New analysis identifies 35 Canadian tech companies on path to $1 billion in annual revenue

List points to startups like ApplyBoard, Benevity, Clio, FreshBooks, RenoRun.

Thirty-five privately-held Canadian tech startups are on their way towards reaching $1 billion in annual revenue, according to a new data-based initiative from Kitchener-Waterloo tech hub Communitech.

Communitech has identified companies like Burnaby-based legaltech startup Clio, Kitchener-Waterloo EdTech firm ApplyBoard, and Montréal-based construction company RenoRun as among the 35 Canadian startups on the path to hitting $1 billion in annual revenue, based on their current annual revenue and growth rate.

Communitech’s analysis is based on each company’s current annual revenue and growth rate.

This 35 firm list was assembled by Communitech using data gathered by Silicon Valley Bank, analysis by New York data science firm Two Sigma, and a model it developed to assess company potential. Last year, the companies named generated $5.1 billion in combined annual revenue, average annual revenue of $141 million, and average year-over-year growth of 149 percent during 2021.

The analysis comes as public and private tech company valuations have fallen in recent months amid the broader tech stock rout, which has been fuelled by rising inflation, interest rates, and geopolitical tensions. Amid these conditions, investors like Bessemer Venture Partners have called for more attention to be placed on revenue as a stronger sign of business strength.

The full list includes Toronto customer support company Ada, Calgary-based corporate giving startup Benevity, Toronto e-commerce investor Clearco, Kitchener-Waterloo and San Francisco-based wholesale marketplace Faire, Toronto online car retailer Clutch, Edmonton-based home service software firm Jobber, Vancouver-based marketing intelligence firm Klue, and Toronto accounting startup FreshBooks, among others.

Each company on the list falls into one of four categories: $20 million to $39 million in annual revenue with a 60 percent or greater growth rate; $40 to $79 million in annual revenue with a 40 percent or greater growth rate; $80 to $99 million in annual revenue with at least a 20 percent growth rate; or more than $100 million in annual revenue with at least a 15 percent growth rate.

RELATED: Legaltech unicorn Clio now also a centaur after hitting $100 million USD in ARR milestone

Communitech did not identify which firm falls into which category, nor share each company’s respective annual revenue or growth rate. Earlier this week, Clio revealed that it falls into the latter category, sharing that it had surpassed $100 million in annual recurring revenue, achieving ‘centaur’ status.

Geographically speaking, Ontario had the strongest presence, as 22 of the 35 companies named are based in the province. Next was British Columbia with six, followed by Québec and Alberta with three apiece, and Prince Edward Island with one—Charlottetown-headquartered biotech firm BioVectra.

No Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, or Nova Scotia-based companies managed to crack the list. Meanwhile, from a city standpoint, three cities dominated the list: Toronto with 11, Kitchener-Waterloo with six, and Vancouver with four.

Communitech plans to update the roster of firms on this list on a continuous basis, as new data is received and verified. The innovation hub plans to release the next iteration of this list, which Communitech created as part of its new strategy, in October.

Here is the full 35 company list:

  • Ada (Toronto, ON)
  • ApplyBoard (Kitchener, ON)
  • Arctic Wolf (Waterloo, ON)
  • Benevity (Calgary, AB)
  • BioVectra (Charlottetown, PEI)
  • Clearco (Toronto, ON)
  • Clio (Burnaby, BC)
  • Clutch (Toronto, ON)
  • Cymax Group (Burnaby, BC)
  • Doxim (Toronto, ON)
  • Ecopia (Toronto, ON)
  • Previan Technologies [formerly Eddyfi/NDT] (Sainte-Foy, QC)
  • Elastic Path Software (Vancouver, BC)
  • eSentire (Waterloo, ON)
  • Faire (Waterloo, ON)
  • Flexiti Financial (Toronto, ON)
  • FreshBooks (Toronto, ON)
  • FT Synthetics (Langley, BC)
  • Heliene (Sault Ste. Marie, ON)
  • Jane (Vancouver, BC)
  • Jobber (Edmonton, AB)
  • Klue (Vancouver, BC)
  • League (Toronto, ON)
  • Ledn (Toronto, ON)
  • Paystone (London, ON)
  • PointClickCare (Mississauga, ON)
  • RenoRun (Montreal, QC)
  • SmartONE (Markham, ON)
  • SMART Technologies (Calgary, AB)
  • Solink (Ottawa, ON)
  • StackAdapt (Toronto, ON)
  • Trusscore (Kitchener, ON)
  • Vention (Montreal, QC)
  • Vidyard (Kitchener, ON)
  • Voyce (Toronto, ON)

Feature image courtesy ApplyBoard.

Josh Scott

Josh Scott

Josh Scott is a BetaKit reporter focused on telling in-depth Canadian tech stories and breaking news. His coverage is more complete than his moustache.

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