Seattle area boasts 10 fast-growing unicorns: Can you name the billion-dollar startups?
The unicorn — that supposed elusive creature of the startup world — is becoming a bit more commonplace in these parts.
There are now 10 unicorn startups valued at $1 billion or more parading through the mossy and rain-soaked environs of Seattle, based on data compiled by GeekWire and PitchBook.
A few things stand out about this group of 10 (full list below):
Six of the startups have at least one immigrant founder.
The majority operate in enterprise software or cloud computing.
Six startups have at least one active co-founder with Microsoft ties.
All but one of the unicorns have a co-founder serving in the CEO role.
None of the companies have female co-founders or CEOs.
In fact, GeekWire reported this week on a little-known enterprise software company that just joined the unicorn ranks.
Spoiler alert: Before reading any further, take a moment and see if you can name all 10 startup companies valued at $1 billion or more in the Seattle area?
Venture capitalist Bill Bryant said the flock of Seattle unicorns showcases the Seattle region’s strength as a hotbed for technology upstarts. And while the recent slate of initial public offerings by companies such as Airbnb, DoorDash and Snowflake certainly point to an “overheated” public market, he noted that the “pandemic has also dramatically accelerated the digital transformation of all sectors of the economy.”
That transformation is helping propel many of the Seattle unicorns, with Bryant noting that nearly all of them are producing revenue run rates of $100 million or more.
Seattle venture capitalist Sheila Gulati. (GeekWire Photo)
Bryant, a partner at Threshold who was an early backer of money-transfer startup Remitly, also notes that eight of the 10 Seattle unicorns have achieved their lofty valuations in the past 18 months. Even more interesting, when GeekWire analyzed CB Insights’ list of unicorns five years ago, no Seattle-based startups made the cut.
That’s a remarkable change of fortune. And while the Seattle area still represents a fraction of the estimated 502 unicorns operating around the globe, Seattle venture capitalist Sheila Gulati isn’t surprised by the recent spurt.
“When you have a community that’s already created two of the world’s top three tech companies, it’s only natural that our local talent has the ambition and experience to build many more successful tech companies in the years ahead,” said Gulati, co-founder of Tola Capital. “Based on my experience, I see the right ingredients that have come together to create magic for the Seattle tech ecosystem and this city can be a leader in the post-pandemic new world order.”
While a newly-minted unicorn might be momentarily overvalued, it will grow into the valuation in a couple of quarters of torrid, Covid-infused hypergrowth.
Bryant agreed, noting that valuations of the 10 unicorn startups should grow as the pandemic dramatically alters industries.
“While a newly-minted unicorn might be momentarily overvalued, it will grow into the valuation in a couple of quarters of torrid, Covid-infused hypergrowth,” said Bryant.
Meanwhile, Seattle venture capitalist Anthony Bontrager of WestRiver Group sees additional opportunities ahead as the region takes advantage of strengths in data management, marketplaces, logistics and biotech, all driven by machine learning drawing insights from large datasets.
“The Pacific Northwest has always punched above its weight in growing world class companies,” said Bontrager. “But until the last 10 years we haven’t had the flywheel effect that is necessary to replicate this at scale similar to what other geographies, notably Silicon Valley, have.”
Take a look at the list below, and let us know which company you think has the biggest opportunity to dominate an industry or which Seattle company is next in line to achieve unicorn status.
Eugenio Pace, Auth0 CEO and co-founder. (Auth0 Photo)
GeekWire story from July 2020: Salesforce Ventures leads $120M round in Auth0 as pandemic fuels Seattle-area startup’s identity tech
Co-founder and CEO: Eugenio Pace, formerly ran the patterns and practices group at Microsoft.
Valuation: $1.9 billion (as of July 2020)
GeekWire 200 rank: No. 5
Founded: 2013
Convoy CEO Dan Lewis. (GeekWire Photo)
GeekWire story from November 2019: Convoy raises $400M at $2.7B valuation amid trucking recession and Uber Freight competition
Co-founder and CEO: Dan Lewis, former general manager of new shopping experiences at Amazon.
Valuation: $2.75 billion (as of November 2019)
GeekWire 200 rank: No. 7
Founded: 2015
Icertis CEO Samir Bodas (center at mic) and his team at the GeekWire Awards. (GeekWire Photo)
GeekWire story from July 2019: Contract management startup Icertis hits $1B valuation with massive $115M funding round
Co-founder and CEO: Samir Bodas, former CEO of Aztecsoft and Disha Technologies.
Valuation: $1.1 billion (as of July 2019)
GeekWire 200 rank: No. 4
Founded: 2009
OfferUp co-founder and CEO Nick Huzar. (OfferUp Photo)
GeekWire story from March 2020: OfferUp raises $120M, will acquire rival Letgo; OLX Group to own 40% of combined entity
Co-founder and CEO: Nick Huzar, former product manager at T-Mobile and CTO at Konnects.
Valuation: $1.4 billion (as of August 2019)
GeekWire 200 rank: No. 8
Founded: 2011
Outreach CEO Manny Medina. (GeekWire Photo)
GeekWire story from June 2020: Outreach raises $50M as billion-dollar Seattle startup aims to capitalize on remote sales trend
Co-founder and CEO: Manny Medina, former director of business development at Microsoft.
Valuation: $1.3 billion (as of June 2020)
GeekWire 200 rank: No. 11
Founded: 2014
Qumulo CEO Bill Richter. (Qumulo Photo / Andy Rogers)
GeekWire story from July 2020: Seattle’s newest billion-dollar startup: Qumulo reaches unicorn status with $125M round
CEO: Bill Richter, former president of Isilon storage division at EMC.
Valuation: $1.2 billion (as of July 2020)
GeekWire 200 rank: No. 30
Founded: 2012
Remitly co-founders Josh Hug, Matt Oppenheimer and Shivaas Gulati. (Remitly Photo)
GeekWire story from July 2020: Another unicorn in Seattle: Digital remittance startup Remitly raises $85M at $1.5B valuation
Co-founder and CEO: Matt Oppenheimer, head of mobile and internet banking initiatives at Barclays Kenya
Valuation: $1.5 billion (as of July 2020)
GeekWire 200 rank: No. 3
Founded: 2011
Steve Harr of Sana. (Sana Photo)
GeekWire story from June 2020: Secretive Seattle biotech company raises more than $700M to develop new ways to modify genes
Co-founder and CEO: Steve Harr, former CFO and head of corporate development at Juno Therapeutics.
Valuation: $2.8 billion (as of June 2020)
GeekWire 200 rank: No. 108
Founded: 2018
Tanium CEO Orion Hindawi recently moved the company’s headquarters to Kirkland. (Tanium Photo)
GeekWire story from December: Tech CEO moves $9B cybersecurity company’s HQ to Seattle area, says S.F. is ‘not the city it was’
Co-founder and CEO: Orion Hindawi, former vice president of technology at BigFix
Valuation: More than $9 billion (as of December)
GeekWire 200 rank: As a new entrant to the Seattle market, Tanium will be added to the list in the coming weeks.
Founded: 2007
Zenoti CEO Sudheer Koneru. (Zenoti Photo)
GeekWire story from December: Zenoti hits $1B valuation, raises $160M to build enterprise software for salons, spas, yoga studios
Founder and CEO: Sudheer Koneru, former executive vice president of products and COO at Click2learn
Valuation: More than $1 billion (as of December)
GeekWire 200 rank: No. 20
Founded: 2010
John Cook is GeekWire's co-founder and publisher, a veteran reporter and the longest-serving journalist on the Pacific Northwest tech beat. Follow him @johnhcook and email john@geekwire.com.