2017 was a tremendous year for the growing Arizona tech scene. Many great local companies have flourished and changed; proving that AZ is becoming the place to be for technology and entrepreneurship. With new startups popping up, to funds being raised, 2017 proved to be successful and full of amazing challenges. Below, we detail the highlights of last year’s tech scene. Reach out to us here and let us know if we missed anything, and we’ll be sure to update the list.
Here’s to all who made 2017 so fantastic– we know 2018 is going to be one for the books!
Companies that raised money:
Coplex Ventures: The venture capital arm of the Startup Accelerator, Coplex. On May 3rd, 2017, Coplex announced their $5 million dollar accelerator fund. They are the second VC fund to be in Phoenix!
Prospectify: This Tempe based startup successfully raised 1 million dollars in seed funding this year. This investment was led by Geekdom Fund from San Antonio, as well as Arizona Tech Investors and other strategic angel investors.
Circle Blue: A zero-waste startup that teaches the community how to reduce consumption and reuse items to avoid waste won the $20,000 prize of the Pakis Social Entrepreneurship Challenge at Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey Business School.
Offerpad: This home buying startup in Gilbert raised 260 million dollars in a series A round. They obtained $30 million in equity and $230 million in debt from LL funds LLC out of Philadelphia.
Vector Space Systems: A micro-satellite space launch company out of Tucson raised 21 million dollars in a series A round in June of 2017, making the total $31 million in all-around funding for the company.
Solera Health: A tech health services company out of Phoenix raised $18.3 million dollars in a series B round in July.
Campuslogic: A software startup for student financial aid services in Gilbert raised 10 million dollars in a series B round in March.
Emailage: A fraud prevention firm in Chandler raised 10 million dollars in a series B round in August.
Trusona: A Scottsdale-based identity management tech startup raised 10 million dollars in a Microsoft Ventures led series B round in June.
Integrate Inc: A cloud marketing software company in Phoenix raised 8 million dollars in a series D round in July. The company has raised 35 million dollars since 2010.
eVisit: A telehealth software startup in Mesa closed in on $2 million of their 4 million dollar seed round this past June.
ClearVoice: A freelance talent network and marketing software startup out of Phoenix raised 4 million dollars in a series A round.
Zero Mass Water: A solar panel company out of Scottsdale that makes purified water from the vapor in the air raised 3.8 million dollars during the second quarter of the year.
ClickIPO: An IPO marketplace company in Scottsdale that can easily be accessed from mobile phones Raised $3,300,000 at a $10,000,000 valuation this year.
QuizDNA: A Tucson-based company that specializes in digital marketing. They make branded quizzes to grow and make money from your audience. This year they raised $30,000 at a $300,000 valuation.
Company Acquisitions:
Avent: Phoenix-based technology services company sold a third of the company in February for $2.65 billion to Tech Data Corp. They also announced that they were acquiring Dragon Innovation LLC, a Boston-based company this past August.
IO Data Centers: They announced this month that the company is being acquired by a firm in Boston called Iron Mountain Inc for $1.3 billion.
Cable One Inc: This Phoenix-based company announced that they were buying Netwave Communications for $735 million in cash in January of 2017.
Global Tranz Enterprises: Amount not disclosed. However, this Scottsdale-based company acquired Worthington Logistics Solutions in June of 2017.
American Traffic Solutions: This Mesa company announced that they were being acquired by Platinum Equity in April of 2017, but the amount was not disclosed. The deal allows the business to grow its technology in smart transportation safety and enforcement.
GoDaddy: This Scottsdale company announced (with no financial details) that they were acquiring Menifee, a California-based company that offers website security products and services.
Campuslogic: This Gilbert-based company acquired Cegment, a Boston company, in February of 2017 in efforts to form an end-to-end student financial aid platform that is designed to increase access to education. The amount was not disclosed.
Amkor Technology: One of the world’s largest providers of outsourced semiconductor packaging and services out of Tempe announced that is was acquiring Porto, a company out of Portugal to strengthen the business in the growing market of wafer-level packaging for tablets and smartphones.
Carvana: They acquired their first company in 2017, Carlypso, a group out of the Bay area that has a similar process as Carvana. Transaction details were not disclosed.
Startups Launched:
Make-A-Pede: This ASU student founded and operated startup is an open source robotics platform with a centipede-like motion that allows the robot to expand with ease as more modules are added.
Frenzi: An ASU student owned and operated startup that runs an app where restaurants can post if they have extra food at the end of the day. If they have it, they can bring it to customers during slow periods outside of breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
OYE! Business Intelligence LLC: This startup took first place in 2017’s Startup Week PHX. OYE! is a Hispanic business intelligence software company.
Renterspace: Renterspace allows any renter to pay their rent by check or card, even if their landlord is not signed up with the website and doesn’t take debit or credit cards.
AirGarage is a service started by ASU students that allow homeowners to list their unused driveways online to be available for ASU students to pay and park at during their classes.
Uber’s teen driving program: While not a new startup, Uber rolled out a new program in the Phoenix area for 2017– their teen driving program! Teens can request their own rides with the Uber app, but only parents can set up a family account with Uber. This linked account allows the teen to use their parent’s account to pay for the ride, while the parent stays notified on the whereabouts of their child.
MrktStreet: MrktStreet is a digital marketplace for anyone looking to buy or take care of a home. It mainly targets the millennial homeowner, but can also be used by realtors and contractors.
Growth & Expansion:
Galvanize: Galvanize opened up their newest campus in the Warehouse District here in Phoenix and has been a beautiful new home for so many startups and events around the valley.
Coplex: Coplex, a local startup accelerator that helps subject matter experts build tech companies moved from Tempe to Phoenix with plans for a spacious new office inside of Galvanize to make room for further growth and opportunity.
Prospectify: After winning $1 million in seed funding, Prospectify made immediate plans for team and client growth that will allow them to offer more products and services.
Nexus: Nexus is a digital currency, distributed framework, and peer-to-peer network. Nexus was developed by a Tucson-based company, Vector. Vector is a small-satellite launch startup. In 2017 they reached an agreement with a company in Tempe to begin hosting a decentralized cryptocurrency on a network of satellites.
Events that made a splash in the tech scene:
Phoenix Design Week: This annual event was presented by AIGA Arizona. It is a week-long conference to showcase the Arizona graphic design community. This event had everything from guest speakers, hands-on education, and industry networking. 2018 will sure to be another successful year for PHX Design week.
PHX Startup Week: This one was the most impactful one yet. There were approximately 10,000 total registrants and over 80 different talks to attend. This is one of the most fun events of the year for startups to show the Valley what they’re made of!
Meltdown in the Desert (2): This was their second annual social media conference to be held in the Phoenix are. This two-day conference introduced new strategies to people in the social media field that are used by some of the top leaders in the industry.
2017 was a fantastic year for the Arizona tech scene. At TechAZ, we have HUGE things in store for 2018– be sure to keep those eyes peeled!
Happy New Year!!
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