No more than six months after the launch of Forbes’ inaugural Next Billion Dollar Startups list (produced with TrueBridge Capital Partners), the list is already outdated. And in the best way possible.
Of the 25 companies we profiled, nearly half are at least rumored to be valued at or above $1.0 billion, while others have significantly stepped up in their financing—besting even our predictions of how quickly these companies would grow.
Since its publication the list has inspired many followers, including the likes of CB Insights and The New York Times. But now, six months later, which companies have grown too quickly for any more lists to grab? And which ones are still on their way to the unicorn show?
Companies Valued At $1.0+ Billion
Avant
As of April 15, 2015 List Release: Raised $1.4 billion ($334 million in equity) at a valuation of $875 million
As of September 2015: Raised a $325 million round at an almost $2.0 billion valuation
Just over two years old, Avant – the online lender challenging standard credit scores with its machine learning capabilities – is one of the youngest companies to join the billion-dollar club with its latest funding round of $325 million, valuing the company at a staggering estimate of $2.0 billion. As more dollars continue to funnel into online lenders and other fintech companies, Avant has continued to catapult forward, hitting $1.0 billion in loan originations served to more than 200,000 customers, and growing larger by the day.
At the end of August, the company also raised $139 million in debt in a round led by Jefferies, along with another $300 million in debt co-led by J.P. Morgan and Credit Suisse. To many onlookers, Avant’s success to date and its recent funding are just another indication that fintech and alternative lending are on the rise—and that banks are taking notice.
Blue Apron
As of April 15, 2015 List Release: Raised $58 millionwith a reported $500 million valuation
As of September 2015: Raised new round at a $2.0 billion valuation
Like several other companies on this April’s list, Blue Apron quickly crossed the billion-dollar threshold—and then kept going. In early June, the meal delivery startup announced that it closed a $135 million Series D at a $2.0 billion valuation, led by Fidelity. Also in June, Blue Apron noted that it was currently selling over three million meals a month—nearly three times the amount of meals it was selling monthly beginning in November last year.
Docker
As of April 15, 2015 List Release: Raised $150 million to datewith a reported $1.0 billion valuation
Docker, the open-source developer of software containers, is one of several companies that beat us to the punch this April and hit the billion-dollar mark before Forbes could knock out its list. Since this spring, Docker’s larger tech partners Google and Microsoft introduced new products specifically for customers using Docker’s technology, including the Google Container Engine (now emerged out of beta) and Microsoft’s planned release of Windows Server Containers.
Meanwhile, Docker has released some updates of its own, including a new monthly (or annual) subscription plan aimed at the enterprise, which promises to help companies boot up their containers quickly and easily.
SimpliVity
As of April 15, 2015 List Release: Raised $276 million at a $1.0+ billion valuation
Even after recently hitting unicorn status, the hyperconverged infrastructure company SimpliVity is still climbing. As of June 30, the company grew its sales bookings by nearly 250% year-over-year, becoming one of the fastest growing IT infrastructure companies to date. With its breakneck growth and the recent appointment of CFO Tom Beaudoin, some have even speculated that the company is gearing up for an IPO.
SoFi
As of April 15, 2015 List Release: Raised $414 million at a $1.3 billion valuation
As of September 2015: Raised $1.0 billion at a reported $4.0 billion valuation
The four-year-old online lender Social Finance Inc. (SoFi), which first made its name in refinancing student loans, has since grown not just into new verticals like personal lending and mortgages but also into one of the largest fintech companies to date. With a recently closed $1.0 billion Series E, SoFi now boasts a valuation estimated at $4.0 billion—and a spot amongst the top 30 U.S. banks by market capitalization. In addition to its latest funding round, the company announced new estimates to exceed $6.0 billion in loan volume by the end of the year—one billion more than it had forecast a month ago.
Tanium
As of April 15, 2015 List Release: Raised $142 million
As of September 2015: Raised a $120 million round at a $3.5 billion valuation
Tanium, the cybersecurity and systems management company, made headlines this year as the venture world’s latest black horse, owing to its small upbringing by father-son co-founders Orion and David Hindawi and its storied pitch to Andreessen Horowitz, which left the well-respected venture firm slack jawed. After nearly seven years crawling its way to a $900 million valuation, Tanium most recently raised a $120 million round (led by TPG Capital, IVP, and T. Rowe Price) at a whopping value of $3.5 billion.
Thumbtack
As of April 15, 2015 List Release: Raised $150 million
As of September 2015: Raised $125 million at a $1.3 billion valuation
With a fresh $125 million round, Thumbtack – the online marketplace matching service providers with consumers – is one of tech’s newest unicorn debuts, now at a valuation of $1.3 billion. In just two years, the company has grown the number of active professionals on its site to 200,000, an increase of 10 times—but has no plans to stop there. With its latest financing, Thumbtack will be able to strengthen its efforts to expand its current offering of 1,000 service categories, with ambitions to grow into new services like CRM, invoicing, product management software, and more.
Zenefits
As of April 15, 2015 List Release: Raised $84 million at a valuation of $500 million
As of September 2015: Raised a $500 million round at a $4.5 billion valuation
This past June, the rapidly growing Zenefits announced a $500 million Series C led by Fidelity Management and TPG Capital, pitting the company at a massive $4.5 billion valuation. Zenefits, which Forbes also identified as the hottest startup of 2014, is widely seen as a front runner in the fast-emerging HR software sector, sporting an incredible growth trajectory despite its young age.
Companies Fast Approaching $1.0 Billion
Affirmed Networks
As of April 15, 2015 List Release: Raised $163 million
As of September 2015: Expected to raise a new round at an undisclosed high valuation
Since its founding in 2010, Affirmed Networks – the producer of software bundles running on virtualized mobile networks – has grown to over 200 employees serving a strong roster of 25 mobile operators. After raising its latest round of financing more than a year ago, Affirmed was valued at an estimated $600 million; now, according to CEO and Chairman Hassan Ahmed, the company is “probably close” to unicorn status with its upcoming investment round.
And it’s not just the company that’s growing. According to the IHS, the market for network functions virtualization (NFV) – the core of Ahmed’s direction for Affirmed – is expected to reach $11.6 billion in 2019, up from $2.3 billion in 2015, as more operators shift their focus from hardware to software.
Beepi
As of April 15, 2015 List Release: Raised $79 million at a $200 million valuation
As of September 2015: Reportedly raising a $300 million round at a potential $2.0 billion valuation
This past May, used car retailer Beepi announced it was raising another $300 million in venture capital to continue its expansion nationwide from its current location in five states, with added delivery to nearby areas. The full round would value Beepi at $2.0 billion, up from $200 million in just April of this year. The company, based in Los Altos, CA, also expects to earn $350 million in revenue this year, up from $100 million in 2014.
Cyanogen
As of April 15, 2015 List Release: Raised $110 million at a valuation close to $1.0 billion
Since its latest $110 million fundraising, Cyanogen – the company behind the open-source community developing a new Android OS – has forged new partnerships with both Microsoft and Chinese manufacturer Foxconn to expand worldwide. After appearing on this April’s list, the company has also acted on its ambitions to continually grow its user base, and in August, announced that it currently serves 50 million users—more than Windows Mobile and BlackBerry combined.
DataStax
As of April 15, 2015 List Release: Raised $190 million at a valuation of $830+ million
As the central support system of the Apache Cassandra database – the open-source project now used widely by companies like Apple and Netflix – DataStax has been working to revolutionize data use by offering its platform more cheaply than ever before. Since April, many have identified the company as a viable competitor to tech behemoths like Oracle, with its drastic price differences compared to the industry’s database incumbent.
In May, the company also introduced DataStax Enterprise 4.7, a platform meant to provide customers with instant insight and access into the data collected online and in mobile apps, as the amount of information collected by enterprise devices continues to grow at an astounding rate.
Deliveroo
As of April 15, 2015 List Release: $30 million with a reported valuation of more than $100 million
As of September 2015: Raised $70 million at a reportedly large valuation
Not long after the on-demand, premium takeaway company Deliveroo appeared on Forbes’ list, it raised a fresh $70 million Series C led by Greenoaks Capital and London’s Index Ventures, with participation from existing investors Accel Partners and Hoxton Ventures. Though Deliveroo chose not to disclose a valuation, people familiar with the company have reported that it’s a high one. With its new financing, Deliveroo plans to increase its staffing as well as expand into new markets beyond its current locations in the U.K., Paris, Berlin, and Dublin.
DoorDash
As of April 15, 2015 List Release: Raised $60 million at a reported value of nearly $600 million
Even in the crowded food tech space, DoorDash has managed to hit critical milestones and distinguish itself from its peers with new partnerships and expansions into other delivery services. In July, the company struck its largest partnership yet with Taco Bell, marking the first time the restaurant has worked with a third-party delivery partner in the U.S. This September, DoorDash also introduced its first non-restaurant delivery partnership with 7-Eleven, allowing customers to order anything from Skittles to sleeping pills and have it delivered directly.
Grand Rounds
As of April 15, 2015 List Release: Raised $51 million
As of September 2015: Raised $55 million (previously at an estimated $750 million valuation)
Grand Rounds – the digital health startup connecting patients with medical specialists – raised $55 million in new capital this past August, on top of its previous financing round in June that reportedly valued the company at $750 million. In addition to helping patients seek much-needed second opinions, the San Francisco-based company also helps corporate customers cut healthcare costs with its matching algorithms, which connect employees directly with the specialists most relevant to their needs.
Kreditech
As of April 15, 2015 List Release: Raised $274 million at a $190 million valuation
As of September 2015: Raised $92 million at a significant increase in valuation
Kreditech drew multiple headlines this July following news that Peter Thiel (of PayPal mafia fame) would participate in the company’s upcoming Series C. Not long after that, the Hamburg-based fintech company confirmed its latest fundraising of $92 million with participation from J.C. Flowers & Co. LLC, Amadeus Capital Partners, Värde Partners, HPE Growth Capital, and Blumberg Capital, alongside Thiel.
Kreditech, which uses data and machine learning to build a fully automated, multi-channel “bank,” has long been tight lipped on its valuation. However, CFO Rene Griemens recently revealed to TechCrunch that it has “more than doubled” since raising its $40 million Series B in 2014, which valued the company at $190 million.
Lithium Technologies
As of April 15, 2015 List Release: Raised $160 million
Following its acquisition last year of social reputation startup Klout, Lithium Technologies – the social community platform – has made good on its promise to provide a better way for its corporate clients to connect with their customers. In June, Lithium introduced the Integrated Profile, a new feature built from the Klout platform that takes a Klout score (a measurement of a user’s online influence) and adds it to a company’s social community profile.
Mixpanel
As of April 15, 2015 List Release: Raised $77 million at an $865 million valuation
Mobile analytics company Mixpanel, which measures users’ actions within a mobile app, introduced a new feature in July that promises to make it easier for its customers to use its analytics tools—without any knowledge of code. Since the company’s latest funding round bumped it to a nearly billion-dollar valuation, many have identified Mixpanel as a key example of the budding marketing analytics sector, as more users increasingly turn to mobile and more companies demand an understanding of how their customers use their apps.
Orchard
As of April 15, 2015 List Release: Raised $14.7 million
As of September 2015: Raised a $30 million round at a rumored $200+ million valuation
Just recently in September, Orchard Platform raised $30 million in a Series B led by Thrive Capital, with participation by new investors Victory Park Capital, Thomvest Ventures, and former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. President Jon Winkelried. Though Orchard declined to disclose the financing terms, one source told Forbes that its latest round likely put its value at “north of $200 million.” The new round amounts to $44.7 million in funding for Orchard, which provides a supporting platform for the growing landscape of online lenders and their users.
On top of its new financing, Orchard announced two partnerships this summer with Auto One Acceptance and The Interface Financial Group, in addition to its existing partnership with Kabbage and its consumer lending arm, Karrot.
Raise
As of April 15, 2015 List Release: Raised $87 million at an estimated $500 million valuation
Since closing its Series B, Raise has brought itself at least half way to the billion-dollar mark at an estimated valuation of $500 million. In August, Raise – the Chicago-based gift card marketplace – took another substantial step with its acquisition of Tastebud Technologies, which uses quizzes, games, and other elements to determine mobile users’ shopping preferences and send them curated product offerings. With the help of Tastebud’s engineering team, Raise hopes to extend the reach of its marketplace by notifying users of its gift cards in the same way.
Redfin
As of April 15, 2015 List Release: Raised $166 million at an estimated $500 million valuation
Since its latest financing, the Seattle-based brokerage Redfin has been busy producing original research on the current state of the real-estate industry, which has been widely cited by papers and media outlets including The Wall Street Journaland CNBC. Redfin, which aims to introduce technology to the convoluted and inefficient processes of homebuying, has reported revenues of $100+ million last year, and as of May 2015, employs over 1,000 real-estate agents in 67 metros nationwide.
Teespring
As of April 15, 2015 List Release: Raised $55 million
The e-commerce company Teespring has garnered plenty of media attention for its social selling platform, a unique twist on the traditional online marketplace that sells custom-designed clothing (primarily t-shirts) using a social media-powered platform. Since April, the company reported selling more than seven million shirts last year and, in a major step in its product development, %%%77%%% with the NFL to sell licensed apparel on Teespring’s platform. As a result of the partnership, the NFL will have its own section on the Teespring website, where fans can buy shirts that more quirky and personalized than those already available through mass market.
Teespring has also recently partnered with online payment services company Payoneer to begin expanding its user base across the globe, and in September, poached former eBay director and Google manager Brian Marcus as vice president of seller growth, as well as the head of the latest Teespring opening in Seattle.
Viptela
As of April 15, 2015 List Release: Raised $33.5 million at a $500+ million valuation
Viptela, the company set on redefining how wide area networks (WAN) operate, has stepped up from its half billion-dollar valuation to enhance its partnership roster. In June, the company struck a deal with Singapore Telecommunications Limited (Singtel) to deliver its software-defined WAN using Viptela’s Secure Extensible Network (SEN), allowing customers to better manage their VPNs and applications policies. The new service will be available in the Asia-Pacific region as well as in Australia, Europe, and the U.S.
Wish
As of April 15, 2015 List Release: Raised $78.7 million
As of September 2015: Raised an estimated $500 million round at a rumored $3.0 billion valuation
Wish, the mobile shopping app tailored around its users’ unique preferences, closed an estimated $500 million round led by DST Global and previous investors GGV Capital and Founders Fund, lifting the company to a potential $3.0 billion valuation—up from $400 million in June.
Since its latest round, Wish has also acquired Locket, a startup that makes lockscreen apps for Android and serves up tailored news to the front of a user’s screen, promising to make a company already known for its highly curated shopping lists even more personalized to users.
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