Vcs Name the Startups That Will Boom in 2020
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Search BI and the web using Microsoft Bing 72 startups that will boom in 2020, according to VCs Julie Bort Jan 22, 2020, 6:30 AM Shutterstock/8zkes We asked a group of investors at successful venture capital @rms to name the startups that will boom this year. to name the startups that will boom this year. Each VC was asked to name two startups: one that they or their @rm invested in, and one where they have no @nancial ties or any other interest, but believes will do well. The result is an exciting list of startups to watch in 2020 from the people who make their livings watching startups. Whether you are looking for a hot startup to join as an employee or looking out for tech trends, this list will serve as an indication of what Silicon Valley thinks is hot. Click here to read more BI Prime stories. 2020 is upon us and one of the best ways to see what the year holds for the tech industry is to ask the venture capitalists that fund, advise and hear pitch after pitch from tech startups. In that spirit, we reached out to a select group of successful venture capital =rms and asked them name the startups that are poised to have very good years. When we spoke to each VC, we set some ground rules for participation: B. The VC must tell us about one startup in their portfolio. After all, they believed in the startup in question enough to fund them. F. And they must also tell us about one startup where they have no =nancial ties or any other interest. After all, they can't invest in every single cool-sounding startup. The result is a fascinating list of companies to watch, ranging from tiny, seed stage to under-the-radar growth companies, organized alphabetically. We've noted each startup's estimated total funding to date based on the info from deal database Pitchbook. In the event that we could not determine total funding from Pitchbook, we've included what funding info we could. Here are the 72 startups that they named: 1Password: Password management for people and companies Ethan Choi, Accel Accel Startup: 1Password VC: Ethan Choi, Accel Relationship: Investor Total funding raised: $200 million What it does: OOers a password manager for consumers and enterprises. Why it will boom in 2020: "1Password is seeing explosive traction in the enterprise because users love the product and bring it into the workplace, bottoms-up. In just three short years since launching its enterprise product and with very little marketing and sales, 1Password has built a customer base of over 50,000 enterprise customers and millions of paid users," Choi says. Abnormal Security: AI-powered cloud email security Saam Motamedi, Greylock Greylock Startup: Abnormal Security VC: Saam Motamedi, Greylock Partners Relationship: Investor Total funding raised: $24 million What it does: OOers AI-powered cloud email security to stop known and unknown threats. Why it will boom in 2020: "According to the FBI, business email compromise is the No. 1 cyber crime for enterprises," says Motamedi. "Unlike other enterprise solutions, their technology models the identity of users, graphs their relationships and analyzes content to stop attacks that bypass other solutions." Abstract: Collaboration tools for design teams Jomayra Herrera, Cowboy Ventures Cowboy Ventures Startup: Abstract VC: Jomayra Herrera, Cowboy Ventures Relationship: Investor Total funding raised: $54.25 million What it does: Provides collaboration and version control for design teams. Why it will boom in 2020: "Unlike engineers who have tools like GitHub to keep track of their work, designers have historically been left to manually track changes," says Herrera. "Abstract identi=ed this gap and is quickly becoming the go-to place for design teams who want to move faster and collaborate better," she says. Accolade: Understand employee bene@ts Concur CEO Steve Singh LinkedIn/Steve Singh Startup: Accolade VC: Steve Singh, Madrona Venture Group Relationship: Madrona is an investor in Accolade, via Matt McIlwain; the CEO of Accolade is Steve Singh's brother. Total funding raised: $240.34 million What it does: Software that helps companies and employees understand, use and manage their healthcare bene=ts. Why it will boom in 2020: Accolade "radically improves the capacity to consume the right healthcare services," says Singh. AirGarage: Tech for parking garages Shaun Maguire, Sequoia Sequoia Startup: AirGarge VC: Shaun Maguire, Sequoia Capital Relationship: No relation. VC just thinks it's cool. Total funding raised: $2 million What it does: AirGarage provides tech for parking garage companies that lets them sell spaces and enforce parking regulations without an attendant on duty. Why it will boom in 2020: "Parking makes up a large fraction of the urban footprint of cities and it's currently ine`ciently utilized," says Maguire. AMP Robotics: Robots for the dirty, unwanted job at recycling centers Shaun Maguire, Sequoia Sequoia Startup: AMP Robotics VC: Shaun Maguire, Sequoia Capital Relationship: Investor Total funding raised: $22.58 million What it does: Builds robots for the recycling industry that sorts through recycling. Why it will boom in 2020: "AMP Robotics was born from the insight — all the way back in 2012 — that deep learning will commoditize computer vision, and computer vision + robotic arms is the future of automation," says Maguire. He says recycling was the =rst choice for the company because it involves "some of the dirtiest and most dangerous jobs" that few people want to do, creating a labor shortage. "It's also good for the planet." Auth0: Handling sign-in security for developers S. "Soma" Somasegar Madrona Venture Group Startup: Auth0 VC: S. Somasegar, Madrona Venture Group Relationship: No relation. VC just thinks it's cool. Total funding raised: $213.47 million What it does: Auth0 provides authentication and authorization security as a service used by developers for their applications. Why it will boom in 2020: "Auth0 has built an elegant solution to Why it will boom in 2020: "Auth0 has built an elegant solution to solve this problem for all kinds of developers across all kinds of applications," says S. Somasegar, adding: "Their developer-=rst and ease-of-use approach is a work of art." Benchling: Collaboration for drug researchers Brian Feinstein, Bessemer Venture Partners Bessemer Venture Partners Startup: Benchling VC: Brian Feinstein, Bessemer Venture Partners Relationship: No relation. VC just thinks it's cool. Total funding raised: $61.8 million What it does: Collaboration and data management platform for drug development. Why it will boom in 2020: "Benchling is helping researchers at pharmaceutical companies better collaborate and manage their research data internally. They are working with some of the largest biopharma companies in the world," says Feinstein. Bevi: Make your own Wavored water Kent Bennett, Bessemer Venture Partners Bessemer Venture Partners Startup: Bevi VC: Kent Bennett, Bessemer Venture Partners Relationship: Investor Total funding raised: $64.03 million What it does: A smart water machine that pours still, sparkling, and havored water on demand. Why it will boom in 2020: "What if MIT geniuses dedicated their lives to make your o`ce water cooler delightful and cheaper than existing o`ce beverage solutions? That's Bevi," says Bennett. "The company is growing incredibly quickly." Calm: Meditation app moving into mental health Nicole Quinn Lightspeed Startup: Calm VC: Nicole Quinn, Lightspeed Venture Partners Relationship: Investor Total funding raised: $143.63 million What it does: Calm is a popular meditation app, featuring partnerships with celebrities including Matthew McConaughey and, more recently, Lebron James. Why it will boom in 2020: "Calm now has a full mental health oOering with meditation, yoga, masterclasses and sleep stories. Often called 'the Matthew McConaughey app,' and with their latest LeBron James partnership, Calm has successfully leveraged LeBron James partnership, Calm has successfully leveraged celebrities to reach new audiences," says Quinn. Catch: Bene@t management for the self-employed Even Moore, Khosla Ventures Even Moore Startup: Catch VC: Evan Moore, Khosla Ventures Relationship: Investor Total funding raised: $6.22 million What it does: Catch oOers health insurance, retirement planning, and tax withholding planning to self-employed workers and those without employer bene=ts. Why it will boom in 2020: "It's crazy that bene=ts are still tied to employment. Catch is the =rst portable bene=ts platform built for freelancers, contractors, part-time, and other non-traditional workers, and they've seen signi=cant momentum over the past year," says Moore. Clari: Intelligent revenue analysis S. "Soma" Somasegar Madrona Venture Group Startup: Clari VCs: S. Somasegar and Steve Singh, Madrona Venture Group Relationship: Investors Total funding raised: $121 million What it does: Ingests data from a company's enterprise apps then uses AI for revenue analysis and forecasting. Why it will boom in 2020: "More enterprises are looking to have a top-level leader who looks holistically at all aspects of revenue operations," says Somasegar. "Customer traction has set the foundation for a breakthrough in the next year and beyond. "I have found that Clari is more accurate that the sales rep, sales manager, or the VP of Sales in predicting how the business will perform in the quarter," adds Singh. Deliverr: Warehousing and delivery service for hire Talia Goldberg, Bessemer Venture Partners Bessemer Venture Partners Startup: Deliverr VC: Talia Goldberg, Bessemer Venture Partners Relationship: No relation. VC just thinks it's cool. Total funding raised: $70.1 million What it does: Built a network of warehouses and AI powered software that allows any ecommerce seller to oOer fast delivery of items to customers. Why it will boom in 2020: "Deliverr is creating Amazon Prime for everyone else," says Goldberg, adding that the company has built "a sophisticated ful=llment network that enables any merchant to access fast and aOordable two-day shipping." Divvy: A new way to @nance a home Nicole Quinn Lightspeed Startup: Divvy VC: Nicole Quinn, Lightspeed Venture Partners Relationship: No relation.