Alula is the winner of Minne Inno's Tech Madness challenge for 2021.
The No. 3-seeded St. Paul-based smart security system company took down No. 4 Structural in the final while gathering almost three-fourths of the vote. Over 5,000 votes were cast over the course of the tournament.
Related: See all 32 companies that participated in this year's Tech Madness.
Alula has been in a strong position to win since the second round when it received the most votes cast out of the 16 competitors. It continued that hot streak, receiving the most votes in the third and fourth rounds.
The contest became a point of pride for Alula's employees, especially its software staff, CEO McLaughlin said.
"Engineers don't get excited about a whole lot," he said, but the contest piqued their interest and became a way to connect while they were working remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"You could see the pride of the team and the pride of the individuals," McLaughlin said.
Alula has about 150 employees and makes security system software which are sold by its partners. Smaller partners use the Alula brand while larger partners, like Best Buy, sell the software white label. Alula has over 4,000 partners and has sold over 350,000 units, McLaughlin said.
Alula has received over $20 million in growth equity from Hunt Valley, Md.-based private equity firm ABS Capital and Silicon Valley private equity firm Adams Street Partners. Its technology is more proactive than other security software and has the ability to take measures like turning on a home's lights to scare off potential burglars before it sounds an alarm and calls the police.
"We feel like we're in the right place at the right time with the right technology," McLaughlin said.
