What was the hottest space for startups this year? We can deliver the answer to you in an hour or less.
That's because delivery and other on-demand services have quickly become one of Silicon Valley's biggest pursuits, something venture capitalists sunk hundreds of millions of dollars into in 2015. The results are obvious on this year's FORBES Hottest Startups list, where 6 of the top 50 companies were on-demand businesses.
Our Hottest Startups list ranks startups in all industries by one simple metric: the fastest growing valuations over time between funding rounds this year. See the top 14 hottest on-demand companies of 2015 in the gallery below:
The top two places went to rivals DoorDash and Postmates, which are competing to offer delivery from restaurants and other local businesses. The companies use advanced algorithms to route drivers to complete multiple deliveries per hour if possible, and often charge hefty fees to both the customer and restaurant--but the unit economics are still unproven. Combined, they've raised $100 million this year, each less than a year after their previous funding round closed.
Other food-delivery businesses made it too. Blue Apron, which delivers ingredients and recipes for home cooking, and Munchery, which delivers pre-cooked meals, placed 7th and 10th, respectively. ezCater, an online catering platform, joined with a new $100 million valuation.
Still, the on-demand world is dominated by car-sharing startups. Uber, the $60-plus billion global ride-hailing behemoth, places 3rd on our list. Its rival Lyft placed 9th, with Turo (previously RelayRides) and FlightCar ranking as well.
See the 14 hottest on-demand startups here. See the 50 hottest startups across all industries here.
The 2015 Forbes Hottest Startups lists use data from our partner, private company research firm Pitchbook. Only private companies that raised new funding rounds in 2015, analyzed via regulatory filings, were included.
