San Francisco definitely had a busy year on the tech front, as expected. The Bay Area had no lack of big headlines, but only the following companies managed to rise above the rest by raising the most funding — not just millions, but billions — for their future endeavors. All together, they brought in nearly $14 billion in new funding, far outpacing the $8.5 billion raised by the top Bay Area fundings in 2020.
Read on to see who gained the most funding throughout the year, and learn what they plan to do next.
#10. $676 million, April 13
The Palo Alto-based AI company builds software, hardware and services to run AI applications, with DataScale being its largest platform service. The company raised $676 million in a Series D financing round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. New investors Temasek and GIC joined the round alongside existing adventures like GV. The new funding will allow the company to grow its team.
#9. $725 million, April 26 and October 22
Brex came onto the fintech scene in 2017 as a corporate money management company for startups, but has since expanded its platform to serve businesses in any industry with an all-in-one platform to manage finances. A Series D round led by Tiger Global in April made for a busy Q1 for the company — then the company’s decacorn status was propelled after a $300 million funding round announced in October. Its valuation now stands at $12.3 billion.
#8. $750 million, September 13
Chime is an online banking app that doesn’t charge its users account fees or require a minimum balance. A $750 million funding round led by Sequoia helped the company lay the foundation for a planned IPO early in 2022 with its new $25 billion valuation. The company is also growing its headcount and is now hiring for dozens of open tech roles.
#7. $900 million, January 7 and October 28
Hinge Health offers a platform that helps treat musculoskeletal problems with physical exercise as an alternative to invasive medical procedures. The company became one of the Bay Area’s latest healthtech unicorns in 2021 after a Series D round in January. A massive Series E round of $400 million co-led by Tiger Global and Coatue allowed Hinge Health to expand its market reach.
#6. $910 million, May 12 and November 12
Forte is building a blockchain-based economy platform for video games. A Series A round of $185 million led by Griffin Gaming Partners allowed the company to continue its mission of changing the video game economy. An additional funding round of $725 million raised in the fall allowed the company to expand its suite of products and continue its growth. Additional investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Warner Music Group, Solana Ventures and Tiger Global.
#5 (tied). $1 billion, January 29
The Menlo Park-based stock trading app raised $1 billion in January from investors including Sequoia to get its financial house in order after meme stocks like GameStop and AMC Entertainment brought volatility to the market. The funding came as the app was going to ease its restrictions in trading on these and other stocks.
#5 (tied). $1 billion, March 15 and December 13
The popular low-code database giant gained $270 million in Series E funding led by Greenoaks Capital in March which allowed it to accelerate the development of its enterprise product along with expanding the team. An additional funding round led by NYC-based investment firm XN to end the year brought its pre-money valuation up to $11 billion. The new funding will help the company continue to develop its product in order to meet the demands of its broad customer base.
#3. $2.5 billion, June 16
Alphabet’s Waymo gained a whopping $2.5 billion from a slate of well-known investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Silver Lake and Tiger Global. The funding came a few months after the departure of CEO John Krafcik and amid some industry criticism that the autonomous driving company was moving slowly. The fresh investment proved its potential and allowed it to accelerate its mission of advancing its technology and growing its team.
#2. $2.6 billion, February 1 and August 31
The analytics data company offers a platform that allows teams to process massive amounts of data in the cloud which can be used to power AI. Major industry players such as Microsoft and Amazon contributed to the Series G round in February allowing them to hire on a massive scale. The company continued its growth with another $1.6 billion round led by Counterpoint Global (Morgan Stanley) in August.
#1. $2.75 billion, January 19 and April 15
Cruise continues to work on making self-driving cars more accessible to the public. In 2021, the company partnered with General Motors and Microsoft to commercialize its fleet of cars while also receiving a $2 billion investment from Microsoft, Honda, GM and others. An additional investment from last-mile delivery-minded Walmart and others followed in the spring. The company continues to expand with hundreds of job listings available now.
Funding data are compiled from SEC filings, press releases, confirmed news reports and other public databases. Funding includes venture capital and private equity announced during 2021, but excludes acquisitions and debt financing.
