Tech-consulting firm Kinney Group lands $6M in VC

Indianapolis-based Kinney Group raised $6 million in equity funding, the company announced Tuesday, a cash infusion that the company plans to use to boost headcount and expand its office space.

The funding came from two investors—Michigan-based Plymouth Ventures and Indianapolis-based Elevate Ventures—over the past five months, marking the first venture capital haul in the firm's 11-year-history. 

Kinney Group helps enterprise clients integrate software applications into their operations, among other things. Chief Operating Officer Sarah Nelms said the financing round was predicated on the robust growth outlook for some of the tech clients whose applications the company helps integrate, including Splunk, AppDynamics, and VMware.

"We went out and sought our first round of investment because the partners and the markets that we play in are on the edge of explosive growth," Nelms said. "We really wanted to have fuel in the tank to be able to capitalize on those opportunities."

Kinney Group employs about 81 people, including 60 Hoosiers. It had 41 employees in Indiana in late 2015 when it reached a $1.2 million tax-incentive deal with the state to employ 130 Hoosiers by 2019.

It plans to use the fresh venture cash not only for hiring, but also on building out 10,000 square feet of space at it west-side headquarters at 2425 W. Michigan St. The build-out, expected to be completed this year, will double Kinney Group's existing space in the 29,000 square-foot building.

The firm has four practice areas—data centers, IT-operations analytics, security, and process automation—and serves organizations in the public and private sectors.

The company is adding employees including engineers, account managers and operation center analysts. Some of its hires in recent years, including Nelms, have come from across the country.

"I moved to Indianapolis for this job and for this opportunity," said Nelms, who relocated here from Iowa in mid-2015. "And so did our vice president of engineering [Joseph Cudby], who just relocated here in December from Washington, D.C. We are pulling talent into the state as well."