Take Note: 20 San Francisco Companies to Watch This Fall.

Autumn is unfolding in San Francisco. Whether you’re strolling through red and orange foliage at Golden Gate Park, cheering on the 49ers at Levi Stadium or picking pumpkins in Half Moon Bay, it might also be a good time to catch up on the movers and shakers in your local tech scene. Built In San Francisco curated 20 noteworthy companies to get you started.

With StartupBlink recently ranking San Francisco as the best city for startups, it’s no surprise to see many of the Bay Area’s tech employers unveiling upgrades to the breadth, depth and inclusion of their culture and perks.

The San Francisco-based companies we featured are special in many ways, but all 20 have one thing in common: They are unique, people-first organizations well worth keeping on your radar in the fall season ahead.

 

 

 

What Chime does: Chime is a financial technology company that partners with regional banks to offer member-focused financial products. Aiming to foster financial peace of mind for many Americans, Chime allows people to access bank accounts without overdraft fees, receive paychecks early and improve their credit. 

 

 

Human-first team culture: “While we’re building our product, we’re constantly grounded in the fact that we’re all human — it’s actually one of our company values!” Dakota Betts, employee brand and recruitment marketing manager, told Built In San Francisco in January. “Whether we’re encouraging each other to share our diverse opinions, participating in company culture and events or just supporting each other through a hard time, I feel like we do a really good job of treating each other as humans.”

 

 

 

What Astra does: Astra is an aerospace company on a mission to improve life on Earth from space. Just five years after its founding in 2016, the space launch company delivered its first commercial payload into Earth’s orbit. 

 

 

Astra’s fastest-growing teams: development and engineering, project management, operations, product and more.

 

 

 

What The RealReal does: The RealReal is an online marketplace for buying and selling luxury retail goods such as clothing, jewelry and home decor. The e-commerce company employs more than 150 gemologists, horologists and brand experts who are dedicated to ensuring every item’s authenticity. 

 

 

Unique service and colleagues: “I enjoy the people I get to work with every day — teammates, consignor relation specialists and jewelry experts are just a few,” Taylor Kraus, southeast sales manager, told Built In San Francisco in October 2021. “The service we provide to our users and consignors as a collective group is a unique and personal one. We try to curate the consignor experience as best as we can to meet their needs, which makes for an extremely successful relationship.” 

 

 

 

What Simpplr does: Simpplr is an employee experience software provider that helps companies connect and align with their people. Based in Redwood City, the software company boasts well-known clients such as DocuSign, Eurostar and AAA. 

 

 

Simpplr’s fastest-growing teams: design and UX, operations, sales, marketing and HR and recruiting.

 

 

 

 

What Embroker does: Embroker pairs software with broker expertise to help businesses get insured for the best price. After serving on the board of an insurance brokerage firm, Founder and CEO Matt Miller was inspired to introduce more efficient technology to the valuable business insurance industry. 

 

 

Insurance industry impact: “I was attracted to Embroker’s mission to impact the insurance world and tackle the many inefficiencies plaguing our industry,” Denny Sun, an account executive, told Built In San Francisco in January 2021. “During the interview process, I met with many talented and like-minded team members, and I saw vast opportunities to grow within the company.” 

 

 

 

What Covariant does: Covariant aims to create “AI robotics for the real world.” The Emeryville-based artificial intelligence company is working to build robots that can see, reason and act on the world around them with the help of its universal AI program called the Covariant Brain. 

 

 

Passionate people behind the robots: “My favorite part of Covariant is being surrounded by really smart and passionate people,” Jasmine Deng, a software engineer, told Built In San Francisco in June. “It’s also made collaboration and working together very easy; I’ve always found that people have always been willing to hop on a call and explain, or pair program on an issue.

 

 

 

What NextRoll does: NextRoll utilizes machine learning technology to provide businesses with reliable insights for strategically targeting buyers. The software company oversees two distinct arms: AdRoll, which works with e-commerce sites and direct-to-consumer brands, and RollWorks, serving business-to-business marketing and sales teams. 

 

 

Staying true to its values: “When I saw NextRoll’s core values were growth, loyalty, innovation, resourcefulness, fun and transparency, I decided then and there that I wanted to join this company,” Vanessa Muñoz, manager II of new business sales, told Built In San Francisco in September 2021. “When I did, I was impressed that each person I met embodied the values of the company.”

 

 

 

What Finch does: Finch securely unifies company systems such as HR, payroll and benefits onto a single platform. The fintech company says it empowers innovators to access the global employment ecosystem. 

 

 

Exciting opportunities: “Since I’ve joined, it’s been a really challenging yet exciting experience,” Yujia Cao, a software engineer, told Built In San Francisco in April. “Building new solutions for a traditional space is very hard. However, it’s rewarding seeing how much time and resources we have saved our customers. My contributions shape the dynamics of the business.”

 

 

 

 

What Grove Collaborative does: Grove Collaborative is an e-commerce company that sells natural cleaning supplies and personal care products. Promising customers that they will never have to choose between a clean home and a clean planet, the greentech company offers flexible monthly shipments and is “plastic neutral,” with a commitment to go plastic-free by 2025.

 

 

Grove’s fastest-growing teams: finance, project management, operations, sales, development and engineering. 

 

 

What Clari does: Clari’s revenue operations platform automatically collects a company’s data — across emails, marketing campaigns, customer relationship management systems and more. Then, it applies AI technology to create dashboards with real-time statuses and actionable insights. 

 

 

No lone wolves: “We really want our candidates to know that being a Clarian means being remarkable,” Meghann Hanvey, talent acquisition manager, told Built In San Francisco in November 2021. “To us, remarkable means being passionate, collaborative and innovative. Clari is very much a team environment; we win together and we lose together. You won’t find any lone wolves here!”

 

 

 

What Lark Health does: Lark Health offers a chronic disease prevention and management platform for diabetes, hypertension, behavioral health and more. With a cognitive behavioral therapy approach, the healthtech company employs conversational AI to monitor patients through text-like exchanges, escalating issues to nurses and health coaches when necessary. 

 

 

Cross-functional collaboration is key: “A lot of the work we do at Lark is cross-functional, and we always have a member from the team in any discussion,” Sharon Rapoport, vice president of data science and analytics, told Built In San Francisco in August 2021. “Lark is an extremely collaborative company, open to all ideas and suggestions from anyone, which is exactly the culture I need to build the team we want to have.”

 

 

 

What PitchBook Data does: PitchBook Data is a data and software company for private and public financial markets. The fintech company is an independent subsidiary of the financial services firm Morningstar, with offices in San Francisco, Seattle, New York, London and Mumbai. 

 

 

Prioritizing fun: “One of my favorite PitchBook values is ‘make it fun,’” Maria Neau, a senior account manager, told Built In San Francisco in March. “With that in mind, our company provides excellent opportunities for us to bond with coworkers and clients.”

 

 

 

 

What Miro does: Miro hosts an online whiteboard platform that teams across the world use to collaborate, brainstorm and visualize ideas. The cloud-based software productivity company has more than 35 million members including big names like Walmart, Cisco, Volvo and Deloitte.

 

 

Everyone cares: “From my direct teammates to the most senior leaders, everyone at Miro sees opportunities to get ahead in the market by focusing on high-impact work,” Himali Tadwalkar, head of partner marketing, told Built In San Francisco in September 2021. “Even more importantly, employees at Miro care deeply about each other — it’s built into the culture but mostly, it’s innate and starts with every individual.”

 

 

 

What Sendoso does: Sendoso’s platform enables marketing, sales and customer success teams to easily send physical and digital gifts to their clients. The software company’s goal is to allow businesses to make and deepen authentic human connections with their customers. 

 

 

Gifts for all: “Gift-giving is our love language, and we’re continuously finding more passionate people who love our company and understand our commitment to cultivating an inclusive virtual environment,” Chief People Officer Alexis Kavazanjian told Built In San Francisco in May. 

 

 

 

What Slab does: Slab is a productivity software company that helps teams organize and share knowledge across the company. Some of the company’s major clients include Asana, Benchling and Fivetran.

 

 

Automonomy, rigor and impact: “I joined Slab for the opportunity to make a big impact and punch above my weight, and that’s why I’m still here a few years later,” Operations Lead Rebecca Acree told Built In San Francisco in July. “With a super smart and intentionally lean team, I get to work on hard problems with a lot of autonomy, and I’m challenged to improve the rigor of my thinking and decision-making on a daily basis.”

 

 

 

What Uplandme, Inc. does: Uplandme, Inc. is a gaming company that created Upland, a metaverse in which users can buy and sell virtual properties based on real-world addresses. The idea for Upland was hatched in 2018 during a late-night Monopoly game between the company’s three co-founders, who saw an opportunity to apply NFTs and blockchain technology to properties around the world. 

 

 

Collaborative culture: “Every day is a new and exciting one at Upland,” Head of Marketing Lindsay Anne Aamodt told Built In San Francisco in March. “The company prides itself on celebrating every impact that has been created by collaborative teams across all departments. Though speed to market is a key value of the culture, it’s not without the encouragement of employees who humbly champion each other.” 

 

 

 

 

What iTradeNetwork does: iTradeNetwork provides supply chain management solutions for the food and beverage industry. The software company aims to act as a bridge between suppliers and buyers of perishable foods, supporting industry giants such as Campbell’s, Wendy’s and Ocean Spray. 

 

 

iTradeNetwork’s fastest-growing teams: data and analytics, development and engineering.

 

 

 

What Rune Labs does: Rune Labs’s software platform organizes and analyzes brain images and signals gathered during clinical trials and routine patient care. The information technology company’s cloud-based infrastructure allows medical professionals to provide precision care for people affected by neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. 

 

 

Commitment to DEI and impact: “I had two non-negotiable criteria for my next role: a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, and a mission that leaves the world better than I found it. Rune Labs crushed both,” Senior Technical Project Manager Val Haste told Built In San Francisco in April. 

 

 

 

What Riiid Labs does: Founded in 2020 following the success of South Korean startup Riiid, Riiid Labs is a San Ramon-based provider of AI-powered learning solutions. The edtech company’s name stems from its mission to “rid” the world of three barriers to high-quality education: inefficiency, inequality and inconsistency. 

 

 

Fostering success: “Riiid Labs encourages feedback and ideas from its employees and continuously seeks to help support all our individual successes,” said Breanna Jackson, HR coordinator. “I’m happy to be a part of that.” 

 

 

 

 

What Deliverr does: Deliverr helps companies plan and complete one- and two-day deliveries. By directly integrating into popular e-commerce marketplaces such as Amazon, Walmart and Facebook, Deliverr allows merchants to offer their customers fast and cost-effective order fulfillment. 

 

 

In the news: Shopify, an e-commerce platform for small businesses, announced in May that it planned to acquire Deliverr for approximately $2.1 billion — the largest acquisition deal in the company’s history.