2020 has been a tough year for all, especially for tech startups. Despite several businesses going out of business and disaster, some tech startups have flourished against all odds. The pandemic induced lockdowns, increased reliance on technology-backed solutions, and a trend involving the general population’s inclination towards digital services has propelled numerous early age startups to success.
Technology companies grow at breakneck speed. Moreover, the top 5 most profitable businesses globally are technology companies (Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook). Also, in the absence of a major downturn, private and non-public firms have the highest returns on technology backed startups. Furthermore, several reports show that carefully chosen and controlled portfolios of angel investments will generate an annual return of 25% or more.
Clearly, a new deep tech ecosystem is emerging, with significant implications for all participants, including businesses, investors, and startups. This ecosystem represents a modern paradigm, one that is much more complex and diverse than previous approaches to science and technical growth. We have compiled a list of 10 deep technology startups and investment ideas that are perfectly positioned to expand in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era. Here goes the list!
1. Airtable
Airtable, founded in 2013 by Andrew Ofstad, Emmett Nicholas, and Howie Liu, is a cloud-based software company that blends a conventional spreadsheet with a database. It elevates the database from the world of power users to the domain of the general public, resulting in a different kind of versatile yet sophisticated management tool that anyone can use. Airtable allows users to build and upload their own workflows for tasks ranging from organizing an editorial schedule to preparing a large event.
2. Capella Space
Capella Space recently deployed and began commercial operations with seven synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites. Capella, founded in 2014 by Payam Banazadeh, Uri Tintore, and Will Woods, provides convenient access to regular, timely, and scalable information affecting dozens of industries worldwide through a constellation of small satellites. Capella’s equipment is used by all branches of the United States government, including the United States Air Force. Capella is fully financed to deploy its seven satellite constellation in 2020, thanks to multibillion-dollar investments from DCVC (Data Collective) and Spark Capital.
3. AirGarage
AirGarage, headquartered in San Francisco, was founded in 2018 by Chelsea Border, Jonathon Barkl, and Scott Fitsimones. It is a full-stack parking provider that assists churches and companies in managing and renting out their parking lots. It eliminates barriers to selling parking as a full-stack parking provider, allowing those with an underutilized lot to get started. AirGarage offers a collection of solutions for managing user acquisition, payment management, and enforcement.
4. DoorDash
This food delivery startup has no introduction. DoorDash, founded in 2013 by four Stanford students with prior experience at Facebook, Square, Vevo, and eBay, offers on-demand restaurant food delivery services that connect consumers with local businesses throughout the United States and Canada. DoorDash was founded in Palo Alto and, as of May 2019, the delivery startup has grown to over 4,000 cities and connected over 340,000 stores throughout the United States and Canada. The corporation is now worth more than $16 billion and has surpassed GrubHub as the most expansive third-party delivery provider in the United States.
5. Dave
Dave is a fintech startup and banking app, backed by billionaire investor Mark Cuban. It is a personal finance tool founded in 2016 by Jason Wilk, John Wolanin, and Paras Chitakar that helps consumers control their budgets, prevent overdrafts, and even find gig-economy work. According to its website, Dave currently has 7 million members and is still growing. Dave reported having 2 million people on its waiting list in July.
6. Calm
Calm, founded in 2012 by Michael Acton Smith and Alex Tew, is a global health and wellbeing technology startup that allows users to meditate and relax. It offers sleep assistance, therapy, and a healing program, which is available in both the App Store and the Google Play store. It has been downloaded over 50 million times. Calm also provides audio content that improves emotional fitness and addresses some of today’s most pressing mental health issues, including stress, anxiety, insomnia, and depression.
7. Divvy Homes
Founded in 2017 by Adena Hefets, Alex Klarfeld, Brian Ma, and Nicholas Clark, Divvy Homes allows home buyers to become homeowners without having to pay extra or get a mortgage. Divvy allows you to rent your dream home while still saving for a down payment. You have the choice of purchasing the home directly from Divvy or just walking away and cashing out the accrued amount.
8. Robinhood
This is yet another startup that requires no introduction. It is particularly common among millennials. Robinhood, based in Palo Alto, California, was founded in April 2013 by Vladimir Tenev and Baiju Bhatt, who had previously developed high-frequency trading platforms for New York City financial institutions. The name derives from the company’s goal to provide everyone, not just the rich, with access to the capital markets.
9. Bloomscape
Bloomscape, founded in 2017 by Justin Mast, is an online plant shopping website that provides home ready plants and plant care equipment. Bloomscape makes it easy to purchase plants by shipping ready-to-go plants to its customers’ doors. With people increasingly locked in their homes, the growth of Bloomscape in the coming days seems highly imperative.
10. Allbirds
In 2019, Allbirds became a member of the prestigious unicorn club. Allbirds, founded in 2012 by Tim Brown and Joseph Zwillinger, is an apparel and footwear company that specializes in the production of eco-friendly wool shoes. Allbirds closed on a $100 million Series E investment round in October, valued at $1.6 billion.
Conclusion
The modern deep tech ecosystem model is only in its early stages. As new advances are made and inventions show their promise, players, positions, and rules will all change and new players will emerge in the future. Perhaps the first guideline for all potential stakeholders is to set targets to get started. Only then would they be able to really understand and harness the strength and potential of the win-win ecosystem of cutting-edge technology startups.
