Top 13 Minnesota Startups to Watch in 2026
Minnesota's startup scene features a strong mix of industries, from healthcare and fintech to advanced manufacturing. The area is home to both new companies and more established players.
Cyber security firm Arctic Wolf has raised nearly $900 million in funding. Fintech company Branch has also secured over $638 million.
Below is our list of 13 Minnesota startups worth keeping an eye on.
Failory's Top 10 Picks
Branch builds financial tools that help businesses offer workers accelerated pay and digital wallets. Their platform gives employees instant access to earned wages, helping them manage their money without waiting for a traditional payday.
| Year Founded | 2015 |
| Founders | Atif Siddiqi, Divydeep Agarwal |
| Funding Amount | $638.1M |
| Startup Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Venture Round |
| Top Investors | General Atlantic, Techstars, Bonfire Ventures, Right Side Capital Management, M25 |
Perforce Software builds a flexible and scalable platform for version control and team collaboration. Their suite of DevOps tools is used by enterprise teams to manage security, compliance, and speed across the entire technology lifecycle.
| Year Founded | 1995 |
| Founders | Christopher Seiwald |
| Funding Amount | $30M |
| Startup Size | Major Organization (1,001-5,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Private Equity |
| Top Investors | Clearlake Capital Group, Francisco Partners |
Visana Health offers a comprehensive virtual clinic dedicated to women's health, providing personalized care for a range of complex conditions. Their digital health program is designed to improve the quality of life for women with common issues such as endometriosis, PCOS, and fibroids.
| Year Founded | 2019 |
| Founders | Joe Connolly, Shelly Lanning, Tom Morley |
| Funding Amount | $37.6M |
| Startup Size | Lean Team (11-50) |
| Last Funding Status | Series A |
| Top Investors | Flare Capital Partners, Frist Cressey Ventures, Venture Investors, Noro-Moseley Partners, Intermountain Ventures |
Arctic Wolf developed a security operations cloud to help organizations of any size end their cyber risk. The platform is paired with a dedicated Concierge Security Team that provides 24x7 monitoring, detection, and response as a managed service.
| Year Founded | 2012 |
| Founders | Brian NeSmith |
| Funding Amount | $899.2M |
| Startup Size | Major Organization (1,001-5,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Convertible Note |
| Top Investors | Lightspeed Venture Partners, Adams Street Partners, Redpoint, Neuberger Berman, Unusual Ventures |
Irrigreen has developed a digital sprinkler system that precisely waters lawns, much like an inkjet printer places ink on a page. The system uses software to map out a yard and control each stream of water, drastically cutting down on the water waste common with traditional sprinklers.
| Year Founded | 2018 |
| Founders | Gary Klinefelter, Shane Dyer |
| Funding Amount | $43.1M |
| Startup Size | Lean Team (11-50) |
| Last Funding Status | Series A |
| Top Investors | Ulu Ventures, Burnt Island Ventures, Sum Ventures, Anorak Ventures, Tamiami Angel Funds |
Calabrio develops a cloud-first workforce optimization suite that helps enrich human interactions within contact centers. Their unified platform provides tools for everything from employee performance and engagement to in-depth customer experience intelligence.
| Year Founded | 1995 |
| Founders | Brett Shockley |
| Funding Amount | $20.2M |
| Startup Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Venture Round |
| Top Investors | Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Split Rock Partners, BlueStream Ventures |
Dispatch created an on-demand delivery platform for businesses to manage, track, and share their deliveries. The software provides a centralized system for companies to oversee logistics from the initial order to the final drop-off.
| Year Founded | 2016 |
| Founders | Andrew Leone, Ryan Hanson |
| Funding Amount | $71M |
| Startup Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Series C |
| Top Investors | PeakSpan Capital, Great North Ventures, Trinity Private Equity Group, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, HPA (Hyde Park Angels) |
Niron Magnetics is commercializing the world's first high-performance permanent magnets made without any rare-earth materials. Their unique iron nitride technology offers a clean and cost-effective alternative for everything from electric vehicle motors to wind turbines.
| Year Founded | 2014 |
| Founders | Jian-Ping Wang |
| Funding Amount | $161.6M |
| Startup Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Debt Financing |
| Top Investors | Anzu Partners, Magna International, US Department of Energy, University of Minnesota, Stellantis Ventures |
Claros Technologies develops advanced materials that capture and destroy hazardous pollutants known as "forever chemicals" or PFAS. Their core technology enables a circular economy by creating sustainable products that eliminate toxic waste from the environment.
| Year Founded | 2018 |
| Founders | Abdennour Abbas, Michelle Bellanca |
| Funding Amount | $38.2M |
| Startup Size | Lean Team (11-50) |
| Last Funding Status | Convertible Note |
| Top Investors | Ecosystem Integrity Fund, Groove Capital, University of Minnesota, Capita3, Children's Minnesota |
Saluda Medical develops medical devices that provide therapy for chronic neurological conditions. Their main product, the Evoke® System, is a spinal cord stimulator that treats chronic pain by measuring the body's response to therapy and adjusting treatment in real time.
| Year Founded | 2010 |
| Founders | John Parker |
| Funding Amount | $499.5M |
| Startup Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Venture Round |
| Top Investors | TPG, Wellington Management, Boston Scientific, Fidelity, Redmile Group |
3 Additional Minnesota Startups Worth Following
Our top ten picks are just a small slice of what’s happening across Minnesota. The scene is full of companies at different stages, from new AI startups to established hardware firms.
Together, they've raised over half a billion dollars and are tackling problems in many industries. Here’s a look at a few more startups that are part of Minnesota's strong ecosystem.
