Who's going to cut down the .net?
After over 3,000 total votes, Tampa Bay Inno's Tech Madness Final Four is set, featuring two cybersecurity companies, a smart home startup and a digital health platform.
A-LIGN, which raised over $54 million in growth equity last summer and is currently hiring 20 in the Tampa Bay region, is taking on Perch Security, a community defense platform that recently closed a $9 million Series A. Having both companies still dancing in Tampa Bay Inno's inaugural bracket is representative of the region's strong cybersecurity ecosystem.
In the other matchup, smart home controller Atmos Home (the highest seed left in the tourney) is going up against two seed Peerfit, a company that provides a digital platform for employers to offer health and fitness benefits to their workers. Earlier this month, Peerfit announced that it had raised an $18 million Series C and will continue to build out Peerfit Move, its new product for seniors.
Other details from the Elite Eight:
- Round 3 ended with 847 votes, the most of any round so far
- 8 seed Atmos Home was the top vote getter, bringing in 118 votes
- Underdog 8 seed Atmos succeeded again, taking out 6 seed Harvest Croo
- 2 seed Peerfit narrowly beat Washlava, taking the round by just 10 votes
- And in another close race, Perch Security won its matchup against SiteZeus, by just 13 votes
Voting for the Final Four will close at the end of the day on Thursday, with the Championship round being announced on Friday the 29th.
As a reminder, this is a friendly competition intended to put a spotlight on some of the region’s most interesting and promising startups. The startups in the bracket were nominated by the community, and readers vote to advance the winner by picking the companies they’d most want to invest in.
The answer to that question – who would you invest in? – can be based on whatever metrics you find important. It could be the ones you expect to have the best return — or maybe it’s those you’re most passionate about and want to see succeed.
Remaining Companies and Matchups:
(8) Atmos Home: The maker of a smart home hub that allows users to manage and control all of its connected devices. (2) Peerfit: A digital health platform that connects employers and carriers with personalized fitness experiences.
(3) Perch Security: Perch provides everything needed to mount a cyber defense with curated community intelligence and participate with your sharing community. (1) A-LIGN: A security and compliance solutions provider.
Now let's get to the Final Four...
