Disruptor

Founders: Robert Falck (CEO), Linnéa Kornehed-Falck, Filip LiljaLaunched: 2016Headquarters: Stockholm, SwedenFunding: $652.3 millionValuation: N/AKey technologies: Artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, machine learningIndustry: AutomotivePrevious appearances on Disruptor 50 List: 0Just as electric vehicles are gaining popularity among consumers, so too are they catching on in the commercial trucking realm. In a quest to reduce carbon footprints and curb air pollution, the transport industry is in the early stages…

Founder: Tony Atti (CEO), Patrick McCann, Matthew TrevithickLaunched: 2009Headquarters: Durham, North CarolinaFunding: $250 millionValuation: $650 millionKey technologies: Autonomous vehiclesIndustry: LogisticsPrevious appearances on Disruptor 50 List: 3 (No. 17 in 2019)Phononic is a solid-state cooling company pioneering solutions to replace energy-guzzling cold storage with efficient, environmentally friendly supply chain technology.It started out going after the compressors, heat sinks and fans in refrigerator…

Founders: Gene Berdichevsky (CEO), Gleb Yushin, Alex JacobsLaunched: 2011Headquarters: Alameda, CaliforniaFunding: $930 millionValuation: N/AKey technologies: NanotechnologyIndustry: AutomotivePrevious appearances on Disruptor 50 List: 1 (No. 34 in 2021)As the electric vehicle fast becomes the future for major automakers, critical elements including lithium are poised to be the equivalent of new oils.Elon Musk has been saying for years that if there's any business a smart entrepreneur should get into, it's lithium…

Founders: Praveen Penmetsa (CEO), Mark Schwager, Zachary Omohundro, Carlo MondaviLaunched: 2018Headquarters: Livermore, CaliforniaFunding: $116.4 millionValuation: $271 millionKey technologies: Autonomous vehicles, roboticsIndustry: AgriculturePrevious appearances on Disruptor 50 List: 1 (No. 20 in 2022)Agriculture has been difficult to disrupt, and decarbonize. As the producer of the world's first-ever fully electric, driver-optional smart tractor, Monarch Tractor's goal is to bring sustainability to farming's workhorse.…

Harvard Business Review says disruption occurs when a newcomer successfully develops a product or service that can target a segment of an industry otherwise overlooked by incumbent players. Success gives them a foothold, from which they can move into more competitive markets. Whether it’s a radical new business model, the right use case for emerging technology, or the kind of organizational hustle that breeds success, the tech industry loves a good disruption story. So much so, in fact, that the word “disruption” has…

Blockchain technology has the potential to disrupt industries such as financial services, auditing, and even supply chain. There’s tough competition in the crypto space, and it will continue getting tougher with the introduction of promising startups. Gnox is one of them that has attracted the attention of the DeFi community, just like Uniswap and Curve did in their early days. The need for innovation in DeFi was quite evident, given the recent cases of rug pulls and scams. Decentralization became a breeding…

After a year in which supply chain bottlenecks roiled the global economy, Flexport, which uses technology to improve supply chains, reaches the top of the CNBC Disruptor 50 list.Freight forwarding, the official name for the industry Flexport is disrupting, is the centuries-old, trillion-dollar global business of matching companies that make stuff with companies that transport stuff over land, sea and air. The industry tends to be opaque, filled with arcane regulations, bogged down by analog processes, and has no "major…

In the tenth annual Disruptor 50 list, CNBC highlights private companies that grew through the ups and downs of the pandemic and are poised to meet increasing economic and consumer challenges.All told, these firms have raised a half-trillion dollars in venture capital. At least 41 are unicorns, with valuations of $1 billion or more – 14 are valued at over $10 billion. But becoming a unicorn has become all too common, and as market volatility pressures valuations in both public and private markets, other stats stand out: …

Founders: Ikenna Okezie (CEO), Tony WeltersLaunched: 2017Headquarters: McLean, VirginiaFunding: $490.1 million (PitchBook)Valuation: $2.5 billion (PitchBook)Key technologies: Artificial intelligence, machine learningIndustry: Health carePrevious appearances on Disruptor 50 List: 0When Warren Buffett buys big into a stock, and keeps buying, it's typically a sign that the billionaire investor thinks a company has close to monopoly-like power over some market. That's the case with kidney care company DaVita, which Buffett's…

Founder: Michael Rubin (CEO)Launched: 2011Headquarters: Jacksonville, FloridaFunding: $4.2 billionValuation: $27 billionKey technologies: Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, machine learningIndustry: RetailPrevious appearances on Disruptor 50 List: 2 (No. 25 in 2019)Fanatics has established itself as the leader for sports merchandise and commerce, with exclusive licensing deals ranging from the NFL and NBA to the International Olympic Committee.Now it's looking to expand its sports industry reach even further,…