We are half-way through 2017 and it's time to take stock of the hottest startups so far this year.
For that we turned to Pitchbook, the website that tracks financial investments. Pitchbook sifted through its vast database to uncover the 383 startups that received funding so far in 2017 and that sell products or services to businesses, aka enterprise startups.
We chose a metric called a "valuation step up" to decide which of these startups were the hottest. A valuation step up indicates the increase in worth that investors ascribe to a particular startup. We measured between the valuation at the previous round of investment and right before the startup secured a new round (in wonky speak: post-money to pre-money).
Not all rounds are step ups. Sometimes they are down rounds.
Of the 383 rounds we looked at, 169 of them saw an increase in valuation. The median step up for the early stage startups was 1.73 times the previous valuation; for later stage, 1.39 times and all of the companies on this list had step-ups well above those medians.
No. 18: Icertis, 2.88X more valuable
Icertis
Step-up: 2.88x more valuable in 2017 than the previous valuation
Raised to date: $47 million
Current valuation: $242 million
Icertis is a Seattle-based startup that offers cloud-software to help companies manage contracts.
No. 17: Confluent, 2.96X more valuable
Confluent
Step-up: 2.96x more valuable in 2017 than the previous valuation
Raised to date: $81 million
Current valuation: $532 million
Confluent is the commercial version of open source software Apache Kafka and the company was founded by the creators of Kafka. Kafka is a way for software developers to add real time streaming data in their big data apps.
No. 16: C3 IoT, 2.98x more valuable
C3 IoT
Step-up: 2.98x more valuable in 2017 than the previous valuation
Raised to date: $142 million
Current valuation: $1.41 billion
Provider of a cloud server designed to host big data, AI and Internet of Things applications.
No. 15: Smartsheet, 3.07X more valuable
Smartsheet
Step-up: 3.07x more valuable in 2017 than the previous valuation
Step-up: 3.33x more valuable in 2017 than the previous valuation
Raised to date: $32 million
Current valuation: $170 million
Lob offers online software for managing business mail.
No. 12: Textio, 3.8X more valuable
Textio
Step-up: 3.8x more valuable in 2017 than the previous valuation
Raised to date: $26 million
Current valuation: $115 million
Textio is a platform for recruiters that helps them write better job listings. It offers advice on improving the listing by analyzing the outcomes of millions of job posts per month.
No. 11: LeanDNA, 4.11X more valuable
LeanDNA
Step-up: 4.11x more valuable in 2017 than the previous valuation
Raised to date: $5 million
Current valuation: about $19 million
LeanDNA offers cloud-based software to analyze a company's supply chain and its factory operations.
No. 10: Instabase, 4.89X more valuable
Instabase
Step-up: 4.89x more valuable in 2017 than the previous valuation
Raised to date: $27 million
Current valuation: $115 million
Instabase offers a cloud workflow software that helps team members work together and solve problems, especially if they are working on very complex projects.
Step-up: 8.65x more valuable in 2017 than the previous valuation
Raised to date: $16 million
Current valuation: $20 million
MatterHackers sells the 3D printer materials to schools, businesses and consumers.
No. 4: UiPath, 9.3X more valuable
UiPath
Step-up: 9.3x more valuable in 2017 than the previous valuation
Raised to date: $31 million
Current valuation: $110 million
UiPath makes workflow software that automates business processes.
No. 3: HackerEarth, 10.2X more valuable
HackerEarth
Step-up: 10.2x more valuable in 2017 than the previous valuation
Raised to date: $5 million
Current valuation: $19 million
HackerEarth offers a recruiting tool that allows programmers to practice and compete and allows recruiters to assess prospective employees' skills.
No. 2: OpCity, 11.66X more valuable
OpCity
Step-up: 11.66x more valuable in 2017 than the previous valuation
Raised to date: $30 million
Current valuation: $99 million
OpCity makes cloud software for real estate brokerages that helps match agents with prospective home buyers.
No. 1: Roadrunner Recycling, 12X more valuable
RoadRunner
Step-up: 12x more valuable in 2017 than the previous valuation
Raised to date: $10 million
Current valuation: $62 million
Roadrunner Recycling is a waste management service that picks up businesses' recyclable materials. It uses analytics software to maximize efficiency and help everyone save money.
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