Sharpen Technologies Raises $15M

Mike Simmons is the chairman and CEO of Sharpen Technologies.

Indianapolis-based Sharpen Technologies has secured $15 million in capital growth funding. The tech company says it plans to use the funding to help grow its sales and marketing teams and expand its product portfolio.

Sharpen Technologies provides a cloud-based contact center platform, which it says aims to improve customer experience. The funding round included investors such as Allos Ventures LLC, Elevate Ventures, the IU Philanthropic Venture Fund and the family office of Rodger Riney, founder and former CEO of Scottrade. 

"Sharpen’s unique approach to omni-channel communications, combined with its agent-first focus and reliable platform give the company a strong advantage in the fast-growing cloud contact center market," said Chris LaMothe, CEO of Elevate Ventures. "We previously invested in Sharpen because of its high-growth potential and we’re proud to continue our support of the team while helping the company take advantage of this immense market opportunity."

The company says it has also strengthened its leadership by adding several key new roles, including Mike Simmons as chairman and chief executive officer. Simmons was the founder and CEO of T2 Systems in Indianapolis before it was acquired in 2016. He joined Sharpen Technologies in late 2018 as executive chairman and president.

"Our latest round of funding will help us continue the momentum we achieved in 2018 by further growing our sales team, extending our market reach, and expanding on our already full-featured cloud contact center platform," said Simmons.

Sharpen has also named Ashley Vukovits consulting chief financial officer. She previously served as the CFO of Genesys in Indianapolis and is also a board member for Indy-based Codelicious.