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WHAT’S NEXT?! Montana — June 2026 – Frontier Angels
Montana’s startup & emerging tech briefing · June 2026
It was a quite month for the Montana tech scene. I guess everyone is on the river or deep in the backcountry camping. Below please find the latest Montana technology developments from June, 2026.
HighGround raises a $6.5 million seed round led by Next Frontier Capital
Bozeman-based Next Frontier Capital led a $6.5 million seed round in HighGround, announced June 17, with participation from Tandem Ventures, Fulcrum Venture Group, and Context VC. HighGround builds an intelligence layer over 500-plus federal sources to track how government demand is evolving. Post
Bridger Aerospace adopts a fleet-wide mission-data platform for fire season
Belgrade-based Bridger Aerospace (Nasdaq: BAER) selected FireFlyte, powered by TracPlus, to automatically capture mission data — position, time, firefighting mode, drop lines, and aerial firefighting reports — across its fleet, including its six CL-415EAF Super Scoopers, ahead of the peak of the 2026 fire season. (June 30) Read more
Montana ranks 12th-best state to start a business; May filings set a record
A WalletHub report ranked Montana the 12th-best state to start a business in 2026 and named Bozeman the fourth-best small city in America to start one. The Secretary of State reported a record 7,500-plus business applications filed in May 2026 — about 1,000 more than in May 2025. (June 10) Read more
Citizen initiatives would put Montana data centers to a vote
Citizen-led ballot initiatives in Butte-Silver Bow and Yellowstone counties would require a special election with two-thirds voter approval before those counties could approve construction or expansion of any data center. Petitions need signatures from 15% of registered voters in each county to reach November ballots. (Montana Free Press, June 18) Read more
Nine parties intervene in NorthWestern Energy’s large-load rate case
Nine entities — including the Montana Consumer Counsel, a group of large industrial customers, environmental coalitions, Montana DEQ, and Missoula’s city and county governments — asked the Montana Public Service Commission to intervene in NorthWestern Energy’s proposed rate structure for large new loads. The proposal would require five-year service agreements for customers needing 5–50 megawatts and 15-year minimum contracts above 50 megawatts, with data centers the most obvious target customers. (Montana Free Press, June 30) Read more
Missoula delays a camera contract over AI concerns
The Missoula City Council delayed a vote on a $366,390 contract to upgrade security cameras at four city park facilities after residents raised concerns about AI capabilities such as facial recognition in the Verkada-made cameras. The council will consider a new surveillance policy before voting on the contract. (Montana Free Press, June 26) Read more
The 2026 Montana Festival, in pictures
The Montana Festival opened June 11 at the Emerson Center of Arts in Bozeman, gathering entrepreneurs, investors, artists, and policymakers from across the state over two days. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle published a photo recap. Read more
Also in June: Montana’s State Auditor announced the Investing in Montana Summit for June 25 in Bozeman, a public event connecting business owners and entrepreneurs with investors and regulators, with sessions on capital formation and the Montana Securities Act. Read more
ICYMI — late May
MSU study maps the demographics of 10,000 cities. A Montana State University-led team published a Nature Cities study analyzing migration and demographic change in more than 10,000 cities worldwide from 2000 to 2020, processed on MSU’s Tempest supercomputer. (May 27) Read more
From Montana companies on LinkedIn
What Montana technology companies were posting in June:
onX (Missoula) — opened applications for the 2026 Adventure Forever grant program, which funds organizations working on public-land access, adding a $100K grant tier for hunt-focused conservation and access projects. Post
Graham Conran / Managing Director / Frontier Angels
