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The 20 Startups to Watch in 2020
Minnesota's tech and startup scene saw many exciting headlines over the last year, including large rounds of funding and major expansions.
Now it's time to look ahead to 2020.
While making this list, we focused on how these organizations have grown and what they could potentially accomplish in 2020. Did they raise a big round of venture capital? Grow their team? Debut an exciting partnership?
Some of these startups will be familiar. You may have seen them win a local pitch competition or secure a major round of funding. Others will be new but worthy additions to your startup watch list.
Explore our 20 startups to watch below by clicking on the description box beneath each company's logo.
75F
In September, former Minnesota Cup champion 75F announced that it closed an $18 million round of venture capital that included investments from a group of high-profile tech CEOs and a billionaire-backed investment fund. 75F's round of financing was co-led by Breakthrough Ventures and the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative. Breakthrough is a $1 billion fund created by Bill Gates in 2016 that supports companies creating technology that could potentially combat climate change. 75F creates sensors to heat and cool buildings more efficiently.
Abilitech Medical
Abilitech is creating a device called Assist that helps restore mobility to people with upper-limb and neuromuscular conditions. In October, the company won the Minnesota Cup, securing $50,000. It also landed $25,000 as the competition's top women-led startup. And in December, Abilitech closed on $7.4 million in funding to support the commercialization of Assist.
Anatomi
Created earlier this year by the University of Minnesota, Anatomi is developing tools for manufacturing human neurons from stem cells faster and more efficiently. The company's goal is to ultimately discover new treatments for neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and ALS. Anatomi was awarded a Regenerative Medicine Minnesota Biobusiness grant to support the technology's commercialization and won the startup category of MHTA's 2019 Tekne awards.
Bus Stop Mamas
Bus Stop Mamas is a workforce-engagement platform that matches stay-at-home parents with companies seeking part-time or flexible workers. During Twin Cities Startup Week, the company beat out nearly two dozen other startups to win the "Golden iPod" trophy in the BETA Showcase.
Chanl Health
Founded in 2017, Chanl has already experienced some early traction. The company piloted its platform with HealthPartners in the Twin Cities and recently began implementing it into one of the 10 largest health systems in the U.S. And earlier this year, Barbara Fagan, the former president of the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, joined Chanl as executive director of business development.
Civic Eagle
Civic Eagle provides workflow solutions for public policy professionals. It is part of the Techstars Anywhere cohort and counts former DEED Commissioner Shawntera Hardy among its leadership. During Twin Cities Startup Week, Civic Eagle received $200,000 for placing in MEDA's second annual Million Dollar Challenge.
ClinicianNexus
Minneapolis-based ClinicianNexus allows hospitals to post their clinical rotation schedules so that medical students can more easily apply for and schedule training. This year, it received $100,000 after getting accepted into the Cedars-Sinai Accelerator. The platform has more than 10,000 users and is utilized by over 50 hospitals across 11 states.
Creatively Focused
Creatively Focused offers coaching and professional development tools for a broad range of positions in the special education field. By providing these teachers with the support they need, the company hopes to increase the retention rate of special education teachers in the field. Creatively Focused is currently assisting educators in 30 Minnesota school districts, including Anoka-Hennepin, the state's largest school system.
Flywheel
Flywheel, a medical-technology startup creating a data-management platform powered by artificial intelligence, closed on two separate, multi-million dollar rounds of funding in 2019. It first secured $6 million in an oversubscribed Series A round in the spring. Then in June, it landed another $2.5 million. Founded about five years ago, Minneapolis-based Flywheel was created through a partnership with a Stanford University researcher. Co-founder Brian Wandell, a professor at Stanford, wanted a tool to better manage and organize neural imaging data.
Fruitful Fertility
Fruitful Fertility connects those struggling with fertility issues who are in need of emotional support with individuals and mentors who have had similar experiences. The company is part of the second cohort of Lunar Startups. It also pitched at Minnedemo during Twin Cities Startup Week and is a current member of the Beta program.
Hidrate Spark
Toward the end of 2019, Hidrate Spark secured $2.2 million in a planned $3.5 million round of funding. Hidrate makes a water bottle that monitors how much water users are drinking. The company currently has 20 employees in the Twin Cities and expects to hire more in the coming year. It also plans to expand into Europe.
Nuvaira
Nuvaira raised $79 million in equity financing in a round led by Silicon Valley firm U.S. Venture Partners – the second-largest VC round for a Minnesota company in 2019. Nuvaira develops technology to treat overactive nerves in the airways of people afflicted by lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which causes shortness of breath.
Phenomix Sciences
Rochester-based Phenomix Sciences is a biotech company that offers a test predicting how a person will respond to FDA-approved obesity treatments. The company received $500,000 as one of two winners in MEDA's second annual Million Dollar Challenge. Just days later, Phenomix secured $10,000 from Securian Financial as the MN Cup's top insurance-tech startup in the competition and another $35,000 from MEDA as the top minority-led startup. Readers of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal also named Phenomix as the most promising startup of 2019.
Pops Diabetes Care
Oak Park Heights-based Pops aims to make it easier for people with diabetes to monitor their glucose levels and better manage their health. In July, the company announced that it had raised a $6 million round of Series A funding from a group of investors that included Revolution's Rise of the Rest Seed Fund. Pops received FDA clearance in late 2018 and launched commercially this year.
SayKid
SayKid offers a screenless, plush learning tool for children that is powered by Amazon's Alexa to help children learn social, emotional and language skills. The company was recognized by Harvard as one of 15 businesses that "have the potential to accelerate positive change and transform the quality of education." SayKid also participated in the Futurebound accelerator and won $25,000 in a pitch competition sponsored by the University of Minnesota's Carlson School this fall.
Starting 11
In October, Minneapolis-based sports-tech startup Starting 11 received a $5 million investment from Brand Capital, the investment arm of one of India's largest media conglomerates. Starting 11 offers a fantasy soccer platform. The company said that it plans to use the funding to expand in India. With a growing population of 1.4 billion people, the country is among the fastest-growing emerging fantasy sports markets in the world.
StemoniX
StemoniX, a biotech startup using stem cells to create micro-organs for drug testing and development, raised $14.4 million in a round led by Minneapolis-based Brightstone Venture Capital. The company is using the funding to expand operations in Minnesota and California, as well as drive the development of new products and services using its stem cell technology.
Vyriad
Rochester-based Vyriad, a company creating cancer-killing viruses, announced in November that it had raised $24.4 million as part of a planned $37.8 million Series B round of funding. The money will help support the company as it hires between 20 to 25 new employees over the next year, as well as build out its new 25,000-square-foot facility in part of the former IBM campus in Rochester.
We Sparkle
We Sparkle uses AI-powered sofware to help small businesses care for both their customers and their communities. Founder and CEO Michelle Marys was part of the first Finnovation Fellowship and recently joined BETA's latest cohort. We Sparkle won the Impact Ventures division of the 2019 Minnesota Cup, securing $30,000 in funding. It also came in third place in the BETA Showcase during Twin Cities Startup Week.
