It’s time to crown a champion in St. Louis Inno Madness.
After four rounds of voting, two companies remain in this year’s contest: No. 1 Arcadian Infracom and No. 15 GiftAMeal will square off in our Inno Madness championship matchup. As a reminder, seeding in the bracket was determined based on the amount of funding raised by each company and name recognition of the businesses nominated.
Nearly 3,000 votes were cast in the semifinal round of Inno Madness, which included Arcadian Infracom besting No. 20 HomeTraq and GiftAMeal advancing over No. 27 VertiGreens.
Our goal of Inno Madness is to give a snapshot of some of the most-promising tech companies in St. Louis. This contest is by no means a complete list of St. Louis' best startups, which is a testament to the size of St. Louis' tech scene. The bracket is meant to represent the full breadth and diversity of the ecosystem. In the end, look at the bracket as a fun look into local, technology-enabled companies you need to know in 2023.
Final round voting in St. Louis Inno Madness begins now and continues through 12 p.m. Thursday, April 6. In this competition, we're asking voters to advance companies based on one question: Who would you invest in? Whether you believe in one mission or product slightly over the other or would prefer to back a more established company versus an early-stage startup, how you answer that question is entirely up to you. Learn more about the championship participants below and read the contest rules here. Readers can cast one vote per round.
Before we unveil the final round bracket, we’d like to provide a tip of the cap to semifinalists HomeTraq and VertiGreens. Thank you for your participation and for adopting the spirit of Inno Madness through your friendly competition and efforts to get out the vote for your companies. We hope to see you again in the bracket next year.
MEET THE FINALISTS
The Championship Matchup
#1 Arcadian Infracom: Founded in 2018, Arcadian develops and operates long-haul fiber networks for use by technology companies and carriers. Arcadian's key focus is serving rural and tribal lands in an effort to boost broadband access in underserved areas. Arcadian in 2021 secured $140 million in financing to move forward with its first fiber routes.
#15 GiftAMeal: Launched in 2015, GiftAMeal has developed an app that provides a meal to someone in need each time a user takes a photo on its app at a partner restaurant. The startup works with local food pantries to distribute the meals. In 2021, it raised $500,000 from investors to pursue growth in new cities.
