2022 Best Tech Startups in California

June 9, 2022May 12, 2023 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. Databricks

Databricks

Founded: 2013

Also honored in:

“Databricks is the data and AI company. More than 7,000 organizations worldwide — including Comcast, Condé Nast, H&M, and over 40% of the Fortune 500 — rely on the Databricks Lakehouse Platform to unify their data, analytics and AI. Databricks is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices around the globe. Founded by the original creators of Apache Spark™, Delta Lake and MLflow, Databricks is on a mission to help data teams solve the world’s toughest problems.”

2. Instacart

Founded: 2012

Also honored in:

“Instacart is the leading online grocery platform in North America. Instacart shoppers offer same-day delivery and pickup services to bring fresh groceries and everyday essentials to busy people and families across the U.S. and Canada. Instacart has partnered with more than 700 beloved national, regional and local retailers, including unique brand names, to deliver from more than 65,000 stores across more than 5,500 cities in North America. Instacart’s platform is available to over 85% of U.S. households and 90% of Canadian households. The company’s cutting-edge enterprise technology also powers the ecommerce platforms of some of the world’s biggest retail players, supporting their white-label websites, applications and delivery solutions. Instacart offers an Instacart Express membership that includes reduced service fees and unlimited free delivery on orders over $35. For more information, visit www.instacart.com. For anyone interested in becoming an Instacart shopper, visit https://shoppers.instacart.com/.”

3. Chime

Chime

Founded: 2013

Also honored in:

“Chime was created with the mission to make financial peace of mind a reality for millions of Americans. We’re one of the fastest-growing financial technology companies in the U.S., offering banking services that are helpful, easy, and free—because we want to profit with our members, not from them. Our model doesn’t rely on overdraft, monthly service, minimum balance, or other member fees—it just focuses on delivering member value.

How does Chime work? We partner with regional banks to design member-first financial products. This creates a more competitive market with better, lower-cost options for everyday Americans who aren’t being served well by traditional banks. We offer access to bank accounts with fee-free overdraft, provide members the chance to receive early access to their paychecks, help them improve their credit, and more!

We help drive innovation, inclusion, and access across the industry with one of the most experienced leadership teams in fintech guiding us along the way. We were recently valued at over $25.5B and we’ve raised over $1.7B in funding from leading investors including Sequoia Capital Global Equities, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, General Atlantic, Tiger Global, Dragoneer, DST, Coatue, Iconiq, Menlo Ventures and others.”

4. Flexport

Flexport

Founded: 2013

Also honored in:

“We believe trade can move the human race forward. That’s why it’s our mission to make global trade easy for everyone.

Flexport is building the platform for global logistics—empowering buyers, sellers and their logistics partners with the technology and services to grow and innovate.

Today, companies of all sizes—from emerging brands to Fortune 500s—use Flexport technology to move more than $10B worth of merchandise across 112 countries every year.”

5. Nuro

Nuro

Founded: 2016

Also honored in:

“We’re on a mission to better everyday life through robotics.

Our custom electric autonomous vehicles are designed to bring the things you need—from produce to prescriptions—right to your home. Nuro’s autonomous delivery can give you valuable time back and more freedom to do what you love. This convenient, eco-friendly, safe alternative to driving can make streets safer and cities more livable. Nuro has brought autonomous delivery to local communities in Texas, Arizona, and California—for less driving and more thriving.”

6. Lacework

Founded: 2015

Also honored in: 2022 Best Tech Startups in San Jose

“Lacework is the data-driven security platform for the cloud. The Lacework Polygraph Data Platform automates cloud security at scale so our customers can innovate with speed and safety. Only Lacework can collect, analyze, and accurately correlate data across an organization’s AWS, Azure, GCP, and Kubernetes environments, and narrow it down to the handful of security events that matter. Customers all over the globe depend on Lacework to drive revenue, bring products to market faster and safer and consolidate point security solutions into a single platform.”

7. Faire

Founded: 2017

“Faire is an online wholesale marketplace built on the belief that the future is local — there are over 2 million independent retailers in North America and Europe doing more than $2 trillion in revenue. At Faire, we’re using the power of tech, data, and machine learning to connect this thriving community of entrepreneurs across the globe. Picture your favorite boutique in town — we help them discover the best products from around the world to sell in their stores. With the right tools and insights, we believe that we can level the playing field so that small businesses everywhere can compete with these big box and ecommerce giants.

By supporting the growth of independent businesses, Faire is driving positive economic impact in local communities, globally. We’re looking for smart, resourceful and passionate people to join us as we power the shop local movement.”

8. Figure

Founded: 2018

Also honored in:

“Figure is transforming the trillion-dollar financial services industry using blockchain technology. In three short years, Figure has unveiled a series of fintech firsts using the Provenance Blockchain for loan origination, equity management, private fund services, banking, and payments sectors – bringing speed, efficiency, and savings to both consumers and institutions. Today, Figure is one of less than a thousand companies considered a unicorn, globally.

Figure was founded in 2018 by serial technology entrepreneur Mike Cagney, who also founded SoFi and built the company into a multi-billion dollar business under his leadership as CEO.

This is an amazing opportunity to be part of a startup focused on solving real problems with blockchain. You will be part of a team with proven leaders who have created billions of dollars in value in the Fintech space.”

9. TripActions

TripActions

Founded: 2015

Also honored in:

“TripActions is the only all-in-one travel, corporate card, and expense management solution, providing 8,800+ customers around the globe with unprecedented visibility and control over spend. Trusted by finance teams and travelers alike, TripActions leverages real-time data to help companies keep traveling employees safe, reduce spend, and drive productivity.

TripActions’ investors include such visionaries as Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Ventures, Greenoaks, Zeev Ventures, and entrepreneurs Lee Fixel, Adam Bain, and Elad Gil. In October 2021, TripActions announced its Series F funding of $275M at an upround post-money valuation of $7.25B to help accelerate future growth plans. In February 2022, the TripActions Group announced its acquisition of Berlin-based travel management company, Comtravo, which was closely followed by the addition of leading Scandinavian travel agency Resia AB, the group’s third acquisition in nine months, following the acquisition of Reed & Mackay in May of 2021.

At TripActions, we’re never satisfied with the status quo, and we know breakthrough ideas come from diverse perspectives. We are committed to cultivating a workplace that reflects the diversity of the customers we serve while fostering leadership and innovation. All voices are valued here and you’ll have the resources, tools, and training you’ll need to do the best work of your life.”

10. Lime

Lime

Founded: 2017

Also honored in:

“We are on a mission to build a future where transportation is shared, affordable and carbon-free. As the global leader in micromobility, we partner with cities to provide a clean alternative to cars. Our fleet of electric bikes and scooters has powered more than 250 million rides in more than 200 cities across five continents replacing 60 million car rides. And this is just the beginning. Learn more at li.me”