So many promising tech companies this year, so little time and space to give them all their due. The escalation of successful startups in our region is really good news, a turning point perhaps that forces a sharpened focus in pinpointing the most promising among them.

In doing so, we don’t mean to pass over the exciting progress made by companies like Luis von Ahn’s Duolingo, the app teaching the world to speak foreign languages, or the explosive growth at 4moms. Or Schell Games, which is in the throes of developing a new generation of educational gaming technologies on the South Side. Everyone we gushed about last year, in fact, deserves mention again along with the strides made by firms like Niche, Aquion and Deeplocal.

2014 was also a good year for venture capital funding in Pittsburgh. The region collectively raised $337.8 million, the largest pool seen in the region since 2001, according to MoneyTree. That’s more than double the $130.5 million raised in 2013, even if deals declined from 98 in 2013 to 70 last year.

Read More