As I sat down at my desk to compile this list for 2017, I reflected on 2016’s biggest tech trends and announcements with a long, inward breath. My, what a journey this year has been for awards, acquisitions and acknowledgements! 2017 was active and impressive for the tech community. Here’s a quick recap of the highlights.

Launches and Acquisitions

Angie’s List acquisition by Homeadvisor

After 20 years of operation in Indianapolis as one of Indy’s largest tech employers, Angie’s List announced their acquisition by Homeadvisor in April 2017 for $505 million. READ MORE.

Infosys adding 2,000 jobs to Indianapolis

In May 2017, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation announced a deal with Infosys, a global leader in consulting, technology and next-generation services, to bring 2,000 jobs to Indianapolis. This is the biggest economic development agreement Indiana has reached in more than a decade, according to the Indianapolis Business Journal. READ MORE.

Policystat acquired by iContracts

PolicyStat President Steve Ehrlich has said more than once that his company is boring. Apparently “boring” enough to be acquired for an undisclosed amount this past May by New Jersey-based iContracts. The 65-person company joined forces with iContracts to give their employees real prospects for career growth and to deliver customers a cloud-based suite of compliance offerings that’s second to none. READ MORE.

Fizziology acquired by Marketcast

Coming off the heels of their 2017 Mira Award win, Fizziology announced their acquisition by California-based MarketCast in August for an undisclosed amount. READ MORE.

Weblink acquired by MemberClicks

Weblink’s roots in Indy tech are quite deep, and the announcement of their acquisition by MemberClicks, a Georgia-based company, brought the 35-person company back in the spotlight. READ MORE.

Real Estate

Salesforce Tower Grand Opening

Officially announced in May 2016, the grand opening of Salesforce Tower was made official in May 2017 with a ceremony on Monument Circle complete with Buddhist monks, an announcement of creating 500 apprenticeships right here in Indy, and even Mr. Marc Benioff himself joined us.

Salesforce Chairman CEO Marc Benioff’s Indianapolis Address – READ MORE

Salesforce Tower Grand Opening Community Day + Photos – READ MORE

Salesforce Unveils Indy Training Program – READ MORE

Top 5 Funding Announcements

Venture capital is critical to high-growth tech companies. The scale-ups listed below received the most amount of capital in 2017, according to public sources.

Behavioral marketing platform SmarterHQ announced in January that it raised $13 million from Boston-based Spring Equity Partners, Battery Ventures and Simon Venture Group.

Blue Pillar, an internet of things (IoT) company focused on the energy industry, announced in January a $10 million raise from new investors GXP investments and Elevate Ventures alongside EnerTech Capital, Allos Ventures, Arsenal Venture Partners and Claremont Creek Ventures.

Lessonly, an education technology company, announced a Series B raise of $8 million led by OpenView.

Kinney Group, a cloud solutions integrator serving the Global Fortune 2000, IT-centric mid-market companies, announced the close of a $6 million raise led by Plymouth Ventures and Elevate Ventures.

Sigstr announced a $5 million Series A raise led by Hyde Park Venture Partners of Chicago and including Battery Ventures, Charmides Capital, High Alpha and Grand Ventures of Grand Rapids Michigan.

We feel it is worth mentioning TechPoint’s own funding announcement courtesy of the Lilly Endowment. An investment of $5.7 million was made into our talent programs, which aim to increase the workforce pipeline of skilled tech talent in central Indiana.

Awards and Achievements

TechPoint’s 18^th annual Mira Awards  

The 18^th annual Mira Awards gala recognized the accomplishments of the “best of tech in Indiana,” with 15 total award categories and a brand new public voting contest. SEE ALL WINNERS HERE.

21 Indiana companies make annual Inc 5000 list

This prestigious list is always at the top of our most viewed stories list. 13 of the 21 companies were previous Mira Awards winners. READ MORE.

Indy named one of 25 tech cities to watch

Indy received many top rankings in 2017 (see our Top Rankings of 2017 post), but one worthy of an additional highlight is this ranking from Cushman and Wakefield. READ MORE.

How Indianapolis, Long Known as a Manufacturing Center, is Luring Tech Talent

It’s not every day that The New York Times writes about Indianapolis. This year, the story centered around our move into high-tech manufacturing and high-tech software jobs as one of the top states for doing business. READ MORE.

Indy Women in Tech

Inaugural IWiT LPGA Championship and IWiT Foundation

The Indy Women in Tech Foundation was launched in 2017 alongside the Indy Women in Tech LPGA Championship, held September 4 – 9, 2017 at the Brickyard Crossing. The IWiT Foundation created many events that ran alongside the LPGA championship, such as the IWiT Summit, The Eureka Exchange!, robotics initiatives, workforce partners, and more. READ MORE.

Indy ranks 4th Best City for Women in Tech

SmartAsset’s annual ranking of best cities for women in tech was released in 2017 and Indy moved from fifth to fourth position. READ MORE. 

Events

Rise of the Rest

Indy was selected as one of the city stops for Steve Case’s Rise of the Rest tour. This day-long event with a tour of Indy’s tech hub was followed by a pitch competition where 120WaterAudit won the inaugural $100,000 investment prize. READ MORE.

As Silicon Valley Gets ‘Crazy,’ Midwest Beckons Tech Investors – READ MORE

INX3 

TechPoint partnered with the Venture Club of Indiana to create INX3, a multi-day event series that brings together Venture Club’s Innovation Showcase with TechPoint’s Winners’ Circle and other entrepreneurial and innovation-focused community events. This event was likely the most coordinated effort that we’ve ever had at bringing companies and venture investment together in one grand event. READ MORE.

Winners’ Circle connects 35 venture capital firms with fundable tech Indiana tech companies – READ MORE

Policy

Next Level Indiana Trust Fund

The tech community spoke up during this year’s legislative session, and Governor Holcomb and other state officials showed their support for an opportunity to increase the economic potential for tech companies and the state of Indiana. The Next Level Indiana Trust Fund was passed and is now being implemented through a board of directors and a venture capital firm. READ MORE.

Open Data Bill

HB 1470 was passed earlier this spring to codify a program that will collect, analyze, and exchange government information from, but more importantly to, state agencies. We interviewed Darshan Shah, Chief Data Officer of the Management Performance Hub, to share more about why this bill is so important. READ MORE.

Last but not least

it would be difficult for me to personally reflect on 2017 without mentioning one person in particular. Jared Council ended his tenure as the sole tech reporter at the Indianapolis Business Journal in November, and the void he left has been difficult to fill in both print and in our hearts. The impact Jared made on the community as a chief storyteller was no short of tremendous – from following the Salesforce Tower announcement to Infosys, to writing about small business entrepreneurs and startup events, Jared gave every story the same amount of journalistic effort. From all of us at TechPoint and beyond, thank you, Jared.

How far have we come? See 2016’s Biggest Tech Trends and Announcement’s here.