Every year, consulting firm Deloitte releases its list of the fastest-growing tech companies in North America. This list ranks the companies that have experienced the most revenue growth over a three-year period, with this year’s ranking taking into account revenue growth from 2017 to 2020. The list is also a good way to keep a finger on the pulse of which companies are experiencing the most success, and what industries are especially hot right now.
The 2021 Technology Fast 500 list featured tech companies across a span of industries, from media, to life sciences, fintech, energy and more. It also features companies from all over the U.S. and Canada.
Seattle-area startups were well-represented this year, with a total of 24 companies making the cut. That’s a step up from the 22 companies that made the list in 2020, and the 18 companies that made the list in 2019. There were also some companies that made the list a few years in a row.
In a statement provided to Built In, Don Heisler, the Seattle emerging growth company Fast 500 leader at Deloitte & Touche LLP, called 2021 “another banner year for growth for the technology industry here in the Pacific Northwest, especially when it comes to software and SaaS companies.”
“The fact that Washington State is home to so many of the fastest-growing technology companies is a huge point of pride for us here in the Deloitte Seattle office and for the entire Washington tech community,” Heisler continued. “We’re looking forward to another year of innovation and inspiration in the region.”
The Seattle companies on this year’s list grew anywhere from 212 percent over the three years, to an impressive 2,198 percent. Read on to see the top five Seattle companies that made it onto the 2021 Deloitte Fast Tech 500, and check out the full list here.
Rank #163, 807% Growth
With the growing prevalence of cloud computing, cloud provider Qumulo was able to rank highly on the Deloitte list. Qumulo provides file data management solutions to other businesses, which is becoming increasingly important as companies become more digitized and files become larger. The company became a unicorn in 2020 when it raised $125 million in its Series E funding round. This has allowed Qumulo to continue its growth even further and hire across the board.
Rank #151, 900% Growth
In our tech-focused society, software developers are always in-demand by growing companies. But it’s not enough to just be a software developer, you also have to be constantly learning in order to make sure your skills stay relevant. Educative has developed a platform to help software developers learn new skills and hone their craft by going through interactive lessons — which are more engaging than listening to a teacher talk about coding or watching other people go through the motions. Back in May, Educative told Built In it was planning to grow its employee headcount by 200 people after raising a $12 million Series A round. Months later the company is still hiring for a handful of roles.
Rank #146, 935% Growth
Another recently minted Seattle unicorn landed on the Deloitte list this year, as Highspot made it into the top 150 by reaching over 900 percent growth. Highspot has created a sales enablement platform to help customer-facing teams provide training, manage content, access analytics and more. The company grew significantly over the past few years, with multiple funding rounds in 2019 alone. Highspot raised $200 million at a $2.3 billion valuation in February 2021.
Rank #136, 999% Growth
If you didn’t already realize how big the industry was, yet another Seattle sales software provider ranked highly on the Deloitte list this year. This time it was sales engagement platform Outreach. The company has developed a platform that integrates sales engagement, conversation intelligence and revenue intelligence into one software solution — allowing sales teams to improve their forecasting abilities and close deals faster. As of June 2021, Outreach was valued at $4.4 billion, which was a significant jump from its $1.33 billion valuation the year before.
Rank #78, 2,198% Growth
The highest-ranking Seattle company on the Deloitte list is Coinme, coming in at the #78 spot with 2,198 percent growth. You have probably noticed how huge cryptocurrency has become over the past few years. Crypto startup Coinme was able to ride those tailwinds to company growth. The company operates a network of crypto ATMs that allow people to buy Bitcoin, as well as an app that provides digital banking-like services. Coinme raised a $10 million funding round in June, which it plans to use to to accelerate product and market expansion.
