Natural intelligence: 27-year-old is rising star in artificial intelligence field

Two-year-old DemandJump Inc. is one of the area's hottest startups--and it had a 2016 that many startups would kill for. Last year, the Indianapolis-based company won two TechPoint Mira awards (often called the Oscars of Indiana tech), was a finalist for the prestigious Red Herring Top 100 Global award, added former Wal-Mart marketing chief Julie Lyle to its team, and secured an investment from Boston-based venture capital heavyweight Bob Davoli. The 17-person company, which targets marketers with its artificial intelligence software, has not raised a ton of money--about $2.6 million so far. But it's approaching $1 million in annualized revenue with a product that's been on the market only nine months. And the company has caught the attention of research firms Forrester and Intelligentsia.