Arizona officials lead the charge to boost U.S semiconductor industry

Arizona leaders have launched the National Semiconductor Economic Roadmap (NSER), a new initiative to advance U.S. competitiveness in the international semiconductor industry. Global demand for semiconductors has reached an unprecedented high, but these chips, which have become a precious commodity, are also in short supply. This shortage comes in part because of the massive impact … Read more

Skynetwest joins forces with Soaring Eagle Imaging to take further advantage of drone data

Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) service providers Skynetwest, based in Chandler, and Soaring Eagle Imaging, based in Brandon, Miss., have joined forces to create a drone data collection and processing company called Soaring Eagle Technologies.  The goal for this new company is to become the leading resource for gathering and processing data provided by drones.  Soaring … Read more

Social media monitoring startup Cyber Dive releases its own child-safe cell phone

Cyber Dive, a tech startup that focuses on helping parents monitor their child’s social media and cell phone activity, has released Aqua One, a fully functional smartphone to provide an additional tool to keep children safe when interacting online. The company’s mission is to “stop social media from becoming a social disaster,” Cyber Dive co-founder … Read more

eVisit closes a $45M raise led by Goldman Sachs following increased demand for virtual healthcare platform

Virtual healthcare platform eVisit has announced the close of a Series B funding round, led by the Growth Equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management (Goldman Sachs). Other participants include Texas Health Resources, Tom Burton and Steve Barlow (Co-founders of Health Catalyst) and more.  “We’re thrilled to partner with Goldman Sachs and other highly strategic … Read more

GitKraken acquires BigBrassBand, creator of Git Integration for agile project management software Jira

Scottsdale-based GitKraken has announced its acquisition of BigBrassBand, the creator of a Git integration plugin for Jira. GitKraken’s Git productivity and collaboration solutions are used by more than 2.5 million software developers from 75,000 companies around the world to improve the efficiency and quality of their code. Virginia-based BigBrassBand brings more than 3.6 million users … Read more

Keap announces new e-commerce capabilities to simplify the headache of running a small business and online store

Keap, a sales and marketing automation platform for small businesses, announced a new strategy to further streamline all the processes required by small businesses to run an e-commerce site.  The Chandler-based company has launched expanded e-commerce capabilities in its Pro and Max products — the company’s most popular and newest options. The new capabilities are … Read more

Lotus Labs’ Padme machine learning platform launches at US Open

Lotus Labs Inc., a Chandler-based tech startup that helps companies integrate machine learning, launched its Padmé platform at the US Open.  It seems Daniil Medvedev and Emma Raducanu weren’t the only big winners at the tournament this year.  Lotus Labs specializes in both machine learning and edge computing, and its Padmé platform utilizes machine learning … Read more

Nextiva raises $200M from Goldman Sachs to accelerate and improve connected communications

Nextiva, a Scottsdale-based connected communications company, has announced a $200 million raise from Goldman Sachs at a $2.7 billion valuation. This is the company’s first external funding round.  The investment follows a year of growth for Nextiva, which reports $250 million in ARR. Additionally, the company boasts continued product development and market leadership. According to … Read more

UArizona joins Colorado startup showcase, disruptive companies should apply

The University of Arizona has been invited to participate in Destination Startup, an annual startup showcase held in Colorado designed to highlight some of the best companies in the Intermountain West.  The showcase brings together several of the leading research universities and federal laboratories across the Intermountain West region. Standout startups from these institutions will … Read more

August roundup: Arizona tech gains momentum during monsoon season

Mosaic to help Phoenix builders

August was a rocky month in terms of world news, but Arizona tech continues to make good progress toward building a solid tech ecosystem. Last month we saw acquisitions, major investments, notable recognition and programs aimed at improving diversity across different fields. Scottsdale entrepreneurs named 2021 Entrepreneur of the Year Trainual founder Chris Ronzio and … Read more