Hey! I wanted to walk you through all the trailblazing companies that put Louisiana‘s fast-growing technology industry on the map. People rarely associate the Bayou State with innovation, but since 2006 an emerging network of homegrown startups plus tech giants like IBM and Accenture have turned parts of Louisiana into a Southern-fried Silicon Valley! 🦞🏭
I‘ll profile all the industry pioneers driving this digital transformation across the state – from local New Orleans startups to Fortune 500 behemoths…
How 3 Louisiana Startups Put the State on the Tech Map 🗺️
Louisiana may seem an unlikely birthplace for high-flying tech startups. But since the early 2000s, a crop of ambitious local founders have etched their names into business lore by launching companies that now rank among America‘s elite:
TurboSquid – Monster of 3D Model Marketplaces 💎
Founded right in New Orleans back in 2000, Turbosquid today operates the world‘s leading online 3D model store. It‘s amassed a giant library of over 800,000 3D model assets that members across industries license and integrate into animations, games, VR experiences, and other cutting-edge projects. To put Turbosquid‘s dominance into context – over 2.5 million total members have contributed 3D models or made purchases on its platform to-date!
Given their meteoric rise, it‘s no wonder stock image giant Shutterstock scooped up Turbosquid last year for a cool $75 million. But Turbosquid still runs all operations right from NOLA. Founders Matt and Andy Wisdom started off as 3D animators for commercials in the 90s before deciding to scratch their entrepreneurial itch. And the rest is history!
Align – Taking the Work Out of Teamwork 🤝
Managing teams can seem more chaotic than herding kittens sometimes! That‘s why New Orleans native Tim Klabunde started Align in 2012 – to create user-friendly software for organizing workplace collaboration. Align‘s tools help bosses assign tasks, build playbooks for "this is how we do things", and pull insights on what needs fixing across groups big and small.
A decade later, Align now serves 76 countries and over 25 industries like construction, manufacturing, and healthcare. After a $7 million investment round last year, I‘d expect Align‘s simple but powerful technology to continue permeating workplaces all over.
Fun fact – Tim got the idea for Align while struggling to lead his small cleaning business using spreadsheets and post-it notes. Talk about scrappy origins! 🧹
PlantBid – An eBay for Landscapers 🌿
Searching for plants shouldn‘t require scouring 20 different nursery websites or making 20 phone calls! The founders of PlantBid aimed to make procuring flowers, shrubs, trees and other landscaping inventory easier for contractors.
So in 2012 Cameron Catrelle and Dave Wooden built a streamlined wholesale "eCommerce marketplace" where landscapers can view photos of available nursery stock nearby and purchase online. Reducing friction around sourcing and quotes, PlantBid grew rapidly. It now it helps small Mom n‘ Pop landscaping outfits and bigger contractors alike access plant materials with far less hassle than before.
Titans of Tech Powering Louisiana‘s Digital Economy 🏗️
In addition to fresh ideas flowing out from local startups, established giants cultivated regional tech hubs in Baton Rouge and New Orleans:
| Company | Revenue | Employees | Headquarters | Years in Louisiana |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lumen | $19.7 Billion | 40,000 | Monroe | 90+ |
| Entergy | $10.1 Billion | 13,400 | New Orleans | 100+ |
| Turner Industries | $2.5 Billion | 8,100 | Baton Rouge | 37 |
Take Lumen Technologies as a prime example – it singlehandedly generates over 5% of Louisiana‘s annual GDP through its massive cloud computing and digital infrastructure business!
Lumen, along with local Institutions like Entergy Corporation and construction tech pioneer Turner Industries attract top-notch tech and engineering talent to Louisiana and invest substantially in the state‘s digital economy. Entergy develops cutting-edge grid modernization tech like smart meters while also building out solar farms and other green energy capabilities. And Turner creates advanced platforms for better construction planning, estimation, procurement and more used across thousands of project sites.
Together with upstarts like Turbosquid, these legacy anchors nourish Louisiana‘s ecosystem – supporting innovation through funding, partnerships, and thousands of high-paying jobs.
Spotlight on 3 More Key Louisiana Tech Players ⭐
Beyond mega-cap corporations, private equity and venture capital also flows to homegrown Louisiana tech firms:
InXile – Renowned Game Studio Levels-Up NOLA 🎮
Led by industry veteran Brian Fargo, acclaimed video game developer InXile Entertainment set up a major studio in New Orleans all the way back in 2014 to complement its California HQ. InXile built a diehard fanbase from classic roleplaying titles like Wasteland and The Bard‘s Tale before Microsoft snatched them up in 2018.
While details on whatever they‘re building next remain tightly guarded secrets, InXile‘s reputation for imaginative worldbuilding and emphasis on rich storytelling keeps them a leader pushing Louisiana‘s gaming scene forward.
Advano – Charging Revolutionary Battery Tech ⚡
Founded by scientists out of Tulane University in 2016, New Orleans battery startup Advano fabricates enhanced lithium-ion battery components designed to store exponentially more power. How? By incorporating proprietary silicon-based composite materials instead of graphite.
Advano‘s breakthrough promises to supercharge everything from phones to Teslas! Recognizing their potential, prominent investors like iPhone-creator Tony Fadel already plugged over $18 million into Advano. So I foresee their next-gen battery tech soon powering all kinds of revolutionary devices!
Geocent – IT Veterans Securing Louisiana Networks ⚙️
With roots stretching back to 1992, Louisiana managed IT services firm Geocent just got scooped up by national government contractor Sev1Tech last year. But they continue safeguarding and supporting customers under the Geocent brand much like they have the past 30 years! Companies across the Gulf States rely on Geocent‘s expertise securing networks, mitigating risks, hosting cloud infrastructure, building custom software plus more.
Public Companies Carrying Tech‘s Torch 📈
In addition to private equity-funded startups, publicly traded corporations also drive technological progress and job growth all across Louisiana:
Lumen – Bellwether of Cloud & Digital Infrastructure
As highlighted already, telecom giant Lumen Technologies (formerly CenturyLink) owns Louisiana‘s tech crown – generating over 5% of the state‘s entire GDP!
After divesting its legacy phone and DSL internet units last year to streamline around cloud services and enterprise fiber networks, Lumen‘s stock bounced back from pandemic lows today hovering around $10 per share.
And with projections of 17% annual earnings growth over the next 5 years, Lumen seems positioned to continue its market-leading expansion empowering data-driven innovation economy-wide.
Waitr – Underdogs of Food Delivery 🥡
You can‘t discuss publicly traded Louisiana tech without mentioning Waitr Holdings – the Lake Charles-based food ordering and delivery app striving to carve out market share vs larger rivals like Doordash and UberEats.
It‘s been a rough couple years for Waitr stock though – plummetting from its 2018 highs above $300 down to just around $2 per share today after failing to turn consistent profits.
However, moves into cannabis delivery via acquisition of Flowhub and other diversification efforts could help Waitr regain Wall Street confidence. Because Americans order 4 billion deliveries yearly – an industry growing over 20% annually – so plenty of appetite remains!
Legacy Louisiana Tech Ventures Now Gone But Not Forgotten ⚰️
Of course where there are meteoric wins in technology, crashes back down to earth remain a given too. Despite bright starts, shifting market landscapes led these forgotten, defunct or dried-up Louisiana tech pioneers to fade away:
Fifth Generation Systems – Founded in 1984 out of Baton Rouge, this software firm struck gold early with its liberating data backup solution "Fastback" tailor-made for early IBM PCs. Fastback‘s success attracted acquisition from antivirus giant Symantec in 1993. So while Fifth Gen is now defunct, it helped put Louisiana‘s nascent 1980s software scene on the map!
CenturyLink – Established 1930 in small-town Monroe, CenturyLink steadily grew into a national telecom leader over 9 decades. But sluggish rural broadband and landline declines forced CenturyLink to sell off and restructure last year as streamlined cloud provider Lumen Technologies. So RIP CenturyLink – you had a good run!
Geocent – Operating since 1992, New Orleans managed IT services firm Geocent this year got absorbed into government IT contractor Sev1Tech‘s empire. But Geocent‘s long history helping local enterprises secure networks and manage infrastructure paved the way for wider tech adoption across the state. So respect is due to these Louisiana IT vets!
Hope this little guided tour across the booming spectrum of Louisiana‘s technology landscape gave you appreciation for the bold innovators and titans driving this emerging new tech hub forward!
Homegrown hustlers like TurboSquid and corporate giants like CenturyLink-turned-Lumen put Louisiana on the map while stalwarts like Entergy pioneer the future. Attracting and cultivating premium talent, the state transformed practically overnight from backwater to borderline Silicon Bayou! 🐊💻
So next time you hear "technology" and "Louisiana" maybe it will spark images of vibrant startups and thriving STEM campuses rather than just swamps and steel mills. The future looks bright down here in Cajun Country – from Baton Rouge over to NOLA!
Let me know if you have any other questions!
