Fastest Growing Companies
A selection of featured companies that made big strides in 2021.
Fastest Growing Women-led Companies
Female-Founded businesses that raised the bar in 2021.
Fastest Growing Impact Companies
Featured companies making progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Featured Investors In Our Portfolio
Global investors and accelerators that have supported several FI companies.
Our Global Impact
Since 2009, the Founder Institute has been on a mission to empower talented people to build businesses that matter across the globe.
Our Impact
200+
Cities
100+
Countries
35,000+
Mentors
7,000+
Alumni
$1.8BN+
Raised by Alumni
100+
Exits by Alumni
For Curious
Startuppers
We host thousands of free startup events per year with top entrepreneur and investor speakers.
For Aspiring
Entrepreneurs
Now is the time to build a company that matters. Apply to our pre-seed accelerator program.
For Aspiring
Ecosystem Leaders
Rally your community to launch startups that will have a positive impact on the world. Apply to lead an accelerator.
For Aspiring
Fund Managers
Launch a VC firm and fund businesses that will build a bright future. Apply to join our VC builder program.
Udemy
Silicon Valley, US
Udemy is the global leader in online learning, with nearly 200,000 courses. The company went public on the NASDAQ in October 2021 (UDMY), raising $421 million.
FightCamp
Montreal, Canada
FightCamp is a connected at-home boxing gym. With FightCamp you get access to world-class boxing and kickboxing trainers, studio-quality equipment, and performance-tracking technology. They announced its $90M Series B in June 2021 from top investors.
OddBox
London, United Kingdom
Oddbox produce delivers irregular fruit and veggies that big chain grocery retailers reject. The company announced £16M in funding from BurdaPrincipal Investments in August 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
London Spring 2015
FI Local Leaders
Upright
New York, US
Fund That Flip is a market-leading loans and first-class service for fix-and-flip, new construction, and rental properties. The company announced a $20M Series B round in November 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
New York Winter 2013
FI Local Leaders
Genial.ly
Andalusia, Spain
Genially is a next generation of team enabled content creation tools, for making interactive presentations, infographics and more. They announced a $20M Series B in September 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
Andalusia Autumn 2014
FI Local Leaders
Kangarootime
Los Angeles, US
Kangarootime is childcare software helping caregivers optimize their centers through automatic billing, invoicing, an all-in-one parent app, and more. They announced $6M funding in October 2021.
Caylent
Orange County, US
Caylent is a cloud-native services company helping companies bring out the best in people and technology using AWS. They announced a $16M Growth Equity Investment in September 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
Orange County Spring 2015
FI Local Leaders
Involve.ai
San Diego, US
Involve AI helps prevent customer churn and grow revenue through customer intelligence to help companies proactively reach their goals. They closed a $16M Series A in August 2021.
FI Cohort
San Diego Winter 2016
FI Local Leaders
Esusu
San Francisco, US
Esusu reports on-time rent payments to credit bureaus, helping renters boost their credit scores and property managers maximize their returns. They announced a $10M Series A in July 2021.
Unito
Montreal, Canada
Unito is a no-code integration solution that allows you to connect your apps and automate your workflows in minutes. After raising $10.5M in 2020, the company scaled up quickly in 2021.
Grow For Me
Accra, Ghana
Grow For Me is a crowdfunding platform helping farmers to scale up their operations. In October 2021 they were selected by Google Black Founders Fund to receive non-dilutive capital.
Founders
FI Cohort
Accra 2019
TotalCtrl
Oslo, Norway
TotalCtrl streamlines food inventory management and reduces food waste. After raising NOK 20M in 2020, they signed several new partners in 2021, such as IT giant Atea.
Founders
FI Cohort
Oslo 2018
FI Local Leaders
Peerby
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Peerby is a leading application in the 'sharing economy', enabling people to borrow the things they need from others. The raised new funding and saw big user growth in 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
Fall 2011 Amsterdam
FI Local Leaders
Mentor Spaces
Chicago, US
Mentor Spaces is a community platform for advancing the careers of underrepresented talent through the power of mentorship. The company raised $2.5M in funding in July 2021.
BeOnPrice
Madrid, Spain
BeOnPrice is revenue-generation technology that drive sales for hospitality clients. The company announced it had recieved €2M in additional Series A top-up funding in June 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
Madrid Summer 2012
FI Local Leaders
Intelocate
Toronto, Canada
Intelocate is complete issue resolution software and communications across stores, departments and vendors. They announced a $1M growth capital round in November 2020.
Founders
FI Cohort
Toronto Winter 2014
FI Local Leaders
Jitbase
Montreal, Canada
JITbase works with high precision machining (CNC) centers to help machinists meet delivery deadlines. The company announced it had raised $650k in seed funding in September 2021.
GameFace
Sydney, Australia
Gameface is powerful, real-time sports analytics to know your competition's every move, before they make it. The company announced being acquired by Slinger in September 2021.
LNKO
Montreal, Canada
LNKO is a leading Moroccan eCommerce retailer of trendy glasses, quality lenses, and offering transparent pricing. The company announced it had raised MAD 3M (~$325k) in July 2021.
Contraktor
Curitiba, Brazil
Contraktor is digital signature and document management to sign, monitor, and keep track of documents all in one place. They announced it had raised R$ 2M from KPTL in September 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
Curitiba Spring 2016
FI Local Leaders
Aonic
Penang, Malaysia
Poladrone is an all-in-one drone solution for enterprises looking to modernise and streamline their operations. The company announced it had raised a $4.29M seed round in October 2021.
BetterMynd
Washington DC, US
BetterMynd improves the mental health of college students by providing access to confidential online therapy sessions. They closed a $500K investment from 43North in October 2021.
Andalin
Jakarta, Indonesia
Andalin is a leading Indonesian digital cross-border shipping platform. The company raised a Series A in March 2021 led by Sembrani Nusantara Fund, the venture capital firm of BRI Ventures.
Leasecake
Silicon Valley, US
Leasecake is commercial Lease and Location Management made easy for landlords, tenants, brokers and lease accounting. The company announced $3M investment round in February 2021.
Bleximo
Silicon Valley, US
Bleximo is building quantum computing systems to tackle problems impractical for conventional computing. They raised funding and announced support from the U.S. Dept of Energy in 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
Silicon Valley Winter 2018
FI Local Leaders
Essenvia
Los Angeles, US
Essenvia builds software to reduce errors and guarantee faster regulatory clearance for medical devices. In 2021 they raised funding and significantly accelerated growth.
Play Out Apparel
Silicon Valley, Virtual
Play Out Apparel is a gender-equal clothing brand and community, allowing users to shop without gender. They raised funding and rapidly built their user base in 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
Silicon Valley 2020
FI Local Leaders
Xcapit
Cordoba, Argentina
Xcapit is a Smart Wallet and fosters a culture of cryptocurrency savings among young people. They announced an ETH 43.7821 investment from UNICEF Innovation Fund in June 2021.
FI Cohort
Cordoba AR 2018
FI Local Leaders
Inverse
Chicago, US
Gamerjibe is a next-generation online events platform, creating interactive and immersive digital event experiences. In 2021 they raised funding and quickly scaled up their customer base.
Prowess Project
Austin, US
Prowess Project uses EQ-based job matching to deliver the best candidate/role fit possible. They saw strong user growth and closed a fresh round of funding in July 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
Austin Fall 2018
FI Local Leaders
Refactr
Silicon Valley, US
Refactr is a platform for DevOps and cybersecurity teams to collaboratively build modern, security-first automations, using exisiting tools. They were acquired by Sophos in August 2021.
Recruitery
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Recruitery connects hiring companies with headhunters, turning connections into cash. They announced an undisclosed amount of seed funding from CyberAgent Capital in November 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
Ho Chi Minh City 2019
FI Local Leaders
Spotivity
Chicago, US
Spotivity is an extracurriculars platform for teens to find activities, ignite their passions, explore opportunities, and build their future. The company announced a $1M Seed round in June 2021.
Klouser
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Klouser helps digital content creators in wellness monetize their content and build strong communities. The company added new users at an impressive rate and raised funding in 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
Buenos Aires 2019
FI Local Leaders
SleepUp
Sao Paulo, Brazil
SleepUp is a sleep personal assistant that works to improve sleep with personalized virtual treatments and continuous biometric monitoring. They announced a R$ 2M raise in November 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
São Paulo Winter 2019
Migota ltd
Sofia, Bulgaria
Worddio combines the most effective methods to quickly build vocabulary and correct pronunciation in foreign language learning. The company announced $250k raised to-date in July 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
Sofia Fall 2019
FI Local Leaders
GameStake
London, United Kingdom
GameStake is a mobile, non-gambling based e-sports platform where players compete for real prizes. The company announced it received £340k angel investments in August 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
London Fall 2019
FI Local Leaders
Subly
London, United Kingdom
Subly is automatic transcription, translation and subtitles for audio and video in one-click, helping teams to make content accessible. They announced a $1M seed round in May 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
London Fall 2019
FI Local Leaders
Aghaz Investments
Seattle, US
Aghaz is Halal investing for values-based investors, across home, education, performing Hajj, early retirement, and more. After closing funding in late 2020 they grew quickly in 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
Seattle Fall 2019
FI Local Leaders
Fairly AI
Waterloo, Canada
Fairly AI helps organizations automate model risk management for their AI applications. They raised funding and won the UBS Future of Finance Challenge in 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
Waterloo Spring 2020
FI Local Leaders
BetaStore
Lagos, Nigeria
BetaStore is a B2B platform that helps small retailers source their inventory and access financing and essential insurance services. The company raised funding and added countless new stores in 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
Lagos 2020
Vetsie
Calgary, Canada
Vetsie is a platform helping veterinary professionals streamline client interactions. The company raised funding and significantly grew their portfolio of clinics in 2021.
PredictNow.AI
Toronto, Canada
PredictNow.ai is financial machine learning in a no-code API, allowing users to apply ML predictions to investment data. They raised funding and saw large customer growth in 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
Toronto Summer Virtual 2020
DotX
Silicon Valley, Virtual
DotX manages enterprise HR, automatically calculating payroll and disbursing payments to unbanked workers. They grew their customer base and raised funding in 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
Silicon Valley Virtual 2020
FI Local Leaders
Niftron
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Niftron allows anyone to integrate blockchain into their products to improve trust by providing transparency, security and ownership. The company announced it raised Rs. 21M in April 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
Colombo Virtual 2020
FI Local Leaders
Paintjet
Silicon Valley, Virtual
PaintJet is a mobile lift designed to quickly apply paint or industrial coatings to large commercial projects. The company raised funding and contracted several large projects in 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
Silicon Valley Virtual Fall 2020
FI Local Leaders
Krado
Silicon Valley, Virtual
Krado takes the guesswork out of your plant care. The company announced a $250k investment from Pelion Venture Partners in June 2021 by winning the Silicon Slopes pitch competition.
Founders
FI Cohort
Silicon Valley Virtual 2021
FI Local Leaders
Periculum
Toronto, Canada
Periculum uses alternative data to provide credit assessments allowing lenders and financial institutions to lower their risk. They announced $620k in pre-seed funding in October 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
Toronto Tech Corridor Virtual 2021
FI Local Leaders
PaySika
Paris, France
PaySika is the first neo-bank in Africa to offer services on popular messengers like WhatsApp, Messenger and Telegram. They announced a €300k round in October 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
Paris Virtual 2021
FI Local Leaders
CINETPAY
Abidjan, Ivory Coast
CinetPay is a payments gateway for retailers across Francophone Africa. They raised a $2.4M seed round in late 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
Abidjan 2016
FI Local Leaders
Braze Mobility
Toronto, Canada
Braze Mobility is an affordable blind spot sensor turning any wheelchair into a 'smart' wheelchair. They were selected in August 2021 to participate in Google For Startups Accelerator.
Founders
FI Cohort
Toronto Summer 2019
FI Local Leaders
BR Polen
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Polen is B2B platform enabling corporate buying and selling of waste stream products. The company signed many customers and was ranked in the Top 10 of the 100 Open Startups Ranking.
FI Cohort
Rio de Janeiro 2017
FI Local Leaders
Lessonbee
New York, US
Lessonbee is comprehensive health, wellness and mental health education for grades K-12 to build social-emotional skills. The company raised funding in 2021 and was featured in Forbes.
Kudoti
Johannesburg, South Africa
Kudoti connects brands, manufacturers, collectors, and recyclers to build a more circular economy. The company received the $40k Creating Shared Value Prize from Nestlé in July 2021.
Zowasel
Lagos, Nigeria
Zowasel is a blockchain-based online marketplace that connects buyers and sellers of crops and allows traceability of the value chain. The company received $100k in funding at UN World Food Programmes Zero Hunger Sprint.
Founders
FI Cohort
Lagos 2019
MAA'VA
Silicon Valley, Virtual
MAA’VA is a carbon-negative building material; turning plastic and nonplastic waste into eco-materials. They won Pitch For Progress 2021 Global Impact Startup Competition in July 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
Silicon Valley Virtual Fall 2020
FI Local Leaders
Realty Mogul
Los Angeles, US
Realty Mogul is a market leader allowing retail investors access to institutional quality commercial real estate deals. The company has raised more than $45M and continues to scale impressively.
RushTix
Silicon Valley, US
RushTix is building the future of community-driven and interactive live entertainment. They were profiled in the NY Times in March and continue signing top comedians to the platform.
Clear For Me
New York, US
Clear for Me provides cosmetics industry with ingredients information making product discovery for brands easier. After partnering with Ulta Beauty in 2020 they continued to grow fast in 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
New York Winter 2013
FI Local Leaders
Umni.co
Sofia, Bulgaria
Umni is a conversational AI tool saving time and reducing costs for customer service departments. In 2021 they were featured on BloombergTV and signed several top profile corporate customers.
Founders
FI Cohort
Sofia Fall 2019
FI Local Leaders
Instant Teams
Washington DC, US
Instant Teams allows you to build and manage remote teams using the largest database of military-connected remote workers. They saw record growth and partnered with Amazon in 2021.
Founders
FI Cohort
Washington DC Winter 2018
FI Local Leaders
Dada Art
New York, US
DADA is a collaborative art platform which is a pioneer in the field of NFTs. It recently relaunched its 2017 historical collection of NFTs, with over 5MM in sales so far.
Lily
Silicon Valley, US
Lily AI supercharges retailers of all types by improving site search, discovery, recommendations and demand prediction. After raising $12.5M in 2020, the company added many new retailers as customers in 2021.
Subtl Beauty
Pittsburgh, US
Subtl Beauty allows users to create their own custom stack of portable, full-sized beauty products. In 2021 they raised funding and were featured on countless media outlets, leading to big user growth.
Bloomcart
Amman, Jordan
Bloom is a try-before-you-buy eCommerce platform where customers try on the clothes before having to pay. They announced receiving pre-seed funding in October 2021.
The Founder Institute is the world’s most proven network to turn ideas into fundable startups, and startups into global businesses. Since 2009, our structured accelerator programs have helped over 7,000 entrepreneurs raise over $1.8BN in funding. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 100 countries, our mission is to empower communities of talented and motivated people to build impactful technology companies worldwide.
Copyright © 2024, Founder Institute, Inc. All Rights Reserved