Independent judging panels selected 129 companies, universities, organizations, cities and individuals to advance as nominees; winners to be announced Saturday, April 18, at the JW Marriott — Indianapolis.

TechPoint, the nonprofit, industry-led growth initiative for Indiana’s technology ecosystem, announced the nominees for its 21st annual Mira Awards presented by Eli Lilly and Company, Genesys, Raytheon and Salesforce. The Mira Awards is the state’s largest and longest-running technology excellence and innovation recognition program, and the annual gala celebrates the “The Best of Tech in Indiana.” Last year a sell-out crowd of 1,400 people attended the black-tie affair at the JW Marriott.

WATCH VIDEO recap of the 20th anniversary TechPoint Mira Awards from 2019.

This year’s diverse class of nominees includes people, products, companies and places that crisscross the state from Evansville, Jasper, and Bloomington, to Muncie, Greencastle, West Lafayette, Delphi, New Paris, Merrillville and South Bend. Of course, Central Indiana is also well represented with nominees located in Greenwood, Painfield, Lawrence, Fishers, Carmel and Indianapolis.

Among the companies selected, there are small startups with less than $100,000 in 2019 revenue, fast growing scale-up companies that grew triple digits last year and large tech-enabled enterprises with up to $2 billion in revenue. In aggregate, the 44 companies participating in the five company categories employ 10,572 people in the state of Indiana and they represent nearly $14 billion in annual revenue (excluding GEICO’s $25 billion+ expected revenue reporting).

“Our 2020 Mira Awards theme—‘Be Bold.’—is both a reflection of the growth and successes that the nominees achieved over the past year, as well as a call-to-arms for the tech community as a whole to shed those last remaining remnants of timidness or apprehension,” said Mike Langellier, president and CEO of TechPoint. “In the global competition for talent, capital and companies, Indiana is a serious and winning rival. We intend to use the Mira Awards platform to inspire the pursuit of big bets, major market opportunities, community commitments, rapid growth and ‘acquirer over acquired’ mentality.”

Nominees were selected by 48 independent subject matter experts who evaluated and ranked the applications. Later this month, nominees will present their cases and be interviewed by judging panels, after which the judges will select the winners following deliberations.

The official 2020 TechPoint Mira Award nominees are:

Tech Product of the Year – (Highly innovative and ground-breaking tech products that burst onto the scene or achieved a major milestone last year)

  • 120WaterAudit
  • Anvl
  • Cimcor, Inc.
  • Cummins Inc.
  • Delta Faucet Company
  • DemandJump
  • FlexePark
  • hc1
  • Karyosoft
  • KMC Controls
  • NCAA
  • Raytheon Company (prime) Secure Communications (partner)
  • Schneider Geospatial
  • Zylo

Service Partner of the Year – (The year’s best service provider delivering remarkable, impactful service to clients—whether they be external or internal)

  • Avance Design
  • BLASTmedia
  • Brite Systems Enlite with Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS)
  • Counterpart
  • Cummins Inc.
  • Innovatemap
  • KSM Consulting
  • Lev
  • Mobile reCell
  • NCAA IT Department
  • Pin & Tumbler Studio at Allegion
  • Project Brilliant
  • Raytheon Company

Innovation of the Year – (A brand new way of doing things that revolutionizes, advances, or creates new tech industries and fields)

  • Anvl’s Automated Offline Hazard Identification
  • ConverSight.ai
  • DemandJump
  • Eli Lilly and Company
  • HySonic Technologies
  • Illuminate Health – Recovery Coach
  • Karyosoft
  • LaLaLi Vocal Performance Analyzer
  • Olio
  • OnBoard (Passageways)
  • Preventia Group
  • Prime Movement Healthcare
  • WPR Services POW Brands

Rising Entrepreneur Award – (A class of passionate and creative entrepreneurial leaders thriving in Indiana)

  • Amy Brown, Founder & CEO, AuthentiCx, Inc
  • Ben Forrest, Founder and CEO, Olio
  • Megan Glover, Co-Founder/CEO, 120WaterAudit
  • Luke Jacobs, Co-founder & CEO, Encamp
  • Megan Lohman, CEO, Plan Forward
  • Brodie Meyer, CEO, FuseMe
  • Aaron Pierce, CEO, Pierce Aerospace
  • Evan Rocheford, Co-Founder and CEO, NutraMaize
  • Darren Root, CEO, Rootworks LLC
  • Sarah Stilz, Founder, Prime Movement Healthcare
  • Sunny Lu Williams, President, TechServ Corporation

Tech Education Award – (Celebrating educators and education innovators who inspire and have a positive impact on student achievement)

  • Center for Information and Communication Sciences (CICS), Ball State University
  • Codelicious
  • Eleven Fifty Academy
  • Matthew Etchison, CIO, Ivy Tech Community College
  • Steve Fouty, McDermond Center Director, DePauw University
  • Dr. Mary Giesting, Director of The Imagination Lab, Plainfield Community School Corporation
  • Girl Scouts of Central Indiana
  • Indiana University Idea Garden @IUPUI
  • Infosys Foundation USA
  • Marianne McKenzie, Code Cafe, Indianapolis Public Library
  • Nextech
  • Purdue Polytechnic High School

Investor of the Year – (The venture firms or angel investors who bring money plus outstanding connections, advice and attention to Indiana companies)

  • Edison Partners
  • Elevate Ventures
  • Victor Gutwein, Managing Partner, M25
  • HG Ventures
  • Innovatemap Ventures
  • IU Ventures
  • Ade Olonoh, Venture Partner, Starting Line

Community Impact Award – (Individuals and organizations that have gone above and beyond to support the advancement of Indiana’s tech community)

  • Eleven Fifty Academy
  • Indiana Department of Correction
  • Indy Hackers
  • Code Black Indy Inc.
  • Kelli N. Jones and Jeff TD Williams, Co-Founders, Be Nimble Ventures & Black Hatch Fund
  • Chelsea Linder, gBETA Managing Director, gener8tor
  • Jason Pennington, Executive Director, Indiana IoT Lab
  • The Polis Center at IUPUI
  • Rural Innovation Network
  • The Speak Easy
  • Women & Hi Tech
  • Luke Zhang, Data Scientist, DemandJump

Rising Tech City Award – (Cities, towns, regions or communities in Indiana, celebrating the projects and people behind them who have championed the location’s advancement with particular emphasis on tech friendliness)

  • #FortBenTech Campus and City of Lawrence
  • City of Bloomington
  • City of Evansville
  • City of Indianapolis
  • City of South Bend

Exceptional Employer Award – (Companies doing an exceptional job of hiring and developing talent, cultivating workspaces and workplace culture and deliberately increasing diversity)

  • BLASTmedia
  • Delta Faucet Company
  • KAR Global
  • Kronos Incorporated
  • KSM Consulting
  • Lev
  • LifeOmic
  • Passageways
  • Republic Airways and LIFT Academy
  • SEP

Startup of the Year – (Startups with great potential that demonstrate the creative, strategic and innovative entrepreneurial spirit of Indiana’s technology industry)

  • Anvl
  • AuthentiCx
  • Cabentry
  • Casted
  • Civic Champs
  • Docket
  • Encamp
  • InternX
  • Olio
  • Plan Forward
  • The New Paper
  • Woven

Scale-up of the Year – (High-growth, innovation-driven companies that provide technology products or services, are gaining traction and could be Indiana’s next big success stories)

  • ActiveCampaign
  • Boardable
  • Greenlight Guru
  • Kerauno
  • KSM Consulting
  • Lev
  • OneCause
  • Ovation.io
  • Passageways
  • Socio
  • Vibenomics
  • Zylo

Large Enterprise of the Year – (Companies with exceptional innovation and market position that are helping Indiana to become a recognized technology leader, putting Indiana on the map in the technology world)

  • Allegion PLC (c/o Schlage Lock Co LLC)
  • Delta Faucet Company
  • GEICO
  • Kronos Incorporated
  • Republic Airways
  • Sallie Mae
  • Schneider Geospatial
  • STANLEY Security

In addition to the 12 adjudicated categories, a special industry recognition award — the TechPoint Trailblazer Award — is announced prior to the Mira Awards gala in April, which is selected by the TechPoint board of directors and executive committee.

Winners will be announced at a black-tie awards ceremony and gala featuring a reception and three-course seated dinner on Saturday, April 18, at the JW Marriott — Indianapolis. Early-bird tickets go on sale Monday, March 2, at www.techpoint.org/mira.

Nominees and sponsors of the Mira Awards are able to purchase tickets beginning today before they go on sale to the general public.

Sponsorship opportunities that include group tickets, are also available by contacting Lauren Petersen at lauren@techpoint.org. We encourage securing tickets and sponsorships early, as the gala has sold out weeks in advance the past several years.

ABOUT TECHPOINT:

TechPoint is the nonprofit, industry-led growth initiative for Indiana’s technology companies and overall tech ecosystem. The team is focused on attracting talent, accelerating scale-up companies, activating the community and amplifying stories of success. For more information, please visit www.techpoint.org.

EDITOR’S NOTE: TechPoint and Mira Awards-related logos, badges, images, videos and photos are available for use by awards program participants only. All other uses are upon request.