Idaho investment firm acquires controlling stake in Sharpen Technologies
Indianapolis-based Sharpen, which was founded in 2011, topped IBJ’s list of fastest-growing private companies last year.
Susan Orr
Articles
Indianapolis-based Kennected hit with cease-and-desist letter from LinkedIn
Kennected is a software company that allows users to automate their outreach to potential customers via LinkedIn. LinkedIn says this activity amounts to data scraping, which is a violation of LinkedIn’s user agreement.
For startup, helping people connect on LinkedIn is big business
Kennected, which expects to book $10 million in revenue this year, has about 140 employees in the United States and India. As of mid-November, the company was bringing in just over $600,000 in monthly revenue, a figure that’s growing 10% each month.
Hoosier manufacturers ramping up adoption of advanced technologies, report shows
More than half of Indiana manufacturers have implemented or are testing at least one advanced technology, according to a new report from Conexus Indiana and the Indiana University Kelley School of Business at IUPUI.
Indiana Wesleyan in negotiations with troubled Eleven Fifty Academy
The negotiations with Eleven Fifty Academy include a potential acquisition of the coding school’s programs but are broader than that, an Indiana Wesleyan spokesperson said.
Indianapolis startup Overfuel aims to streamline website experience for car dealers
Overfuel, which had its public launch this week, is targeting small- to medium-sized independent car dealers, offering them software that helps them streamline their websites and glean more information about customers’ online activities.
Purdue institute wants tech used to advance democracy
The Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy aims to educate policymakers, diplomats and others about artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum computing and other technologies relevant to national security and U.S. foreign policy.
Local accounting-tech firm Decimal acquires cloud-based bookkeeping business from KPMG
Decimal, a software-as-a-service firm based in Indianapolis, has acquired the cloud-based bookkeeping business formerly owned by Big Four accounting firm KPMG.
Indianapolis-based tech firm Zylo lands $31.5M investment
The latest investment is the fourth major round of funding for Zylo, which was founded in 2016 and has raised more than $66.5 million to date. The company helps customers manage their software-as-a-service subscriptions.
Former David A. Noyes CEO awarded $2M in damages, resolving dispute over termination
The former executive, Mark Damer, had been terminated by financial firm David A. Noyes in 2019.
Heritage Group finds success with venture fund
To date HG Ventures has invested nearly $200 million in a total of 30 companies, eight of which had been participants in The Heritage Group Accelerator.
Heartland Ventures closes $52M investment fund
The Ohio-based venture firm, which gets its funding from Indiana and Ohio companies, invests in tech startups developing products that can benefit those Midwestern investors.
Indianapolis-based franchising-tech firm Woven Brands lands $1.5M investment
Established in 2017, Woven Brands had been self-funded until now. The company’s software platform helps franchisee operators and multi-unit independent operators more easily manage their staff and operations.
Eleven Fifty coding school in financial straits, seeking new operator
Eleven Fifty co-founder Scott Jones said the school is negotiating with bidders to take over operations.
U.S. economy headed for slowdown, investment strategist says
Speaking at an IBJ economic forecast event Monday, a Fifth Third Bank economist said the chance of heading into another recession is “literally a toss-up, a coin flip.”
Q&A with Titi Obasanya, a Nigeria native helping Hoosier entrepreneurs
Obasanya was living in Lagos, Nigeria, and planning to move to the United States when a LinkedIn ad for a job at Elevate Ventures caught her eye.
UBS sues wealth managers who joined rival firm
In its complaint, UBS accuses the defendants of using UBS resources to plan UBS client meetings that took place after the defendants had left the firm.
Fishers tech startup Docket winds down operations, staff joins Zoom
Docket, which launched in 2019, wrapped up its operations in September after the meetings-platform company Zoom hired its team. In 2020, Docket had won Zoom’s annual “Whale Watch” competition, scoring a $1.25 million venture investment as a result.
IU researchers developing virtual-reality tool to treat substance abuse
The high-tech approach allows a patient recovering from substance abuse to interact with potential future versions of himself or herself.
Business accelerator Gener8tor announces members of latest cohort for agbioscience accelerator
This year’s cohort for Gener8tor’s gBETA agbioscience accelerator includes companies working in everything from cold storage to aquaculture. The program wraps up later this month.