With about 9.3 percent of the state’s total economy coming from tech companies, Minnesota is one of the most important tech corridors in the United States. Whether founded here or moved from different zones, publicly traded or privately owned, the largest tech companies in Minnesota can change the world for the better in multiple ways.
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From new patents and innovations to job opportunities, these are the biggest tech players in the North Star State.
Largest Tech Companies Founded in Minnesota
Some tech companies headquartered in the North Star State have been established elsewhere originally. Yet, here are some of the largest tech companies founded in Minnesota.
MoneyGram International, Inc.
One of the best-known Fintech companies in the world, MoneyGram International Inc., started its journey over 80 years ago as Minneapolis-based Travel Express. The company first entered the financial market in 1980 and started to operate under the name MoneyGram International in 1998.
Even though MoneyGram has moved its headquarters to Dallas, TX, it still tops the charts as the largest tech company founded in Minnesota based on revenue. In 2021 alone, the company had a revenue of $2.1 billion.
The originally Minnesota-based company has agreed to be acquired by Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC in December 2022.
SPS Commerce, Inc.
Established in 1987 in St. Paul, SPS Commerce is today the second-largest tech company founded in Minnesota by the number of employees and generated revenue.
The company originally called St. Paul Software – the SPS in the rebranded name – generated a revenue of $385.3 million and employed 1,901 people in 2021.
The tech leader provides cloud-based supply-chain management software and third-party logistics for retailers and suppliers.
Aside from the Minneapolis headquarters, the company has offices in New Jersey, Beijing, Hong Kong, Toronto, Melbourne, Sydney, London, Mumbai, and Kyiv.
SPS Commerce went public in April 2010, when it debuted on the NASDAQ market. Today, the company is also an S&P 600 component.
PaR Systems
PaR Systems is a systems engineering firm specializing in automated manufacturing and material handling equipment.
It was founded in 1961 in Shoreview, Minnesota, where it is still headquartered. However, its offices are spread worldwide.
PaR Systems doesn’t employ lots of people but is the third-largest Minnesota-founded tech company revenue-wise. In 2021, it generated $371.5 million.
Digital River
Claiming the spot as the fourth-largest tech company founded in Minnesota based on generated revenue, Digital River brags with a whopping $370.5 million in 2021. However, it only employed 1,239 people – a lot less than SPS Commerce.
Digital River is a privately held company focused on global e-commerce, marketing, and payment services. It was founded in 1994 in Minnetonka, and it now has subsidiaries in Ireland, Germany, Taiwan, Singapore, and Brazil, to name just a few.
Calabrio
Flawless customer service is the pinnacle of any successful company, and Calabrio is one of the tech companies that can help a business achieve it. Founded in Minneapolis in 2007, Calabrio provides workforce management services and helps companies streamline customer service and support through cloud-first software systems.
One of the largest tech companies founded in Minnesota, Calabrio generated $248.5 million in revenue in 2021 after a strategic acquisition was announced by Thoma Bravo. The company’s headquarters remained in Minneapolis even after the acquisition. Global locations include Vancouver, London, Stockholm, and Singapore.
Code42
With a revenue of $44.5 million in 2022, Code42 ranks in the top five largest tech companies founded in Minnesota.
Established in 2001, the SaaS company specializes in insider risk management and cybersecurity software. Its cloud-native data-loss protection product Incydr is designed to protect enterprises from data leaks, insider threat breaches, and data loss.
Code42 also provides cloud backup and recovery software for Mac, Windows, and Linux.
The Largest Publicly Traded Tech Companies in Minnesota
Most tech companies founded in Minnesota were initially privately held. However, some have gone public and can be traded on financial markets. Whether you want to invest or just know which they are, there are the largest publicly-traded tech companies in Minnesota.
Ceridian HCM
Ceridian HCM is one of the largest American providers of human resources software. Services include real-time payroll, time reporting, HR, benefits, and workforce management, among others.
The award-winning company was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Minneapolis. It went public in 2007 after it was acquired by Thomas H. Lee Partners and Fidelity National Financial and is now traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
The S&P 500 company generated a revenue of $1.024 billion in 2021.
Jamf Holding Corp.
Bragging with year-over-year growth of 45 percent, Jamf Holding Corp. has generated $412.5 million in revenue and $65.2 million in cash flow provided by operations in 2021.
The Minneapolis-headquartered company was founded in 2002 and is best known for its Apple Enterprise management solutions. Jamf provides a variety of Apple deployment services and solutions for platforms such as Microsoft Intune, Google, Salesforce, and Cisco, to name just a few.
The company is publicly traded on NASDAQ.
DIGI International
Headquartered in Minnetonka but present in a number of locations throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Asia, and Europe, DIGI International is a leading tech company within the Internet of Things sector. The company also offers embedded networking systems for end consumers, remote workers, and various industries.
Founded in 1985, DIGI international went public in 1989, and it can be traded on the NASDAQ markets. In 2021, it generated a revenue of $309 million and over 30 percent annual growth.
Largest Privately Held Tech Companies in Minnesota
Privately held tech companies in Minnesota are naturally smaller than publicly traded ones. That said, here are the largest.
Entrust Corp.
The largest privately-held tech company in Minnesota is Entrust Corp. This company was established in 1969 as DataCard Corporation.
Quandt family acquired DataCard in 1987, marking the beginning of the company’s growth. In 2013, DataCard acquired Entrust, and Entrust DataCard was born in 2014. Today, the Shakopee-based company employs over 2,500 people globally and provides security services for financial cards, e-passports, e-commerce, and Fintech companies.
In 2021, Entrust generated $800 million in revenue.
Minco
Minco is a privately-held tech company founded in Fridley, MN, but headquartered in Minneapolis.
It provides temperature-control and temperature-sensing solutions, flexible-printed circuit boards, and thermal solutions for medical, aerospace, defense, and food service applications, among others.
The company employs over 650 people worldwide and has generated a revenue of $188.2 million in 2021.
Perforce Software
Founded in 1995 in Alameda, California, but currently headquartered in Minneapolis, Perforce Software is a developer of software used for developing and running applications as well as version control tools. Its solutions address a variety of sectors, from aerospace and defense to life sciences, Helix Core, OpenLogic, and Akana being some of their most popular products.
Clearlake Capital and Francisco Partners hold and fund Perforce privately. The Fortune 100 company generated a revenue of $168 million in 2021.
Forgotten Tech Companies in Minnesota
Minnesota is home to some of the greatest tech companies in the world. Others were born here but acquired or merged with other companies. From all, these are the largest forgotten tech companies in Minnesota.
ADC Telecommunications
Founded in 1935 in Eden Prairie, ADC Telecommunications initially built hearing aids and audiometers. Over the decades, it entered the market of power supplies and magnetic amplifiers and eventually entered the telecommunication market in 1983.
Despite generating billions of dollars in revenue, ADC Telecom’s owners decided to sell it to Swiss-domiciled Tyco Electronics in December 2010.
Known as TE Connectivity, Tyco Electronics is a leader in the design and manufacture of data communication systems, industrial equipment, and consumer electronics. In 2021, Tyco Electronics generated $14,83 billion in revenue.
Lawson Software
Established in 1975 in St. Paul, Minnesota, Lawson Software was a software company specializing in ERP for vertical markets.
Infor, a leader in the industry-specific enterprise software market, acquired Lawson Software in 2011. New-York based Infor generated $3.2 billion in annual revenue in 2021.
Today, Lawson Software is the Infor division of Software Connect.
MacSoft
MacSoft was founded in 1993 in Plymouth, Minnesota, but Destineer acquired it in 2003. Nevertheless, the company still operates under its original name as a producer of video games. Before the merger, MacSoft was the first developer of Macintosh consumer software.
Destineer Publishing Corp is based in Eden Prairies, Minnesota, but the game developer is much smaller than others. Its revenue in 2021 was only $8 million.
Control Data Corporation
Founded in 1957 in Minneapolis, Control Data Corporation was one of the major mainframes and supercomputer firms in the United States.
The company thrived in its first three decades, but the emergence of personal computing disrupted the need for mainframes.
A liquidity crisis between 1980 and 1990 resulted in the dismantling of Control Data Corporation, which was reformed into Control Data Systems, Inc. and Ceridian. Today, Ceridian is the largest publicly traded tech company in Minnesota.
