9 Boston unicorns transforming the city's tech scene

Written by Justine Hofherr
September 8, 2016Updated: January 19, 2022

In honor of our local unicorns, we’ve rounded up the following tech companies that have either IPO’d or have raised private capital to reach the billion dollar club.

 

Trip Advisor Unicorn Boston

$9.1 billion market cap

TripAdvisor is a free travel guide and research website that provides reviews of travel-related content and includes interactive travel forums.

Local Employee Count: 1,000+

Founded: 2000

Funds Raised: $1.3M

 

Wayfair Boston Unicorn

$3.6 billion market cap

Wayfair is an e-commerce site that sells furniture, lighting, cookware, and more. Since its founding, Wayfair has grown into the largest pure-play online retailer of home goods in the U.S. Wayfair generated $786.9 million in net revenues for the second quarter of 2016.

Local Employee Count: 5,398

Founded: 2002

Funds Raised: $351M

 

athena health

 $5 billion market cap

athenahealth is a leading provider of cloud-based business and clinical services for physician practices that makes patients and doctors’ lives easier and more efficient.

Local Employee Count: 4,619

Founded: 1997

Funds Raised: $40M

 

Hubspot Unicorn Boston

$2 billion market cap

HubSpot develops cloud-based, inbound marketing software that lets businesses transform the way that they market online.

Local Employee Count: 1001-5000 employees

Founded: 2006

Funds Raised: $100.5M

 

Actifio Unicorn Boston

$1.1 billion market cap

Software startup Actifio virtualizes the data of businesses in more than 30 countries around the world. Its Virtual Data Pipeline™ technology helps businesses to manage, access, and protect their data faster and more efficiently.

Local Employee Count: around 400

Founded: 2009

Funds Raised: $207.5M

 

Akamai Unicorn Boston

$9.48 billion market cap

Akamai is the leading provider for cloud services for all types of enterprises around the world, ensuring that users get fast, secure experiences on any type of device.

Local Employee Count: about 6,000

Founded: 1998

Funds raised: $180M

 

$1.2 billion market cap

This storage company aims to take on the likes of EMC and IBM.

Local Employee Count: 35

Founded: 2010

Funds raised: $230M

 

Simplivity Unicorn Boston

 $1 billion market cap

SimpliVity simplifies IT with its new IT infrastructure platform that provides enterprise computing, storage services and network functionality to customers.

Local Employee Count: around 400

Founded: 2009

Funds Raised: $276M

 

Draft Kings Unicorn Boston

$2 billion market cap

DraftKings is a knowledge-based daily fantasy sports website allowing users to play against other users for cash prizes.

Local Employee Count: about 200

Founded: 2011

Funds Raised: $596.4M

 

Jobs from companies in this blog

Boston startup guides

LOCAL GUIDE
Best Companies to Work for in Boston
LOCAL GUIDE
Coolest Tech Offices in Boston
LOCAL GUIDE
Best Perks at Boston Tech Companies
LOCAL GUIDE
Women in Boston Tech