Top 10 Startups to Reach the Billion-Dollar Mark

In recent years, the number of startups with a $1 billion plus valuation has increased because of the increased interest by venture capitalist and angel investors.

These companies are referred to as unicorn as long as they are valued at 1$ billion and above as well as they are privately owned. The majority of these tech-based companies are based in the U.S., while countries such as Canada, India, China, and the U.K. have many of them.

The article will provide you with details about the billion-dollar companies and the venture capitalists behind their success.

1.   Andela

Andela was founded by Jeremy Johnson, Christina Sass, Brice Nkengsa, Nadayar Enegesi, Ian Carnevale, and Iyinoluwa Aboyeji to link the U.S. with the technology ecosystems in Africa.

So the startup’s goal has been addressing the shortage of tech-worker in the U.S. To achieve this, Andela identifies and trains Africa’s software developers and admit them to remote engineering teams in tech giants like Google, Facebook and Microsoft.

Some of its lead investors are CRE Venture Capital, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Spark Capital and Generation Investment Management.

2.   Capsule

Eric Kinariwala is both the founder and CEO of the New York-based Capsule. He founded it after waiting for an hour to get his sinus infection medication, but he was told that it was out of stock. The startup allows users to access pharmacy services via an app or text, and then the medication is supplied within two hours using a free courier delivery.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Capsule switched from a convenience to an essential company and now has plans to expand to a bunch of places in the next 18 months.

Capsule lead investors are Thrive Capital, Glade Brook Capital and TCV.

3.   Acorn

The fintech was founded by Walter Cruttenden and his Jeff Cruttenden in 2012. The goal was to help customers round up their spare change from purchases made through credit and debit cards and invest it. Acorn was launched in 2014, and since then, Noah Kerner has been serving as the CEO.

The company offers checking and retirement accounts for $3 per month and charges $1 per month for investment. Kerner manages more than 7.7 million users and $2.3 billion of assets.

Its lead investors are NBCUniversal, Bain Capital, Greycroft, e.ventures, TPG Capital, and PayPal.

4.   Coalition

The startup target is to help companies recover after fraud and security breaches, extortion, and ransomware attacks. To do that, Coalition scans the internet, trying to detect any vulnerabilities and alerts users if it finds some threats.

John Hering and Joshua Motta founded San Francisco-based cybersecurity insurance to protect small firms that can’t afford to deploy comprehensive cybersecurity technologies. So with Coalition, your business can recover up to $15 million in the event of a security breach.

The firm’s lead investors are Valor Equity Partners, Hillhouse Capital, Vy Capital and Ribbit Capital.

5.   Expanse

Tim Junio, Shaun Maguire and Matt Kraning founded the San Francisco-based startup and uses its internet-connected assets like I.P. addresses, domains and cloud infrastructures to monitor online cyberattacks and other vulnerabilities.

Some of the Expanse lead investors are TPG Capital, New Enterprise Associates, IVP, as well as founders Fund.

6.   Moveworks

Jiang Chen, Varun Singh, Bhavin Shah and Vaibhav Nivargi founded Moveworks to automate I.T. support using A.I. and technologically resolve the issue of adding users to an email group or unlocking accounts rather than doing it manually using an I.T. person. The California-based startup offers the solution using natural language processing and resolves the issue within seconds rather than waiting for 3 days in a big institution.

Some of its lead investors are Lightspeed, Kleiner Perkins, Iconiq Capital and Bain Capital.

7.   Shipwell

The shipping sector faces challenges such as extortion, blackmail and kidnapping. Gregory Price and Jason Traff teamed up in 2017 to start Shipwell, which address supply-chain issues using A.I. and machine learning. Therefore Shipwell offers freight tracking and analytics to improve efficiency and reduce shipping costs.

Fifth Wall and Georgian Partners are some of its lead investors.

8.   SmartRent

Lucas Haldeman is both the founder and CEO of the Arizona startup that adds smart home technology to multifamily property. SmartRent charges homeowners $1,000 for installing these smart locks hardware in addition to $5 to $10 per month.

Therefore, with this technology, a potential tenant can take a private, self-guided tour of a vacant apartment, which is an excellent option, especially during a pandemic.

Some of SmartRent’s lead investors are RET Ventures, Bain Capital and Spark Capital.

9.   SuperHuman

The startup ensures inbox Zero or an inbox without unanswered messages. For its service, iPhone and Gmail have to part with $30 a month. Superhuman founders Conrad Irwin, Rahul Vohra, who serves as CEO and Vivek Sodera had another startup called Rapportive that they sold in 2012 to LinkedIn. Andreessen Horowitz is the lead investor.

10.  Weave

Recall Solutions was Brandon Rodman first company that was established to help dentists schedule appointments over their mobile phone. He later discovered that texting is more efficient.

Rodman in 2011 founded Utah-based Weave using the same concept applied in Recall Solutions. In this venture, Rodman focused on dentists, followed by optometrists, veterinarians, clinics and other professionals. To use this product, users pay &595 a month, which come together with VOIP phones, two-way texting and pay terminals.

Further, Weave incorporated Covid-19 measures to stop the spread of the virus. Through its curbside waiting room, a user can alert healthcare provider through a text that they have arrived and the business will respond confirming their availability.

The brains behind Weaver are Brandon Rodman, who serves as a founder and CEO, Jared Rodman and Clint Berry, while its lead investors are Crosslink Capital, Tiger Global Management, A.Capital Ventures, Lead Edge Capital, and Catalyst Investors.