The Annual List - top startups by year
Our yearly pick of the companies that mattered most - chosen by editors from every profile we published that year.
What counts as The Annual List
The Annual List is our yearly pick of the companies that mattered most, chosen by editors from every profile published that year. Each edition is a single article naming that year's selection, drawn from companies covered on Startup to Follow over the preceding twelve months rather than from outside nominations or rankings compiled elsewhere.
Applications are now open for The Top Startups of 2026
Putting your company forward for this year's list starts with the application form. Tell us what you are building, what is already shipping, and what you can show us.
Apply nowFour editions, one method
The annual list has run since 2021. Each edition is a single article, and each is drawn from the same source - the companies profiled on this site during that year.
- Top Startups of 2025
- companies redefining global business, heritage and industry, written looking back from 2026.
- The Top Startups of 2023 - that year's pick of the
companies our editors kept returning to.
- The Top Startups of 2022 - the second edition, and the
first published after the site had a full year of coverage behind it.
- Top 10 Startups of 2021 - the original, from the period
when Startup to Follow was establishing what it covered.
Why the list looks the way it does
Because selection is limited to companies already profiled here, the annual list is not an attempt to rank the startup market. It is a record of what an independent publication spent a year paying attention to, which makes the editions useful read together - the shift in which sectors dominate from 2021 to 2025 is visible without anyone having to argue for it.
Where to look instead, by sector
If you arrived looking for the strongest companies in a particular field rather than a particular year, the sector hubs are the better route. Each one carries a definition, a comparison table and the full cluster of profiles:
- AI Infrastructure - compute, power, retrieval and the reliability
layer underneath the AI boom.
- Fintech - finance back office, lending, payments, compliance and insurtech.
- Healthtech - early detection, clinical workflow, virtual clinics and
regulated devices.
- Security - AI guardrails, supply chain security, identity and fraud.
- Climate & Sustainability - circular materials, agriculture,
alternative fuel and ESG measurement.
- Deep Tech - chemistry, materials, quantum and space.
The full set is on the topics index, and every company we have ever profiled is listed in the archive.
Applying for the current cycle
Applications for the current edition are handled through the form linked at the top of this page when the cycle is open. Companies are considered on the basis of having been covered on the site during that year, so a profile comes first and the list follows from it.
| Company | What it does | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Top Startups of 2025 | Companies redefining global business, heritage and industry, published looking back from 2026. | 2025 |
| The Top Startups of 2023 | The 2023 selection of favourite companies from that year's coverage. | 2023 |
| The Top Startups of 2022 | The 2022 list of companies changing the world, drawn from that year's profiles. | 2022 |
| Top 10 Startups of 2021 | The first edition, from the period when the site was establishing what it covered. | 2021 |
Latest in The Annual List
Top Startups of 2025: Top Startups Redefining Global Business, Heritage, and Industry
As we settle into 2026, the startup landscape has shifted significantly. If 2024 was the year of "AI Promise," 2025 was undeniably the year of…
The Top Startups of 2023
You've been waiting for it and here it is. Here is our list of our favourite startups this year. Get ready for some new names that are changing the world…
The Top Startups of 2022
We’re super excited to launch our list of the top startups of 2022. Looking for the companies changing the world? Check out these amazing startups:
Top 10 Startups of 2021
Startup to Follow began as a platform promoting the latest and hottest startup companies, changing the world with their innovative ideas in all areas of…
Frequently asked questions
What is the Startup to Follow annual list?
A yearly article naming the companies our editors thought mattered most that year. The selection is made from startups already profiled on Startup to Follow over the preceding twelve months, which is what distinguishes it from rankings compiled from public data or outside submissions.
Which years are available?
There are four editions on the site - the Top 10 Startups of 2021, The Top Startups of 2022, The Top Startups of 2023, and Top Startups of 2025. Each is a single article, linked from this hub.
How are companies chosen for the list?
Editors select from the profiles published on the site during that year. Because a company has to have been covered before it can be considered, the list reflects what Startup to Follow wrote about rather than the wider startup market.
How can a company be considered for the next list?
Companies put themselves forward through the application form for the current cycle, linked at the top of this page when applications are open. Being profiled on the site during the year is what makes a company eligible for that year's edition.
Is the list a ranking?
The 2021 edition was framed as a top ten. The later editions read as a selection rather than an ordered ranking - a set of companies from that year's coverage rather than places one through ten.