2026 Innovation Issue: Startups to watch — progress, pauses and partnerships
The 20 companies IBJ featured in last year’s Innovation Issue all appear to still be in business, and some have introduced new products, raised money or made other moves.
Small Biz Startups
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Growth mindset: How adding staff moves solo entrepreneurs from overwhelmed to opportunity
More than 80% of small businesses in the United States operate without employees, and many entrepreneurs thrive by staying solo. For others, it’s not a sustainable path. But deciding when and how to grow the team can be challenging.
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Checking in with past winners of Rally’s IN-Prize pitch contest, aimed at bringing startups to Indiana
The pitch contest, which comes with the potential for up to $1 million in rewards for each of the winners, returns this week as part of Elevate Ventures’ annual Rally innovation conference.
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Lingering conflict means angst for startup community
Indianapolis-based Elevate, a nonprofit venture investment firm, has been operating under a cloud since late April when state officials froze its funding.
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Fishers-based smart-mailbox company Arrive AI set to go public this week
The company, which has developed a smart-mailbox system for drone delivery, said it expects to begin trading on the Nasdaq exchange.
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Articles
2026 Innovation Issue: Don Brown launches Bioscope.AI
The serial entrepreneur also launched the affiliated Longevity Today, a website that identifies, processes and summarizes life sciences research and offers information to the public through AI personas.
Defense firm V2X, analytics startup Ekkobar among 2026 Mira Award winners
TechPoint announced 17 awards Friday night at its Mira Awards gala in Carmel. The annual awards program recognizes achievements in Indiana’s tech sector.
IEDC commits $15M to VC fund with goal of bringing Israeli startups to Indiana
Israel-based Iron Nation aims to raise at least $60 million for the fund and invest in about 20 high-tech startups.
Purdue’s president: Universities must adjust to the new realities of AI
Speakers at IBJ’s Technology Power Breakfast, including Purdue University President Mung Chiang, talked about the changes that artificial intelligence is bringing and what people can do to be ready.
Fishers-based Spokenote rolling out mass-customization video product
The tech firm launched by entrepreneur John Wechsler in 2022 is about to launch a product that represents a significant pivot from the QR-code product it started with four years ago.
Heartland Ventures launches $60M investment fund
Heartland’s investors are established Midwestern companies—businesses such as manufacturers, construction firms, logistics providers and real estate firms—and it makes investments into early-stage industrial technology startups with products that could benefit those investors.
Entrepreneur Randy Stocklin joins Pragmatico as co-CEO, co-founder
Stocklin joins as Pragmatico, launched last year by serial entrepreneur Santiago Jaramillo, is shifting its focus from workshops to consulting.
New Indianapolis venture studio aims to launch 8-12 startups in next few years
Indianapolis-based Alloy Partners says its OneHealth Studio, a venture studio that quietly began operating last month in partnership with Elanco Animal Health Inc., will be ready to create its first startups early next year.
Carmel-based Spektrum Labs secures $10M seed round
Local tech entrepreneur J.J. Thompson, who sold his previous tech firm, Rook Security, in 2019, is at it again with a new startup, Spektrum Labs.
Fishers-based Arrive AI sues former business consultant it alleges stole trade secrets
In its complaint, the company accuses the former consultant of interfering with its business opportunities, including what is described as a potentially multibillion-dollar deal with a large logistics company.
Software firm opens ‘living lab’ in Carmel as it works to raise first-ever venture investment
Carmel-based software company Alleo, which launched in 2019, opened a space that’s part showroom, part test and demo space for new and existing users of its online collaboration platform.
IEDC approves $10M in federal funding to launch Indianapolis venture studio
The Indiana Economic Development Corp. approved $10 million in federal funding for the planned OneHealth Venture Studio, which will operate on Elanco Animal Health’s new Indianapolis campus.
Scott Dorsey to Rally crowd: AI age reminiscent of dawn of the internet, but ‘so much faster’
At the annual Rally innovation conference, High Alpha founder Scott Dorsey joined Colorado-based tech entrepreneur Godard Abel for a chat about who will win—and who will lose—in the age of artificial intelligence.
Carmel software firm reaches settlement in legal dispute with former business partner
Carmel-based Max Minds, which does business as Alleo, had been embroiled in a legal dispute with a Virginia-based business partner since 2023, with each party suing the other.
Fishers-based Arrive AI books first-ever revenue in Q2
Fishers-based Arrive AI, which secured its first patent in 2014 and launched as a company in 2019, reported its first-ever revenue during the second quarter, the company announced Thursday.
Indianapolis-based software firm Metaimpact lands $5M investment
Metaimpact, a software company led by longtime local tech executive Scott McCorkle, has now raised $45 million since its launch in December 2018.
Marketing tech startup Backstroke lands $2.8M investment
Indianapolis-based marketing tech startup Backstroke Inc. has raised a total of $4.8 million in outside investment since its launch in 2024.
Indianapolis biz leader picked to lead new state Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Indiana’s new Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation is expected to focus on Main Street businesses—small businesses that are not venture-backed, not easily scaled and found in many towns and cities across the state.
Amid ongoing Elevate Ventures funding freeze, some companies approved for investments
Also, at Wednesday’s meeting, the IEDC board’s entrepreneurship committee updated the investment policy for the Indiana Angel Network Fund III LLC—the investment fund managed by Elevate Ventures through which the SSBCI money flows.