Last week, NEXTpittsburgh presented the first seven of the Top 14 Tech Companies to Watch in 2014. This week, we give you the rest.
The list was compiled with the help of local business leaders and investors who assisted in the selection of local companies which best exemplify the growing base of successful businesses across a range of industries.
The chosen 14 were mentioned repeatedly as among the rising stars in their fields based on their successful track records in raising money, employee hires and new product launches and sales.
Here are the final seven Top 14 Companies to Watch in 2014:
ALung
Based on the South Side, ALung helps patients suffering from acute respiratory failure to breathe again with its first commercial product, the Hemolung Respiratory Assist System.
This will be a big year for ALung as the company moves into full commercialization, which began in the second half of 2013 and earned the company revenues of more than $500,000.
With the help of $15.8 million raised in 2013 and a total $56 million raised to date, ALung will continue rolling the product out in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Canada and Australia. FDA approval for use in the U.S. is still a few years away.
ALung employs 40 people in Pittsburgh and 10 in East Asia.
CivicScience
This East Liberty-based research company assists leading marketers around the globe by polling millions of consumers every week to uncover trends, consumer behavior and the political climate using web-based applications and widgets.
The company has 18 employees, having recently hired a COO and vice president of marketing and raised $1.75 million in 2013, $6.1 million to date.
Founder John Dick says new applications for media companies will be rolled out in the third quarter of 2014, aimed primarily at predicting consumer watching of TV shows, movies and other programming.
Civic Science will also launch new small- and mid-market research products for companies like car dealers, local retailers and banks which will allow them to build and buy easy-to-use, low-cost reports online.
ExOne
ExOne continues to expand on the dynamic growth of its “additive” manufacturing technologies, offering services and equipment which allow clients to fabricate products with great precision at low cost.
The company in North Huntingdon went public in February of 2013 in a wildly successful bid. A secondary offering went out in September 2013, raising more than $150 total for the company, reports David Burns, CEO.
Big plans are underway in the coming year. The company has broken ground on a new $25 million European headquarters near Augsburg, Germany, slated to open in late 2014. The North Huntingdon headquarters will be expanded with the addition of 25 percent more space, says Burns.
A new global enterprise resource planning system will be installed this year, two new machine models will be unveiled, and new industrial materials for 3D printing will be rolled out. Revenues worldwide are expected to grow from $39.5 million in 2013 to between $55 million and $60 million in 2014.
Worldwide, the company employs about 220. The company’s headquarters here grew from 50 to 80 people this year. ExOne has centers in Michigan, Houston, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom, India and Russia.
4moms
The company’s baby gear is simplifying the lives of parents, one robotic product at a time. So far there are six, a few of which are taking the art of folding and unfolding baby gear—with the touch of a button—to new levels.
The Strip District company is on a growth trajectory and has 124 employees to date, 47 of whom are dedicated solely to new product development.
In late 2014, 4moms will launch the world’s first robotic car seat, a product that installs it in the car while giving parents an LCD confirmation that it is safely in place. This will address the longstanding safety problem of car seats being incorrectly installed, says 4moms.
The origami mini stroller will roll out as well, a lighter version of the popular origami power-folding stroller that weighs less than 16 pounds. The stroller has daytime running lights, a cell phone charger and will retail at less than $450.
While 4moms didn’t raise any capital in 2013, it did reap more than $43 million between 2006-2012, including a large investment from Newell Rubbermaid and $20 million from Bain Capital Ventures. Additional funding has come from Innovation Works, BT Allied Angle Investors and private investors.
Founded by CEO David Wible in 2003, Industry Weapon is streamlining the management of digital content wherever that content may be displayed. The firm specializes in designing and developing content management systems as well as products and services which push content to digital signs, video walls, interactive kiosks, desktops, phones and more.
IW services thousands of customers in 15 countries and is supported by more than 200 partners including HP, Cisco, Intel and more. The company has raised $1 million to date, employs 40 and is hiring across the board. Plans call for a global expansion this year into more than 150 counties.
NoWait
This Pittsburgh startup took a great idea one no one else had and ran with it: they are reducing the wait time at popular casual dining restaurants across the country. In 2013, NoWait hired Ware Sykes as CEO and within one year the company extended its reach from 700,000 to more than 3 million diners seated.
The company has raised $5.5 million to date and plans to hire in the coming year as it accelerates toward its next phase of growth in Pittsburgh and New York City. In 2013 the company rolled out the NoWait Guest app, giving diners a way to check the wait at participating casual restaurants from their phones.
The Resumator
Looking for a job? Chances are you’ve already seen The Resumator, Don Charlton’s applicant tracking and recruiting software for companies. The company has generated quite the buzz, with clients like President Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney, both of whom used The Resumator to recruit volunteers during the presidential campaign.
The Resumator has gone bi-coastal, having opened an office in San Francisco where it is “tapping the best engineering talent here in Pittsburgh and the best sales and marketing talent out west,” says Charlton. The company currently has 45 employees and has raised $3 million to date.
Other tech companies to watch
Putting together a list of great companies in Pittsburgh had one drawback. We only wish we could have mentioned more. Stay tuned to NEXTpittsburgh for more news on these great companies doing great work in future weeks: Astrobotics, BudgetSimple, BlueBelt, Carmell, Cognition Therapeutics, Digital Dream Labs, Niche, Rinovum, Safaba, Shoefitr, SnapRetail and more.