San Francisco is home to some of the most ambitious startups in the world—and these 20 are already on a billion-dollar trajectory. With $100M+ in funding, they’re building category-defining products in AI, biotech, climate tech, fintech, and beyond. Their momentum signals not just growth, but lasting industry impact.
20 Powerhouse Startups Leading San Francisco’s Next Unicorn Wave
Backed by deep capital and visionary teams, these companies are scaling fast and pushing toward market dominance, one milestone at a time.
Let’s meet the startups blazing a trail toward billion-dollar status.
| Company | Founded | Industry | Employees | Last Amount | Last Funding | Total Funding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LambdaTest | 2017 | Cloud Infrastructure, Developer Tools | 251–500 | $38M | Dec 10, 2024 | $108M |
| Farther | 2019 | Consulting, Finance | 251–500 | $72M | Oct 10, 2024 | $118M |
| Substack | 2017 | Content Creators, Media and Entertainment | 51–100 | $10M | Nov 12, 2024 | $100.23M |
| Harness | 2017 | Developer Tools, DevOps | 501–1,000 | $150M | May 14, 2024 | $575M |
| Solana | 2017 | Apps, Blockchain | 11–50 | CA$25M | Jan 7, 2025 | $336.97M |
| Brex | 2017 | Banking, Credit Cards | 1,001–5,000 | $235M | Jan 13, 2025 | $1.7B |
| Armis Security | 2015 | Cybersecurity, Information Technology | 501–1,000 | $200M | Oct 28, 2024 | $737M |
| Jiko | 2016 | Banking, Financial Services | 11–50 | $29M | Dec 12, 2024 | $118.4M |
| AtoB | 2019 | FinTech, Payments | 51–100 | $130M | Sep 19, 2024 | $312M |
| Tenaya Therapeutics | 2016 | Biopharma, Biotechnology | 101–250 | $50M | Feb 8, 2024 | $373M |
| Brightside Health | 2017 | Health Care, Mental Health | 101–250 | $33M | Mar 26, 2024 | $114.37M |
| Volley | 2016 | AI, Casual Games | 101–250 | $55M | Jul 9, 2024 | $107.27M |
| Bright Machines | 2018 | Computer, Information Technology | 501–1,000 | $106M | Jun 25, 2024 | $437M |
| Watershed | 2019 | Cloud Data Services, Information Technology | 251–500 | $100M | Feb 1, 2024 | $239M |
| Sirona Medical | 2018 | AI, Health Care | 51–100 | $42M | Nov 26, 2024 | $104.5M |
| EvenUp | 2019 | AI, FinTech | 251–500 | $135M | Oct 8, 2024 | $220.5M |
| Hayden AI | 2019 | Analytics, AI | 101–250 | $90M | Jul 10, 2024 | $193.41M |
| Cortex | 2019 | Developer Platform, Health Care | 51–100 | $60M | Sep 4, 2024 | $112.65M |
| Two Chairs | 2017 | Health Care, Mental Health | 501–1,000 | $72M | Apr 16, 2024 | $100M |
| Vouch | 2018 | Finance, Financial Services | 251–500 | $25M | Mar 11, 2024 | $184.72M |
1. LambdaTest
- Founded: June 2017
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Cloud Infrastructure, Developer Tools
- Number of Employees: 251–500
- Last Funding Amount: $38M (Latest Round: Dec 10, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $108M
LambdaTest provides a cloud-based testing platform that enables developers and QA teams to perform automated and live testing across thousands of browsers and operating systems. Its infrastructure supports real-time debugging, continuous integration, and parallel test execution to accelerate software release cycles. With a focus on speed, reliability, and collaboration, LambdaTest streamlines the way teams ensure code quality at scale.
2. Farther
- Founded: 2019
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Consulting, Finance
- Number of Employees: 251–500
- Last Funding Amount: $72M (Latest Round: Oct 10, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $118M
Farther is a modern wealth management platform that blends human expertise with technology to deliver personalized financial advisory services. It offers high-net-worth individuals a seamless digital experience for investing, planning, and managing wealth. By combining automation with a team of experienced advisors, Farther is redefining how clients grow and protect their financial futures.
3. Substack
- Founded: 2017
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Content Creators, Media and Entertainment
- Number of Employees: 51–100
- Last Funding Amount: $10M (Latest Round: Nov 12, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $100.23M
Substack is a publishing platform that empowers writers to create, distribute, and monetize subscription-based newsletters and media content. It offers tools for audience engagement, analytics, and payment processing, allowing creators to build independent media businesses. With a focus on simplicity and creator ownership, Substack is reshaping the future of digital publishing.
4. Harness
- Founded: 2017
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Developer Tools, DevOps
- Number of Employees: 501–1000
- Last Funding Amount: $150M (Latest Round: May 14, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $575M
Harness delivers a modern software delivery platform that automates every stage of the DevOps lifecycle—from continuous integration and deployment to feature flags and cloud cost management. Its AI-powered workflows help engineering teams deploy faster, reduce errors, and optimize efficiency. Built for scale and security, Harness empowers enterprises to innovate with confidence.
5. Solana
- Founded: 2017
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Apps, Blockchain
- Number of Employees: 11–50
- Last Funding Amount: CA$25M (Latest Round: Jan 7, 2025)
- Total Funding Amount: $336.97M
Solana is a high-performance blockchain platform designed for decentralized apps and crypto projects requiring speed and scalability. Known for its lightning-fast transaction processing and low fees, Solana supports thousands of decentralized applications across finance, gaming, and NFTs. With a growing ecosystem and developer community, Solana is a leading infrastructure layer for the next generation of Web3 innovation.
6. Brex
- Founded: January 3, 2017
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Banking, Credit Cards
- Number of Employees: 1,001–5,000
- Last Funding Amount: $235M (Latest Round: Jan 13, 2025)
- Total Funding Amount: $1.7B
Brex provides financial services and software tailored for startups, scale-ups, and enterprise companies. Its offerings include corporate cards, spend management tools, and business accounts—all powered by a unified platform. By streamlining financial operations with real-time visibility and control, Brex helps modern companies move faster and grow smarter.
7. Armis Security
- Founded: 2015
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Cybersecurity, Information Technology
- Number of Employees: 501–1000
- Last Funding Amount: $200M (Latest Round: Oct 28, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $737M
Armis Security delivers an agentless cybersecurity platform that provides complete visibility and protection for every connected device across IT, OT, IoT, and medical environments. By leveraging AI-driven threat detection and real-time risk analysis, Armis helps enterprises safeguard their expanding digital attack surface. Trusted by Fortune 100 companies, Armis enables proactive security in a hyperconnected world.
8. Jiko
- Founded: 2016
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Banking, Financial Services
- Number of Employees: 11–50
- Last Funding Amount: $29M (Latest Round: Dec 12, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $118.4M
Jiko is a modern financial infrastructure company that reimagines how money is stored and moved. Through its platform, customer funds are directly invested in U.S. Treasury bills, offering safety, liquidity, and yield. By blending banking with technology and transparency, Jiko enables efficient, secure, and compliant financial services for both individuals and enterprises.
9. AtoB
- Founded: September 2019
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: FinTech, Payments
- Number of Employees: 51–100
- Last Funding Amount: $130M (Latest Round: Sep 19, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $312M
AtoB provides a modern financial platform for the transportation and logistics industry, including fleet cards, real-time expense management, and fuel payment solutions. Its tools help carriers optimize spending, reduce fraud, and improve operational efficiency. By streamlining payments and offering transparent pricing, AtoB is redefining financial infrastructure for commercial fleets.
10. Tenaya Therapeutics
- Founded: 2016
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Biopharma, Biotechnology
- Number of Employees: 101–250
- Last Funding Amount: $50M (Latest Round: Feb 8, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $373M
Tenaya Therapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on developing transformative therapies for heart disease. Leveraging advanced modalities like gene therapy, cellular regeneration, and precision medicine, Tenaya aims to address both rare and prevalent cardiac conditions. With deep scientific expertise and robust funding, the company is advancing a pipeline of novel treatments to combat heart failure and related disorders.
11. Brightside Health
- Founded: 2017
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Health Care, Mental Health
- Number of Employees: 101–250
- Last Funding Amount: $33M (Latest Round: Mar 26, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $114.37M
Brightside Health provides virtual mental health care with a focus on treating anxiety, depression, and other mood disorders. Its platform combines evidence-based therapy, personalized medication management, and data-driven insights to deliver fast, effective treatment. With nationwide reach and clinical rigor, Brightside is expanding access to high-quality mental health services for individuals across the U.S.
12. Volley
- Founded: 2016
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Casual Games
- Number of Employees: 101–250
- Last Funding Amount: $55M (Latest Round: Jul 9, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $107.27M
Volley creates voice-controlled games and interactive entertainment powered by AI, designed for platforms like Alexa, Google Assistant, and mobile. Blending casual gameplay with smart assistants, Volley delivers fun, accessible experiences for users of all ages. With a growing catalog of popular titles, Volley is leading the evolution of AI-driven gaming in the home.
13. Bright Machines
- Founded: 2018
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Computer, Information Technology
- Number of Employees: 501–1000
- Last Funding Amount: $106M (Latest Round: Jun 25, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $437M
Bright Machines is revolutionizing manufacturing through intelligent automation, combining robotics, computer vision, and machine learning to modernize factory operations. Its software-defined microfactories bring agility and scalability to electronics production, reducing costs and improving product quality. Backed by significant funding, Bright Machines is driving the shift toward smarter, software-first manufacturing worldwide.
14. Watershed
- Founded: 2019
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Cloud Data Services, Information Technology
- Number of Employees: 251–500
- Last Funding Amount: $100M (Latest Round: Feb 1, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $239M
Watershed offers a carbon management platform that helps companies measure, reduce, and report their carbon emissions using real-time data. Designed for enterprises committed to sustainability, its tools enable actionable insights, regulatory compliance, and transparent climate reporting. Backed by major investors and climate leaders, Watershed is enabling the world’s most ambitious organizations to decarbonize at scale.
15. Sirona Medical
- Founded: 2018
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Health Care
- Number of Employees: 51–100
- Last Funding Amount: $42M (Latest Round: Nov 26, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $104.5M
Sirona Medical is transforming radiology with an AI-native platform that unifies imaging data, reporting, and workflow into a single, intuitive system. Designed to enhance radiologist productivity and diagnostic accuracy, Sirona’s software streamlines case review and decision-making. With deep healthcare expertise and strong financial backing, the company is modernizing the core of medical imaging.
16. EvenUp
- Founded: 2019
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Artificial Intelligence (AI), FinTech
- Number of Employees: 251–500
- Last Funding Amount: $135M (Latest Round: Oct 8, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $220.5M
EvenUp leverages AI to automate and optimize legal and financial services, with a focus on personal injury law. Its platform analyzes case data, drafts demand packages, and predicts settlement outcomes, helping attorneys improve efficiency and outcomes. By bringing transparency and fairness to legal compensation, EvenUp is reshaping access to justice through advanced technology.
17. Hayden AI
- Founded: 2019
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Analytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Number of Employees: 101–250
- Last Funding Amount: $90M (Latest Round: Jul 10, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $193.41M
Hayden AI builds AI-powered mobile perception systems that transform urban mobility and traffic enforcement. Its edge computing solutions are used in transit systems and city fleets to monitor traffic violations, enhance safety, and improve operational efficiency. By enabling real-time data capture and actionable insights, Hayden AI helps cities become smarter, safer, and more sustainable.
18. Cortex
- Founded: January 1, 2019
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Developer Platform, Health Care
- Number of Employees: 51–100
- Last Funding Amount: $60M (Latest Round: Sep 4, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $112.65M
Cortex provides a developer-first platform for building and managing internal tools in healthcare and other highly regulated industries. Its solution integrates compliance, security, and data handling into the development workflow, helping teams build faster while meeting industry standards. With a focus on scalability and trust, Cortex streamlines operations for organizations delivering critical services.
19. Two Chairs
- Founded: 2017
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Health Care, Mental Health
- Number of Employees: 501–1000
- Last Funding Amount: $72M (Latest Round: Apr 16, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $100M
Two Chairs is a digital platform revolutionizing mental health care by connecting therapists with clients through secure, flexible telehealth services. Its technology streamlines scheduling, billing, and therapy management, improving access and efficiency for mental health professionals. By fostering compassionate care with innovative tools, Two Chairs is enhancing mental wellness at scale.
20. Vouch
- Founded: 2018
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Industry: Finance, Financial Services
- Number of Employees: 251–500
- Last Funding Amount: $25M (Latest Round: Mar 11, 2024)
- Total Funding Amount: $184.72M
Vouch offers specialized insurance products designed for startups and tech companies, providing tailored coverage that supports rapid growth and innovation. Its platform simplifies underwriting with technology-driven risk assessment and personalized policies. By addressing the unique needs of emerging businesses, Vouch helps startups protect their operations and scale with confidence.
Conclusion
These 20 San Francisco startups have each surpassed the $100M funding mark—a clear signal they’re on the fast track to unicorn status and long-term market leadership. From AI and biotech to fintech and clean tech, they’re scaling transformative solutions that are already making a global impact. Their billion-dollar journeys are well underway, and the world is watching.
FAQs
Q1. What does raising $100M+ indicate about a startup?
A. It typically reflects strong product-market fit, significant revenue growth, and investor confidence in long-term scalability and impact.
Q2. Who is investing at this level?
A. Institutional venture firms, late-stage growth funds, sovereign wealth funds, corporate investors, and crossover investors targeting pre-IPO opportunities.
Q3. What are the biggest challenges they face now?
A. Managing global scale, maintaining innovation velocity, navigating regulatory hurdles, and outpacing growing competition.