Back in the 90’s, most of the fastest growing companies were based in Silicon Valley, but now San Francisco has just as many incredible startups. With hundreds of early-stage and mature startup businesses, a steady flow of talent, and world-leading venture investors and business accelerators, the San Francisco Bay Area remains America’s gold mine for tech startup innovation. Each month, the city is breeding new companies determined to bring new innovative solutions ranging from custom chip design, through retail space optimization, to cryptocurrency banking. We chose the top 10 local companies that we believe have shown outstanding growth and are definitely ones to watch.
1. BREX
Total Funding: $382.1M
Industry: Fintech
Founded: 2017
Lead Investor(s): Greenoaks Capital, DST Global
Brex is rebuilding B2B financial products, starting with a corporate credit card for technology companies. They help startups of all sizes (from recently incorporated to later-stage companies) to instantly get a credit card that has 20x higher limits, completely automates expense management, kills receipt tracking and magically integrates with their accounting systems. Brex was founded by Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi, two engineers who previously founded Pagar.me, one of the largest payment processors in Brazil with over $1.5 billion in GMV. Brex is backed by the co-founders of PayPal (Max Levchin and Peter Thiel), Y Combinator, Ribbit Capital, Yuri Milner, and Carl Pascarella (former CEO of Visa). Brex is building the next generation of B2B financial services with better tech and without the restrictions of legacy technology.
Estimated Revenue & Financials
- Brex’s estimated annual revenue is currently $21.8M per year.
- Brex received $100M in venture funding in June 2019.
- Brex’s estimated revenue per employee is $46,173
- Brex’s total funding is $382.1M.
Employee Data
- Brex has 473 Employees.
- Brex grew their employee count by 175% last year.
2. CHECKR
Total Funding: $309M
Industry: Tech Services
Founded: 2014
Lead Investor(s): T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.
Since graduating Y-Combinator in 2014, Checkr’s product has shifted the on-demand economy. Checkr’s mission is to build a fairer future by improving the understanding of the past. As a company that provides modern and compliant background checks for global enterprises and startups, Checkr knows first hand how difficult it may be for individuals with prior criminal history to find employment and we want to help provide second chances for the formerly convicted. They encourage qualified individuals with prior criminal histories to apply for any of our roles. More than 3,000 businesses trust Checkr for their background screenings including Uber, Instacart, Netflix, Zenefits, GrubHub, Home Depot, and more. Checkr is also featured on Business Insider as one of the top startups to watch in 2016. The company is funded by Accel Partners, Google Ventures, Y Combinator and other prominent investors, and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.
Estimated Revenue & Financials
- Checkr’s estimated annual revenue is currently $71.6M per year.
- Checkr received $100.0M in venture funding in April 2018.
- Checkr’s estimated revenue per employee is $145,000
- Checkr’s total funding is $309M.
Employee Data
- Checkr has 494 Employees.
- Checkr grew their employee count by 50% last year.
3. TIGERA
Total Funding: $53M
Industry: Tech Services
Founded: 2016
Lead Investor(s): Insight Venture Partners
Tigera provides Zero Trust network security and continuous compliance for Kubernetes platforms. Tigera Secure Enterprise Edition extends enterprise security and compliance controls to Kubernetes environments with support for on-premises, multi-cloud, and legacy environments. Tigera Secure Cloud Edition is available on the AWS marketplace and enables fine-grained security and compliance controls for Kubernetes on AWS and Amazon EKS. Tigera powers all of the major hosted Kubernetes environments including Amazon EKS, Azure AKS, Google GKE, and IBM Container Service. Tigera is also integrated with the major on-premises Kubernetes deployments and is shipped batteries included in Docker EE and fully integrated with Red Hat OpenShift. Tigera Secure builds on leading open source projects: Kubernetes, Calico, and Istio, which Tigera engineers maintain and contribute to as active members of the cloud-native community.
Estimated Revenue & Financials
- Tigera’s estimated annual revenue is currently $11.5M per year.
- Tigera received $30.0M in venture funding in December 2018.
- Tigera’s estimated revenue per employee is $145,000
- Tigera’s total funding is $53M.
Employee Data
- Tigera has 79 Employees.
- Tigera grew their employee count by 22% last year.
4. NOZOMI
Total Funding: $49.5M
Industry: Tech Services
Founded: 2013
Lead Investor(s): Invenergy Future Fund
Nozomi Networks is the leader of industrial cybersecurity, delivering the best solution for real-time visibility to manage cyber risk and improve resilience for industrial operations. With one solution, customers gain advanced cybersecurity, improved operational reliability and easy IT/OT integration. Innovating the use of artificial intelligence, the company helps the largest industrial sites around the world See and Secure their critical industrial control networks. Today Nozomi Networks supports over a quarter of a million devices in the critical infrastructure, energy, manufacturing, mining, transportation and utility sectors, making it possible to tackle the escalating cyber risks to operational networks (OT).
Estimated Revenue & Financials
- Nozomi Networks’s estimated annual revenue is currently $21M per year.
- Nozomi Networks received $30.0M in venture funding in September 2018.
- Nozomi Networks’s estimated revenue per employee is $145,000
- Nozomi Networks’s total funding is $49.5M.
Employee Data
- Nozomi Networks has 145 Employees.
- Nozomi Networks grew their employee count by 36% last year.
5. PRODUCTBOARD
Total Funding: $19.7M
Industry: Tech Services
Founded: 2014
Lead Investor(s): Index Ventures
Productboard is the leading product excellence system, helping product teams get the right products to market faster. Over 1,200 modern, customer-driven companies – like Zendesk, Avast, and Envoy – use Productboard to understand what users need, prioritize what to build next, and rally everyone around the roadmap. With offices in San Francisco and Prague, Productboard is backed by leading venture capitalists including Kleiner Perkins, Index Ventures, Credo Ventures and Rockaway Capital.
Estimated Revenue & Financials
- Productboard’s estimated annual revenue is currently $23.6M per year.
- Productboard received $10.0M in venture funding in February 2019.
- Productboard’s estimated revenue per employee is $145,000
- Productboard’s total funding is $19.7M.
Employee Data
- Productboard has 163 Employees.
- Productboard grew their employee count by 130% last year.
6. GETAROUND
Total Funding: $743M
Industry: Tech Services
Founded: 2009
Lead Investor(s): SoftBank
Getaround is an on-demand carsharing marketplace powered by proprietary hardware technology, the Getaround Connect. Headquartered in San Francisco since 2009, they won TechCrunch Disrupt in 2011, and launched on-demand carsharing just two years later. Getaround has grown to over 200,000 members across the US by allowing users to rent, unlock and drive – all with your phone. Rates start at $5/hour including insurance and no membership fees. Car owners conveniently share their cars earning $500-$1000 a month.
Estimated Revenue & Financials
- Getaround’s estimated annual revenue is currently $70.9M per year.
- Getaround received $325.0M in venture funding in December 2018.
- Getaround’s estimated revenue per employee is $145,000
- Getaround’s total funding is $743M.
Employee Data
- Getaround has 489 Employees.
- Getaround grew their employee count by 18% last year.
7. SEGMENT
Total Funding: $283.7M
Industry: Tech Services
Founded: 2012
Lead Investor(s): Google Ventures
Segment provides the customer data infrastructure that helps businesses put their customers first. Using Segment, companies can collect, unify and connect their first-party to over 200 marketing, analytics and data warehouse tools. More than 15,000 companies across 71 countries, from fast-growing businesses such as Atlassian, Bonobos, and Instacart to some of the world’s largest organizations like Levi’s, Intuit and Time, use Segment to achieve a common understanding of their users and activate their own data to create customer-first decisions and experiences.
Estimated Revenue & Financials
- Segment.com’s estimated annual revenue is currently $86.4M per year.
- Segment.com received $100.0M in venture funding in June 2018.
- Segment.com’s estimated revenue per employee is $145,000
- Segment.com’s total funding is $283.7M.
Employee Data
- Segment.com has 596 Employees.
- Segment.com grew their employee count by 49% last year.
8. PLAID
Total Funding: $309.3M
Industry: Fintech
Founded: 2012
Lead Investor(s): Goldman Sachs
Plaid is focused on enabling innovation and democratizing financial services through technology. They build consumer experiences, developer-friendly infrastructure, and intelligence tools that give everyone the ability to create products that solve big problems
Estimated Revenue & Financials
- Plaid’s estimated annual revenue is currently $43.3M per year.
- Plaid received $250.0M in venture funding in December 2018.
- Plaid’s estimated revenue per employee is $82,715
- Plaid’s total funding is $309.3M.
Employee Data
- Plaid has 523 Employees.
- Plaid grew their employee count by 64% last year.
9. COINBASE
Total Funding: $525.3M
Industry: Fintech
Founded: 2012
Lead Investor(s): Tiger Global Management
Founded in June of 2012, Coinbase is a digital currency wallet and platform where merchants and consumers can transact with new digital currencies like bitcoin, ethereum, and litecoin. Their vision is to bring more innovation, efficiency, and equality of opportunity to the world by building an open financial system. Their first step on that journey is making digital currency accessible and approachable for everyone. Two principles guide their efforts. First, be the most trusted company in their domain. Second, create user-focused products that are easier and more intuitive to use.
Estimated Revenue & Financials
- Coinbase’s estimated annual revenue is currently $1400M per year.
- Coinbase received $21.3M in venture funding in December 2018.
- Coinbase’s estimated revenue per employee is $1,107,595
- Coinbase’s total funding is $525.3M.
Employee Data
- Coinbase has 1264 Employees.
- Coinbase grew their employee count by 7% last year.
10. NIANTIC
Total Funding: $470M
Industry: Tech Services
Founded: 2011
Lead Investor(s): IVP
Niantic is the world’s leading AR technology company, sparking creative and engaging journeys in the real world. Their products inspire outdoor exploration, exercise, and meaningful social interaction. Originally formed at Google in 2010, they became an independent company in 2014 with a strong group of investors including Nintendo, The Pokemon Company, and Alsop Louie Partners. Their current titles include pioneering global-control game Ingress, and record-breaking AR game Pokemon GO. Their third title, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, is currently in development. Niantic is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. They do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. They also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law.
Estimated Revenue & Financials
- Niantic’s estimated annual revenue is currently $795M per year.
- Niantic received $245.0M in venture funding in January 2019.
- Niantic’s estimated revenue per employee is $1,238,318
- Niantic’s total funding is $470M.
Employee Data
- Niantic has 642 Employees.
- Niantic grew their employee count by 22% last year.
Top Companies In San Francisco
Despite heavy competition from blossoming innovation hubs like San Diego or LA, The Fog City remains America’s breeding ground for innovation. Which of the above companies appealed to you the most? Do you see any company that you think should appear here? Share your thoughts with us and tell us which of these top San Francisco startups has the most potential according to you!
