Philly’s Tech Sector is Surging

IT saw $11 billion in funding since 2010 and now employs 90,000 people in the region.

By Jared Shelly· 1/18/2016, 2:19 p.m.

With successful companies like Seer Interactive, Monetate, RJMetrics and, of course, Comcast, Philadelphia has a strong and growing technology sector. But just what does that growth look like?

From 2010 through the first half of 2015, 466 IT companies in the Philadelphia area received $11.3 billion in funding through 666 deals with venture capital firms, investors, accelerators, seed funds and other sources, according to a new study by Ben Franklin Technology Partners — which provides early-stage tech firms and manufacturers with funding and business expertise. Mergers and acquisitions accounted for 90 percent of the transactions (a $10.2 billion value) and new venture funding accounted for the rest ($1.1 billion).

Now, more than 6,000 IT companies call the Philadelphia region home, employing almost 90,000 people, according to the report. Interestingly, there are more tech companies based in Montgomery County than Philadelphia. Check out the following infographic:

(Courtesy of Ben Franklin Technology Partners from the report Information Technology: Building on our Strengths.)

IT companies in the Philly region generated annual total sales revenue of nearly $34.8 billion, up from $21.4 billion in 2001, according to the study. IT now represents approximately 8.3 percent of the region’s gross domestic product.