As part of the rigorous selection process for the Forbes 2019 Cloud 100, Bessemer Venture Partners received submissions from hundreds of cloud startups. The Cloud 100 Judging Panel, made up of public cloud company CEOs, reviewed the data to select, score, and rank the top 100 private cloud companies from all over the world. The evaluation process involved ranking companies across four factors: market leadership (35%), estimated valuation (30%), operating metrics (20%), and people & culture (15%).

Supporting Quotes

“The private cloud ecosystem has matured, making the competition to land one of the coveted spots on the Cloud 100 list steeper than ever,” said Byron Deeter, a top cloud investor, and partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. “In fact, the average valuation of a company on our inaugural list just four years ago was $1 billion, while the average valuation on this year’s list spiked to $1.7 billion. Our 2019 Cloud 100 includes over 60 private cloud unicorns! These founders represent the absolute best in cloud computing today, and they will most certainly follow in the footsteps of our esteemed Cloud 100 alumni. In total, already 25 Cloud 100 alumni have gone public, and dozens have been acquired for over $1 billion each. Congratulations to these cloud leaders!”

“There has been tremendous growth in the cloud market in recent years, as more and more companies are adopting cloud technologies to enable their digital transformation and change how they do business. The opportunity is massive in the cloud sector, which is evident in both the public and private sectors. There are now more than 15 public SaaS companies valued at over $10B whereas even 5 years ago there were only 2,” said Matt Garratt, Managing Partner, Salesforce Ventures. “The growth we are seeing is not limited to the Bay Area and San Francisco, as we are seeing more $1B+ cloud companies spring up throughout the U.S. and globally. Salesforce Ventures is excited to be partnering with Bessemer Venture Partners and Forbes for the fourth year in a row to recognize the next generation companies who will land on the Cloud 100 list—those who are not just predicting what’s coming but working to create the future.”

“For four years now, we have ranked the best and brightest emerging companies in the cloud sector,” said Alex Konrad, Forbes editor of The Cloud 100. “With so many businesses growing fast in the cloud, from cybersecurity and marketing to data analytics and storage, it’s harder than ever to make the Cloud 100 list – but with more elite company if you do. Congratulations to each of the 2019 Cloud 100 honorees and the 20 Rising Stars honorees poised to join their ranks!” 

The Forbes 2019 Cloud 100 and 20 Rising Stars lists are published online at www.forbes.com/cloud100 and will appear in the September 2019 issue of Forbes magazine..

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