For the third consecutive year, Cloudinary has been named to the Forbes Cloud 100, the annual definitive ranking of the top 100 private cloud companies in the world, published by Forbes in partnership with Bessemer Venture Partners and Salesforce Ventures.
Powerful visual experiences are no longer a nice-to-have asset – they are everything to any business competing in today’s digital-first economy. Fueled by rising demand for engaging visual experiences on the web and mobile apps, particularly in industries like eCommerce, media and publishing, online entertainment, social, eLearning, and fitness, Cloudinary’s API-first solutions help more than 7,000 customers and 700,000 users around the world build better connections with their customers and communities with over 40 billion assets. Leaders like Atlassian, Bleacher Report, Grubhub, Hinge, Lyft, NBC, Mediavine, Peloton, Petco, and Under Armour rely on Cloudinary for faster time to market, improved audience engagement and increased conversions. Cloudinary, which aims to deliver visual experiences that inspire and connect by unleashing the full potential of a company’s media, also ushers its customers into the digital-first era with advances in AI tagging, shoppable video, modern digital asset management, web accessibility, and next-gen image formats like JPEG XL.
“We are excited to be recognized as one of the top 100 private cloud companies in the world for the third year in a row,” said Itai Lahan, Co-founder and CEO of Cloudinary. “This year’s award is a testament to our team’s dedication to helping our customers and partners succeed as they navigate this transformative time. The pandemic has spurred an increasing demand for video, product development and work-life balance. Our modern media experience platform is empowering companies to adapt to these changing needs and engage more effectively with their audience.”
As part of the rigorous selection process for the Forbes 2020 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%).
“The private cloud ecosystem continues to mature in light of rapid digital transformations, 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. “Private cloud valuations are getting bigger as the market’s appetite for cloud continues to grow. Over the past five years, the average Cloud 100 valuation has grown by a tremendous 2.5x, from $1 billion in 2016 to $2.7 billion in 2020. In fact, our 2020 Cloud 100 includes over 87 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. More than a third of the companies of the Cloud 100 have exited either via strategic M&A, financial M&A or Initial Public Offering. Congratulations to these cloud leaders!”
Matt Garratt, Managing Partner, Salesforce Ventures said, “In the face of this unprecedented time, digital is an urgent imperative, and the pace of innovation is accelerating. Companies around the globe, across all industries, must adopt cloud technologies to enable their digital transformation. The opportunity is massive for the cloud – there are now more than 25 public SaaS companies valued at over $10 billion whereas even five years ago there were only three. Sectors from collaboration and security to retail and healthcare, are being disrupted and becoming more digital.
Salesforce Ventures is excited to be partnering with Bessemer Venture Partners and Forbes for the fifth year in a row to recognize those who are not just predicting what’s coming but working to create the future.”
Alex Konrad, Forbes editor of The Cloud 100, said, “For five years now, we have ranked the best and brightest emerging companies in the cloud sector. With so many businesses growing fast in the cloud, from data infrastructure to marketing, it’s harder than ever to make the Cloud 100 list – but with more elite company if you do. Congratulations to each of the 2020 Cloud 100 honorees and the 20 Rising Stars honorees poised to join their ranks!”
The Forbes 2020 Cloud 100 and 20 Rising Stars lists are published online at www.forbes.com/cloud100 and will appear in the September 2020 issue of Forbes magazine.
