IT survey: Alumni companies employ 500,000, generate $90B annually

The University's claim to being Minnesota's economic engine has just received a boost from a survey of IT graduates. The survey shows approximately 4,150 alumni-founded companies active today, two-thirds of them operating in Minnesota. The Minnesota companies employ more than 175,000 people and generate approximately $46 billion in annual revenue.

Worldwide, IT-founded companies employ more than half a million people and generate $90 billion in annual revenue.

Companies founded by IT alumni span many high-tech fields, including manufacturing, biotechnology, communications, software, electronics, and engineering. But alumni also branched out into other fields, from health care to the hospitality industry.

"The survey turned up twice as many companies as we had expected, and their economic impact is just amazing," says Mostafa Kaveh, IT's associate dean for research and planning.

The survey, conducted last fall, drew more than 15,000 responses from the college's 48,000 alumni. IT released a publication detailing the survey results April 26.