Technology and Innovation: Pandemic Has Not Slowed Montana's Growing Tech Sector.

• Author: Henderson, Christina Quick
• Position: MONTANA ECONOMIC REPORT

Montana's tech industry continued its course of steady growth this year despite the disruption of the pandemic. The state's high-tech companies generated a record $2.9 billion in revenues in 2020--up from $2.5 billion in 2019 according to a survey conducted by the Bureau of Business and Economic Research. Tech grew seven times faster than other sectors in the state.

Tech businesses across Montana attracted significant out-of-state investments in 2021.

* IT consulting firm Helix Business Solutions in Dillon was acquired by Speridian Technologies in February.

* Autonomous work drone startup Skyfish, based in Stevensville, announced in June that it raised $20 million in a series seed funding round.

* Neuro-ID, a Whitefish-based company that provides behavioral analytics for online businesses, closed one of the largest series B rounds in state history in November at $35 million.

Montana entrepreneurs have also benefited from a surge in venture capital dollars within the state. Bozeman-based venture firm Next Frontier Capital announced the close of their $80 million fund III in April 2021. Since its 2015 founding, Next Frontier has funded more than 35 companies, including investing $29.1 million in its Montana portfolio of 20 companies.

Since its founding in 2019, Two Bear Capital in Whitefish has invested about $75 million between their seed fund and a soon-to-be announced main fund with more pending. With a special interest in biotech and bioinformatics, Two Bear Capital has a total of 14 companies under their belt, including the Montana firms FYR Diagnostics (Missoula), Truwl (Whitefish), Inimmune (Missoula), and Verafi (Whitefish).

In addition to the jobs created by high growth startups, many of Montana's largest tech firms with hundreds of employees continue to expand their footprint in Montana, including Applied Materials in Kalispell; ATG, a Cognizant company in Missoula; on X maps in Missoula and Bozeman; PFL Tech in Livingston and Bozeman; and Zoot Enterprises in Bozeman and Billings.

As the pandemic has accelerated a shift toward remote and...