2021 Best Tech Startups in San Francisco

August 18, 2020 thetechtribune

The Tech Tribune staff has compiled the very best tech startups in San Francisco, 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. 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.”

2. 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.”

3. Stripe

Founded: 2010

Also honored in: 2020 Best Tech Startups in San Francisco

“Stripe is a set of tools for building and running an internet business. We help businesses accept payments from anyone, anywhere, and build new kinds of companies like Lyft or Kickstarter. Internally, we say our goal is to increase the GDP of the internet—we want to bring more businesses online worldwide.

In everything we do, we put our users first. We work hard to build the cleanest, most robust APIs possible so that our users can focus on building great products. There’s always something more we can do—we’re constantly seeking out areas of our product we can improve.”

4. 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.”

5. 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.”

6. Flexport

Founded: 2013

Also honored in:

“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.”

7. Affirm

Founded: 2012

Also honored in:

“At Affirm, we’re using today’s technology to bring significant disruptive innovation to the financial industry. We focus on improving the lives of consumers by delivering simple, honest and transparent financial products.”

8. Chime

Founded: 2013

Also honored in: 2020 Best Tech Startups in San Francisco

“Chime, the fastest growing challenger bank in the U.S. is a technology company focused relentlessly on helping our members achieve financial peace of mind.

✓ No hidden banking fees
✓ Get paid up to 2 days early
✓ Grow your savings automatically

Applying for a bank account and debit card is free and takes less than 5 minutes

Our DNA is opposite that of big banks, which profit when you overdraft or get into credit card debt. We don’t charge fees, give you your paycheck two days early, help you grow your savings automatically and, keep you updated on your spending and account balance with the best mobile app in banking.”

9. OpenAI

Founded: 2015

“OpenAI is an AI research company, discovering and enacting the path to safe artificial general intelligence.”

10. Lime

Founded: 2017

Also honored in:

“Lime is revolutionizing micro mobility and empowering a new urban lifestyle. The mobile app lets riders easily find and unlock our fleet of shared smart bikes and scooters, providing them with a fun, efficient and sustainable way to move around the city. By partnering with local communities, Lime is working to not only improve transportation, but cultivate a culture centered around active, healthy and sustainable urban living. Lime is based in San Francisco, CA, and is funded by leading VC firms including Google Ventures, Fifth Wall and Andreessen Horowitz.”

11. SoFi

Founded: 2011

“SoFi is a values-driven company on a mission to help our members get their money right. We create modern financial products and services that help people borrow, save, spend, invest, and protect their money better, so that they can achieve financial independence and realize their ambitions—from owning a home to saving for retirement, paying off their student loans, and more.

CFL #6054612; NMLS #1121636 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org) Advisory services through SoFi LLC, a registered investment advisor. Neither SoFi nor its affiliates is a bank. SoFi Money™ is offered through SoFi Securities LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.”

12. Figure

Founded: 2018

“Figure is a web-based platform that manages digital assets and can be used for completing financial and investment transactions.

Figure is a financial technology company leveraging blockchain, AI, and analytics to deliver innovative home equity release solutions and other products that help improve the financial lives of our customers. We are building a blockchain protocol to fundamentally transform how financial products are originated and transacted.

Join a culture and environment that encourages you to do your best work – a place to be inspired, to be appreciated, to push the envelope, and work as a team on challenges that matter most to our customers. Surround yourself with the spirit of innovation, challenge the status quo and work with a talented team who holds one another capable to reach team goals.”