Via Twin Cities Business
“Minnesota’s bid to lure Amazon’s HQ2 project died in January when the state failed to make the e-commerce giant’s short list of 20 cities. But the battle to find out what was in the state’s bid package drags on. The specifics about Minnesota’s proposal have never been revealed.”
Via Star Tribune
“Aneela Idnani Kumar recalls being ashamed when her husband discovered her picking her eyebrows in 2014, a yearslong compulsion that the accountant-turned-advertising agency marketer had hidden with makeup.”
Virtual care provider Zipnosis is notably shrinking headcount right now according to multiple sources.
Updated 11/19/2018: Eagan, Minnesota headquartered Jump Technologies has closed on the $2m round.
Original 9/11/2018: Jump Technologies has raised $1.5m of a $2m equity round according to this SEC disclosure.
Who are Minnesota’s Private Equity-Backed Tech Companies is introduced to thoroughly track another important element of Minnesota’s ever changing tech story.
Thanks to Minnesota tech M&A specialists Franklin Partners for underwriting this research.
Via GovTech
“Backed with private equity money, Granicus has acquired the veteran government software firm SouthTech Systems. Based in California, SouthTech has been in business since 1994. The company has several products, but most of them deal in some way with managing records — birth and death records, campaign ethics filings, agendas — and automating processes involving those records.”
Via News Release
“Sezzle, the leading US-based financial technology company offering interest-free installment plans for online shoppers, announced today that it has raised $100 million from Bastion Capital to grow its retail payments business.”
Private equity (PE) funds are increasingly interested in tech around the world and considering all the opportunities here, there’s now more than 30 PE-owned tech companies in Minnesota.
Thank you Tarmac for underwriting our Meet a Minnesota Tech CTO series, where we get up close and personal with Minnesota’s chief techies.
The CTO: Jay Dorenkamp, Jamf
How long have you been working in tech for and what is your technical background?
I’ve been in the software space for more than 30 years. I’ve worked on some of the lowest levels of software in operating systems to higher levels in the software stack, delivering enterprise web applications.
I graduated from Iowa State University (ISU) with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering with an emphasis in software design and development. When I started at ISU, this was a relatively new program. (Fun fact – my two sons also graduated from ISU with the same degree, and it’s been interesting to see how the program has evolved and expanded.)