A bold new class of startups is rising in San Francisco, launched after 2020 and already securing $100M+ in funding. These 20 companies are disrupting industries with cutting-edge tech in AI, fintech, health, sustainability, and enterprise software. Their rapid ascent shows just how fast next-gen innovation can scale in the Bay Area.
20 High-Funding Startups Defining San Francisco’s New Era of Innovation
Armed with major backing and breakthrough ideas, these startups are moving fast, building big, and reshaping what’s possible in today’s tech landscape.
Let’s take a look at the new leaders transforming tomorrow from the ground up.
| Company | Founded | Industry | Employees | Last Amount | Latest Round | Total Funding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phantom | 2021 | Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, DeFi | 101–250 | $150M | Jan 16, 2025 | $268M |
| Twelve Labs | 2021 | Generative AI, IT, Software | 11–50 | $30M | Dec 12, 2024 | $107.12M |
| Writer | 2020 | Content, Generative AI, NLP | 101–250 | $200M | Nov 12, 2024 | $326M |
| Physical Intelligence | 2024 | AI, ML, Robotics | 11–50 | $400M | Nov 4, 2024 | $470M |
| Zip | 2020 | Compliance, ERP, Finance | 251–500 | $190M | Oct 21, 2024 | $371.33M |
| Poolside | 2023 | AI, Developer Platform, IT | 11–50 | $500M | Oct 2, 2024 | $626M |
| Upwind Security | 2022 | Cloud Infra, Management, Security | 101–250 | $100M | Dec 2, 2024 | $180M |
| Xaira Therapeutics | 2024 | AI, Biotechnology, Health Care | 51–100 | $1B | Apr 23, 2024 | $1B |
| World Labs | 2024 | 3D Tech, AI, Generative AI | 11–50 | $230M | Sep 13, 2024 | $230M |
| Cognition | 2023 | AI, Generative AI, IT | 1–10 | $175M | Apr 24, 2024 | $196M |
| The Bot Company | 2024 | AI, Mechanical Eng., Robotics | 1–10 | $150M | May 13, 2024 | $150M |
| Etched.ai | 2022 | AI, Computer Hardware | 11–50 | $120M | Jun 25, 2024 | $125.36M |
| Sierra | 2023 | AI, Enterprise Software, SaaS | 51–100 | $175M | Oct 28, 2024 | $285M |
| Slope | 2021 | E-Commerce, Finance, Fin. Services | 11–50 | $50M | Jul 17, 2024 | $252.13M |
| Decagon | 2023 | AI, Generative AI, Software | 11–50 | $65M | Oct 15, 2024 | $100M |
| 0G Labs | 2023 | AI, Blockchain, Web3 | 11–50 | $250M | Nov 13, 2024 | $325M |
| Armada | 2022 | AI, Cloud Computing, Data Center | 101–250 | $40M | Jul 11, 2024 | $108M |
| Alumis | 2021 | Biotechnology, Health Care, Life Science | 11–50 | $259M | Mar 6, 2024 | $529M |
| Apogee Therapeutics | 2022 | Biotechnology, Life Science, Medical | 101–250 | $483M | Mar 7, 2024 | $652M |
| Aquaria | 2020 | Infrastructure, Water, Water Purification | 11–50 | $100M | Nov 20, 2024 | $112M |
1. Phantom
- Founded: March 2021
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
- Number of Employees: 101–250
- Last Funding Amount: $150M (Latest Round: Jan 16, 2025)
- Total Funding Amount: $268M
Phantom is a leading crypto wallet and Web3 platform built for seamless interaction with the Solana blockchain and beyond. Offering secure asset management, in-app token swaps, NFT support, and decentralized application access, Phantom simplifies the DeFi experience for both newcomers and advanced users. With strong momentum and substantial backing, it is accelerating the mainstream adoption of decentralized finance.
2. Twelve Labs
- Founded: March 2021
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Generative AI, Information Technology, Software
- Number of Employees: 11–50
- Last Funding Amount: $30M (Latest Round: Dec 12, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $107.12M
Twelve Labs is building advanced multimodal AI models that understand and search video content with human-like context and accuracy. Its platform enables developers and enterprises to analyze, index, and retrieve moments from vast video libraries using natural language queries. With cutting-edge research and growing industry adoption, Twelve Labs is shaping the future of video intelligence.
3. Writer
- Founded: August 30, 2020
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Content, Generative AI, Natural Language Processing
- Number of Employees: 101–250
- Last Funding Amount: $200M (Latest Round: Nov 12, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $326M
Writer is an enterprise-grade generative AI platform that helps teams create consistent, high-quality content at scale. Purpose-built for business use, its AI models are trained on company-specific data to power use cases across marketing, support, HR, and more. With robust security, governance, and integrations, Writer empowers organizations to drive efficiency and brand alignment with every word.
4. Physical Intelligence
- Founded: 2024
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Robotics
- Number of Employees: 11–50
- Last Funding Amount: $400M (Latest Round: Nov 4, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $470M
Physical Intelligence is developing cutting-edge robotics systems powered by advanced AI and machine learning to replicate human-level perception and dexterity. Its mission is to bridge the gap between digital intelligence and physical capability, enabling robots to perform complex real-world tasks with minimal supervision. With one of the largest early-stage raises in the robotics space, the company is poised to redefine automation at scale.
5. Zip
- Founded: 2020
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Compliance, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Finance
- Number of Employees: 251–500
- Last Funding Amount: $190M (Latest Round: Oct 21, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $371.33M
Zip offers an intake-to-pay platform that simplifies procurement, vendor management, and financial workflows for modern enterprises. Its solution helps teams automate approvals, enforce compliance, and gain visibility into spend before it happens. Trusted by leading companies, Zip is redefining enterprise procurement with speed, control, and scalability.
6. Poolside
- Founded: 2023
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Developer Platform, Information Technology
- Number of Employees: 11–50
- Last Funding Amount: $500M (Latest Round: Oct 2, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $626M
Poolside is building an AI-native developer platform designed to radically enhance software creation through natural language programming. By translating ideas into code with large-scale AI models, Poolside empowers developers to prototype, iterate, and ship faster than ever before. With one of the most significant funding rounds in AI tooling, Poolside is on a mission to reimagine how software is built.
7. Upwind Security
- Founded: 2022
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Cloud Infrastructure, Cloud Management, Cloud Security
- Number of Employees: 101–250
- Last Funding Amount: $100M (Latest Round: Dec 2, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $180M
Upwind Security delivers runtime cloud security solutions that help organizations detect, prioritize, and remediate threats across their infrastructure. Its agentless platform integrates directly into cloud environments to provide real-time visibility and risk mitigation without disrupting operations. With rapid adoption and deep investor support, Upwind is redefining cloud-native security for the enterprise.
8. Xaira Therapeutics
- Founded: 2024
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Biotechnology, Health Care
- Number of Employees: 51–100
- Last Funding Amount: $1B (Latest Round: Apr 23, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $1B
Xaira Therapeutics is pioneering the integration of AI and biotechnology to accelerate drug discovery and development. Backed by a landmark $1 billion raise, the company is building a platform that combines large-scale biological data with cutting-edge machine learning to design novel therapeutics faster and more precisely. Positioned at the intersection of science and computation, Xaira aims to transform the future of medicine.
9. World Labs
- Founded: January 1, 2024
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: 3D Technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Generative AI
- Number of Employees: 11–50
- Last Funding Amount: $230M (Latest Round: Sep 13, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $230M
World Labs is building next-generation generative AI models that bring immersive 3D content to life. Focused on revolutionizing spatial computing, the company enables creators and developers to generate high-fidelity virtual environments with unprecedented speed and realism. With massive early backing, World Labs is redefining how digital worlds are designed, built, and experienced.
10. Cognition
- Founded: November 2023
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Generative AI, Information Technology
- Number of Employees: 1–10
- Last Funding Amount: $175M (Latest Round: Apr 24, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $196M
Cognition is an AI research and product company focused on building reasoning-capable AI systems that go beyond text generation. With a mission to create intelligent agents that can reason, plan, and execute complex tasks autonomously, Cognition is developing frontier models that bridge language understanding with real-world utility. Its rapid funding and elite team position it as a major force in next-gen AI development.
11. The Bot Company
- Founded: 2024
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Mechanical Engineering, Robotics
- Number of Employees: 1–10
- Last Funding Amount: $150M (Latest Round: May 13, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $150M
The Bot Company is building next-generation humanoid robots that merge advanced AI with mechanical precision. Designed to operate in dynamic, real-world environments, these robots aim to support industries from manufacturing to logistics. With a bold vision and substantial initial funding, The Bot Company is pushing the frontier of physical AI and redefining human–machine collaboration.
12. Etched.ai
- Founded: 2022
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Computer Hardware
- Number of Employees: 11–50
- Last Funding Amount: $120M (Latest Round: Jun 25, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $125.36M
Etched.ai is developing purpose-built AI chips optimized for transformer-based models, aiming to dramatically accelerate inference speeds while reducing energy consumption. By vertically integrating hardware and software, Etched is unlocking new levels of performance for large-scale AI workloads. Positioned at the cutting edge of AI infrastructure, the company is challenging incumbents with its focused, high-efficiency architecture.
13. Sierra
- Founded: 2023
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Enterprise Software, SaaS
- Number of Employees: 51–100
- Last Funding Amount: $175M (Latest Round: Oct 28, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $285M
Sierra is building AI-native enterprise software that transforms how businesses engage with customers. Its intelligent platform combines conversational AI with backend automation to deliver end-to-end customer support, sales, and operations experiences. Backed by major investors and led by experienced founders, Sierra is on a mission to reshape enterprise workflows with deeply integrated AI solutions.
14. Slope
- Founded: 2021
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: E-Commerce, Finance, Financial Services
- Number of Employees: 11–50
- Last Funding Amount: $50M (Latest Round: Jul 17, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $252.13M
Slope provides B2B payment infrastructure that enables businesses to offer flexible, buy-now-pay-later terms to their customers. Its platform streamlines underwriting, invoicing, and collections, helping merchants improve cash flow while giving buyers greater purchasing power. With strong traction in the e-commerce and SaaS sectors, Slope is modernizing how companies transact and scale.
15. Decagon
- Founded: 2023
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Generative AI, Software
- Number of Employees: 11–50
- Last Funding Amount: $65M (Latest Round: Oct 15, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $100M
Decagon is developing advanced generative AI systems designed to reason, plan, and collaborate with humans in complex digital environments. Focused on building multi-agent models that simulate human-like coordination and creativity, the company is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with autonomous software. With significant backing and early momentum, Decagon is emerging as a key player in the future of intelligent collaboration.
16. 0G Labs
- Founded: 2023
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, Web3
- Number of Employees: 11–50
- Last Funding Amount: $250M (Latest Round: Nov 13, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $325M
0G Labs is building a decentralized infrastructure layer to support AI applications on the blockchain. By combining scalable on-chain compute with data availability and provenance tools, the platform empowers developers to create verifiable, permissionless AI systems. With massive backing and deep technical ambition, 0G Labs is redefining the foundation for AI in the Web3 era.
17. Armada
- Founded: 2022
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cloud Computing, Data Center
- Number of Employees: 101–250
- Last Funding Amount: $40M (Latest Round: Jul 11, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $108M
Armada is building a decentralized cloud platform optimized for AI workloads, offering an alternative to traditional hyperscalers. By integrating edge infrastructure with a unified orchestration layer, Armada enables developers to run AI models closer to data sources — with more control, privacy, and speed. Backed by top-tier investors, the company is laying the groundwork for a more distributed and efficient AI cloud.
18. Alumis
- Founded: 2021
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Biotechnology, Health Care, Life Science
- Number of Employees: 11–50
- Last Funding Amount: $259M (Latest Round: Mar 6, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $529M
Alumis is advancing a new class of precision therapeutics for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Using cutting-edge genomics, AI-driven insights, and deep translational science, the company is designing more targeted and effective small-molecule treatments. With over half a billion in funding, Alumis is rapidly progressing through clinical stages and reshaping the biotech landscape for chronic immune disorders.
19. Apogee Therapeutics
- Founded: 2022
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Biotechnology, Life Science, Medical
- Number of Employees: 101–250
- Last Funding Amount: $483M (Latest Round: Mar 7, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $652M
Apogee Therapeutics is developing a pipeline of precision biologics targeting inflammatory and immunological diseases. With proprietary antibody engineering platforms and data-driven discovery methods, the company is accelerating the development of next-generation therapies with higher efficacy and safety. Backed by major investors, Apogee is positioning itself as a leader in biologic innovation with a strong clinical pipeline.
20. Aquaria
- Founded: 2020
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Infrastructure, Water, Water Purification
- Number of Employees: 11–50
- Last Funding Amount: $100M (Latest Round: Nov 20, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $112M
Aquaria is revolutionizing global water infrastructure with advanced purification and atmospheric water generation technologies. Designed for scalability and sustainability, its systems provide clean, accessible water in urban, rural, and disaster-prone areas. With substantial recent backing, Aquaria is poised to become a critical player in solving the world’s water scarcity challenges.
Conclusion
Born after 2020 and now backed by over $100M in funding, these 20 San Francisco startups are proving that rapid innovation and scale are still alive in the city’s tech ecosystem. From AI and fintech to biotech and climate tech, they’re not just moving fast—they’re building the next generation of category-defining companies poised to lead the global market.
FAQs
Q1. How have these startups raised $100M+ so quickly?
A. By solving urgent, high-impact problems with scalable technologies and attracting top-tier investors eager to back breakout innovation.
Q2. How are they using the funding?
A. To accelerate hiring, enhance product offerings, expand into global markets, invest in infrastructure, and solidify competitive advantages.
Q3. What’s next for these next-gen giants?
A. Continued global expansion, product diversification, and positioning for IPOs or large-scale acquisitions as they rise to define the future of their industries.