doubled the $174.1 million from last year.
Indiana tech companies brought in more than $159 million in 12 publicly announced fund raises during the third quarter. Two of those venture capital (VC) hauls were in excess of $20 million and one – OnBoard’s $100 million round led by La Jolla, California-based JMI Equity – was the second largest single capital raise by an Indiana tech firm.
In 2021, state tech companies raised $100 million or more in each of the first three quarters for the first time.
A few of the third quarter highlights include:
- SIMBA Chain, a blockchain technology-as-a-service company based in South Bend, closed a $25 million Series A funding round led by San Francisco-based Valley Capital Partners. The round received additional participation from the Notre Dame Pit Road Fund, Elevate Ventures, Stanford Law School Venture Fund and other individual investors.
- Ag-tech firm Intelinair, which moved its headquarters from California to Indianapolis in August, raised $20 million in Series B funding to continue to grow the company and its agronomics insight platform, AGMRI.
- Indianapolis-based myCOI, which makes and markets a certificate of insurance (COI) tracking and management solution, announced it has secured $5 million in financing to fuel its ongoing growth in the COI tracking space. The funding comes from Seattle-based SaaS Capital.
- Revelant Technologies, an Indianapolis-based provider of cloud-based API and MuleSoft consulting services, received more than $4 million in funding from Park City, Utah-based Inoca Capital Partners.
Read TechPoint’s most recent venture capital report for more details.
There’s also much good news coming out of other national and global markets in terms of capital raised.
The Americas accounted for more than half of the global VC investment total, with a record $94 billion in funding during the third quarter, according to KPMG. The U.S. accounted for $82.8 billion of that – also setting a new quarterly record. Nationally and globally the amount of capital procured this year is on track to be at least twice the amount raised last year.
“The word ‘record’ has been a recurring theme each quarter when it comes to reporting on global VC investment and … VC investment in many jurisdictions,” says Kevin Smith, head of KPMG Private Enterprise. “The reality is that 2021 has been a magical year for the VC market globally and we’re not done yet.”
Venture capital markets are expected to remain healthy during the fourth quarter locally and globally, Smith adds, with several tech sectors expected to lead the way. Some of the tech sectors that look to finish this year and begin next year strong – including financial tech, sales and marketing technology and biotech – have a strong presence in Indiana.
