2020 Best Tech Startups in California

March 10, 2020November 3, 2022 thetechtribune

The Tech Tribune staff has compiled the very best tech startups in California. In doing our research, we considered several factors including but not limited to:

Revenue potential
Leadership team
Brand/product traction
Competitive landscape

Additionally, all companies must be independent (unacquired), privately owned, at most 10 years old, and have received at least one round of funding in order to qualify.

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1. Faraday Future

Founded: 2014

Also honored in:

“Faraday Future is a global automotive and technology company, uniting the latest in sustainable transportation and connected digital ecosystems to redefine future mobility – and move humanity forward.”

2. Fair

Founded: 2016

Also honored in:

“Fair is an automotive FinTech company that’s revolutionizing car buying by offering unprecedented freedom, flexibility and an end-to-end mobile experience.

We believe fairness matters. That’s why we’ve created a game-changing new app that lets you shop, get approved and pay for a car all on your phone with just a driver’s license and bank account. Get in-app approval for a monthly payment amount that works for you, then head to the dealership and check-out in minutes. You can drive your car for as long as you want, and return it any time you’re ready. That’s the Fair way to drive!”

3. DoorDash

Founded: 2014

Also honored in:

“Founded in 2013, DoorDash is a San Francisco-based technology company passionate about transforming local businesses and dedicated to enabling new ways of working, earning, and living. Today, DoorDash connects customers with their favorite local and national restaurants in more than 600 cities across the United States and Canada. By building intelligent, last-mile delivery technology for local cities, DoorDash aims to connect people with the things they care about — one dash at a time.”

4. Instacart

Founded: 2012

Also honored in:

“Instacart (YC S12) is building the best way for people everywhere in the world to shop for groceries. Using your phone or the web, you can order groceries and have them delivered to your door in minutes. You can choose from a variety of local stores including Whole Foods, Safeway, Costco, Mariano’s and many more, as well as being able to mix items from multiple stores into one order.

Every day, we solve incredibly hard problems to create an experience for our customers that is nothing short of magical. We are located in San Francisco, and well-funded by some of the greatest investors in the world, like Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures, Andreesen Horowitz, SV Angel, and Y Combinator.”

5. Quibi

Founded: 2018

“Launching next year, Quibi is the first entertainment platform that fits perfectly into any moment of your day. We’re on a mission to entertain, inform and inspire with fresh content from today’s top talent—one quick bite at a time. Founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman, Quibi brings together the best of Hollywood and Silicon Valley.

Every day, we’re defining the next era of storytelling while reinventing what a start-up can look like. Our trailblazing team is laser focused on our core audience, producing awe-inspiring shows for an intuitive, mobile-first platform, and creating a culture where everyone is heard. Yes, it’s a tall order—and that’s what makes it so exciting. If you’re ready to roll up your sleeves and build something from the ground up, working here will never be just a job.”

6. Wish

Founded: 2010

Also honored in:

“Wish is a mobile e-commerce platform that connects hundreds of millions of consumers with the widest selection of products delivered directly to their doors. Our mission is to provide everyone access to the most affordable and convenient shopping experience on the planet. Wish supports 500,000 merchant partners as well as over 300 million users who rate Wish the best mobile shopping app on the iOS and Android platforms.”

7. Opendoor

Founded: 2014

Also honored in:

“Opendoor makes it possible to receive an offer on a home in just a few clicks, and sell in a matter of days, removing all of the headache, uncertainty, and risk from the transaction. Opendoor is headquartered in San Francisco, CA and has received a total of $1.3B in venture funding from Khosla Ventures, GGV Capital, and Access Industries, along with a large group of angel investors.”

8. Snowflake

Founded: 2012

Also honored in:

“Snowflake’s cloud data platform shatters the barriers that have prevented organizations of all sizes from unleashing the true value from their data. More than 2,000 customers deploy Snowflake to advance their businesses beyond what was once possible by deriving all the insights from all their data by all their business users. Snowflake equips organizations with a single, integrated platform that offers the only data warehouse built for the cloud; instant, secure and governed access to their entire network of data; and a core architecture to enable many types of data workloads, including a single platform for developing modern data applications. Snowflake: Data without limits. Find out more at Snowflake.com.”

9. AppLovin

Founded: 2012

Also honored in:

“AppLovin offers a comprehensive platform where app developers of all sizes can connect with their ideal consumers and get discovered. Founded in 2012, the company is focused on helping both indie and established developers grow, with the expertise and insights they need to finance, market, and expand their businesses – all in one place. App developers view AppLovin as a trusted partner, the rare company that understands what it takes to succeed in the mobile app ecosystem and the ability to help them reach their goals.”

10. Flexport

Founded: 2013

Also honored in: 2020 Best Tech Startups in San Francisco

“At Flexport, we believe a world that does business together is a better one. It’s called global trade. And freight forwarding is the $2 trillion industry that functions as the circulatory system of global trade — without freight forwarding, global trade simply wouldn’t exist.

Problem is, the freight forwarding industry is antiquated, not customer focused, and definitely not tech savvy. We’re changing all that.”