In the News Archive
Elucent Medical raises $42.5M for cancer-surgery navigation tech
April 16, 2024 – Mine Inno
“An Eden Prairie-based medtech company developing a means of targeting tumors during cancer surgery has raised $42.5 million in a Series C funding round led by Vensana Capital and RC Capital...."
ADM Breaks Ground on Minnesota Biorefinery
April 12, 2024 – Great American Crop Insurance
“The plant will be built on a 34-acre parcel adjacent to ADM's corn-processing plant...The plant is expected to employ up to 100 temporary workers during construction and offer more than 50 manufacturing jobs once the facility reaches full production."
Solugen Breaks Ground on World's First Sustainable Molecule Factory
April 12, 2024 – Design & Development Today
“The process makes plant-derived materials that can replace those made from fossil fuels."
Earlitec Diagnostics raised $21.5M for early autism diagnostic tool
April 2, 2024 – Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal
“An Atlanta-based medtech startup with a facility and manufacturing in Minneapolis this month raised $21.5 million in its Series B funding round, led by Nexus NeuroTech Ventures and Venture Investors Health Fund…"
Medtech’s next gen
March 8, 2024 – Twin Cities Business
"Meet five Minnesota entrepreneurs taking big swings at health care innovation that could improve disease detection and treatment…"
MySimplePetLab launches express retail clinics
March 6, 2024 – Twin Cities Business
"A MinuteClinic for pets? That’s the thinking behind a new walk-in clinic launched by Minneapolis-based pet health startup MySimplePetLab…"
Rochester company to provide zero-gravity eye drops for NASA astronauts
Feb. 26, 2024 – Star Tribune
"NASA SpaceX Crew8 will bring Nanodropper products to the International Space Station…"
Magnet startup Niron attracts more big-name investors
Feb. 20, 2024 – Minne Inno
"Months after landing a multimillion-dollar investment from some of the biggest automakers, Minneapolis-based Niron Magnetics has captured Samsung's attention…"
‘Shark Tank’s’ Kevin O’Leary invests in Minneapolis startup Tavolo
Feb. 22, 2024 – Minne Inno
"…Tavolo – a platform that helps restaurant owners automate their marketing – raised $1 million in its first institutional round of investment. O'Leary Ventures ... and Groove Capital in Minneapolis led the investment…"
LightEdge expands to Minnesota with $31 million purchase of Chaska data center
Jan. 22, 2024 – Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal
"...LightEdge is planning to hire additional sales and support staff to expand operations at the Chaska data center…"
Minnesota startups to watch in 2024
Jan. 12, 2024 – Minne Inno
"Niron Magnetics ... made Time magazine's Best Inventions of 2023 list while Ecolab Inc. and Techstars finally brought a local company on to their Farm to Fork accelerator…"
Medical device maker Summit Medical signs 75,000-s.f. lease in Eagan’s Viking Lakes
Jan. 9, 2024 – Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal
"… Summit, a developer and manufacturer of medical devices ... has grown from 16 employees in 2011 to now over 100 employees…"
Fridley-based medical device startup raises $13M
Jan. 2, 2024 – Twin Cities Business
"The company is developing a medical device designed to treat ‘degenerative mitral regurgitation' a prevalent disease…"
Medical device manufacturer Evevo launches in Maple Lake
Nov. 29, 2023 – Twin Cities Business
"A joint venture between a Minnesota company and a Japanese firm, Evevo is a contract manufacturer designed to meet ‘unmet needs’ for local medical device startups…"
Arbor Wood acquires EcoVantage, opens new Bagley plant
Nov. 28, 2023 – BusinessNorth
"Arbor Wood Co., a Duluth-based manufacturer of thermally modified wood products, is expanding through acquisition and by opening a new production facility in Bagley near Bemidji …"
Michigan-based Ascential Technologies opens Blaine facility
Nov. 21, 2023 – Twin Cities Business
"… The Blaine facility will specialize in developing custom manufacturing machinery and solutions designed specifically for medical and life science companies … The facility employs 150 people …"
Carter Manufacturing expands in Minneapolis
Nov. 15, 2023 – Gasworld
"Precision bearing specialist Carter Manufacturing has expanded its US-based facility in Minneapolis …"
Solugen is planning a 500,000-square-foot plant in Marshall in partnership with ADM
Nov. 6, 2023 – Star Tribune
"… Solugen announced its next ‘Bioforge’ – the name it calls its chemical plants – will open in Marshall in 2025 … The plant is expected to employ 100 people during construction and 40 people once the first phase opens …"
Nucleus RadioPharma lands $56M raise
Oct. 18, 2023 – Twin Cities Business
"The Mayo Clinic-backed startup says it plans to use the funds to ramp up production of a new form of highly targeted cancer treatment … Nucleus RadioPharma plans to establish multiple new manufacturing facilities around the country, including one in Rochester near Mayo Clinic …."
Countertop supplier MSI plans 200,000-square-foot buildout in Maple Grove’s Arbor Lakes
Oct. 5, 2023 – Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal
"… MSI’s new facility will be a regional headquarters for its operations across Minnesota and the Dakotas … The firm has over 50 Twin Cities employees, with more expected to be hired with the move …"
MN Cup grand prize goes to Carba
Sept. 19, 2023 – Twin Cities Business
"Minnesota’s largest startup competition presented its top award to the Minneapolis-based developer of a reactor that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere …."
Laborie buys Urotronic, maker of med-tech device for prostate
Sept. 06, 2023 – Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal
"Urotronic Inc., a Twin Cities medical-technology startup that's developed a device to treat urological disorders, has been acquired by Laborie Medical Technologies Inc. in a deal that could be worth as much as $600 million …."
Chemical startup has $90M plan for Minnesota
Aug. 29, 2023 – Finance & Commerce
"Solugen Inc. is floating plans for a major new production facility in Marshall, a project that would bring at least $90 million worth of investment and dozens of high-paying jobs to western Minnesota …."
$1.5B available for clean energy from Minnesota firm AB CarVal
August 2, 2023 – Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal
“St. Louis Park-based AB CarVal has closed on a $1.5 billion fund geared toward clean energy efforts … AB CarVal has about 120 employees at its West End headquarters. It also has offices in New York, London and Singapore …”
Eagan-based Pelvital raises $2.68M in seed round
August 2, 2023 – Twin Cities Business
“The funds will be used to finish development of a device to help women affected by stress urinary incontinence …”
Boston Scientific plans $170M campus in Maple Grove
July 26, 2023 – Star Tribune
"...the company expects to create 177 jobs within the first three years at an average cash wage of $65.08 per hour …”
Solar panel company plans $145M factory in Twin Cities
July 25, 2023 – Star Tribune
"Heliene, which already operates a plant on the Iron Range, will begin production in 2024 …”
Cirrus buys city building for $3.45 million
July 23, 2023 – Duluth News Tribune
"...The purchase of the incubator building will allow us to expand production and meet the growing demands of our customers …”
Cirrus buys city building for $3.45 million
July 23, 2023 – Duluth News Tribune
"...The purchase of the incubator building will allow us to expand production and meet the growing demands of our customers …”
Minneapolis sustainable cereal brand raises $6M
July 5, 2023 – Twin Cities Business
“… Seven Sundays, which currently has 11 employees, also plans to hire more workers and purchase processing and packaging equipment …”
Flywheel lands $54M Series D raise
June 27, 2023 – Twin Cities Business
“The [Minneapolis-based] company has developed an AI-based platform designed to help researchers comb through massive amounts of medical imaging data …”
Minneapolis wound care startup raises $4.25M
June 15, 2023 – Twin Cities Business
“Founded in 2022, The Wound Company aims to improve outcomes for wound patients through technology and ‘high-touch’ personalized care …”
Graco expansion will nearly double size of Anoka plant, add 50 jobs
June 9, 2023 – Star Tribune
"After adding significant space in Dayton and Rogers over the past four years, Graco's expansion will nearly double its footprint in Anoka …”
Lockheed Martin Chooses St. Paul for a Business Expansion
May 23, 2023 – Twin Cities Business
“High-paying jobs will be created in St. Paul this year when Lockheed Martin Corp. opens a facility to serve commercial, defense, and security customers.”
Medical-device incubator Vita Group plans new 140K-square-foot headquarters in Woodbury
May 17, 2023 – Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal
“Medical device incubator Vita Group has begun renovating a new 140,000-square-foot space in Woodbury as part of an effort to further expand its operations.”
Modest-activewear startup Kalsoni tailored to Muslim women lands deal with REI
May 11, 2023 – Minne Inno
“[Muna] Mohamed’s startup was later rebranded to Kalsoni, a Somali word for confidence, the CEO said. Prior to the name change, the startup had placed fourth in a student division of the Minnesota Cup and participated in Target Corp.’s incubator program in 2020...”
Nucleus RadioPharma to become Two Discovery Square's second tenant
May 10, 2023 – Rochester Post-Bulletin
“Radiopharmaceuticals used in cancer treatments at Mayo Clinic will be made just down the road at Two Discovery Square starting in 2024…”
Health benefits company Gravie lands $179 million investment
March 21, 2023 – Minne Inno
“… Growth is the focus for [Minneapolis-based] Gravie, which has increased its employee count– now at about 300 full-time employees – by 200% since the beginning of 2022 … The company is planning to hire an additional 75 employees or so this year …”
Inc.’s Midwest regional rankings include 18 Minnesota-based companies
March 1, 2023 – Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal
“Eighteen Minnesota-based companies have been ranked in this year’s annual Inc. magazine's Midwest regionals. The list ranked a total of 203 private companies that have greatly impacted the Midwest's economy…”
Med-device company Anteris Technologies raises $24 million
Feb. 21, 2023 – Minne Inno
“An Eagan-based company developing a device to replace a heart’s aortic valve has raised about $24 million…”
Minneapolis startup Vertical Insure, provider of embedded insurance, raises $4M
Dec. 16, 2022 – Minne Inno
“… The company will use the funds to conduct hiring as it scales its go-to-market strategy …”
HistoSonics, which uses sonic waves to destroy cancer tissue, raises $100M
Dec. 13, 2022 – Minne Inno
“… Funds will also be used to expand its current 30,000-square-foot facility in Plymouth …”
Med-tech company behind Walkasins shoe inserts for preventing falls raises $5M
Nov. 15, 2022 – Minne Inno
"… The Eden Prairie-based company [RxFunction Inc.] makes Walkasins, a device that connects shoe-inserted pads with a leg cuff that vibrates when a person shows signs of imbalance while walking …"
Alpheus Medical, which uses ultrasound to target brain tumors, raises $14M
Nov. 11, 2022 – Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal
"A Chanhassen-based medtech company developing an ultrasound therapy to remove solid brain tumors has raised nearly $14 million in equity financing …"
Apple software specialist Jamf launches $50 million investment fund for early-stage companies
Oct. 27, 2022 – Minne Inno
“ ... the Minneapolis-based tech company plans to deploy $50 million over the next five years into companies that support the Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant’s ecosystem …”
Tumor-fighting tech company Monteris Medical raises $73M in equity, debt
Oct. 27, 2022 – Minne Inno
“… The new financing will be used to support industry adoption of the [Minnetonka-based] company’s central business product, the NeuroBlate System, as well as furthering clinical research and technology development …”
Red Lake, White Earth solar energy projects mean new employment opportunities
Oct. 24, 2022 – Star Tribune
“… Minnesota Power, hungry for more clean energy and trained workers, is working to develop projects and train tribal members as solar installers, electricians and more …”
Groove Capital kicks off inaugural cohort for emerging angel investors of color and women
Sept. 13, 2022 – Minne Inno
"Minneapolis-based pre-seed investment firm and angel-investing association, is leading a local cohort to connect emerging angel investors who are women or people of color as part of a regional program..."
MedTrace inaugurates U.S. headquarters in downtown Minneapolis
September 7, 2022 – Medical Alley
“... The company expects to grow from 4 to 10 U.S.-based employees within the next 12 months …”
Business Facilities’ 2022 metro rankings report
August 8, 2022 – Business Facilities
“Minneapolis-St. Paul tied for 8th in Corporate Headquarters and 7th for Tech Talent Leaders.”
Wabash to move entire refrigerated division to Little Falls
August 6, 2022 – Morrison County Record
“Wabash National is prepared to undergo an even bigger expansion and make a larger investment in the area than what was presented just a few months ago...”
Business Facilities’ 18th annual rankings report: State rankings
August 4, 2022 – Business Facilities
“Minnesota was 7th for Best Business Climate; 5th for Semiconductors; 9th for Installed Wind Power Capacity.”
The Camelot Index - Minnesota ranks 5th on six "quality of life" measures
August 2022 – State Policy Reports
“Minnesota was 5th in the index that ranks states on six “quality of life” measures: economy, health, crime, education, society, and state government. The top-ranking state in 2022 is New Hampshire.”
Cirrus unveils painting addition to Duluth facilities
July 15, 2022 – Business North
"Cirrus Aircraft has opened the latest addition to its Duluth manufacturing plant – a 16,000 square foot painting facility that will increase employment by 50 persons. With the expansion, Cirrus will have 86,000 square feet of painting space . . ."