Insights
May 4, 2022
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The startup studio business model also known as venture studios, continues to grow. As the world regains momentum post-pandemic, we have studios developing startups in new industries with unexpected focuses. In 2022, we saw studios all over the world fine-tune their model and make headlines. Not only did these studios see tremendous growth, but their companies have also gained traction, proving the startup studio model is here to stay.
Startup studios amplified growth in areas of healthcare and medical technology, which is expected to continue in 2023. Additionally, mobile and web app growth among studios continues to thrive, another trend of 2023 we have shared in our recent insights.
We are proud to bring the 2023 top startup studio list! It is ranked based on website traffic, revenue, and top-performing startups. We are thrilled to see new studios on this year's list as they break through the noise and emerge as successful companies.
AlleyCorp is a startup studio that funds companies and invests in early-stage companies. AlleyCorp is exclusively focused on investing in transformational companies in New York City. Since its inception as a venture/idea studio, AlleyCorp originates the idea, forms the founding team, funds the initial 6-12 months, launches the company, and maintains integral leadership throughout the company's lifecycle. In 2022, Alley Corp put massive efforts into launching two new health solutions, Auxa Health and Synapse Bio. Auxa Health aims to help healthcare organizations bridge a gap between individuals and their access to health benefits. Synapse Bio is working to detect dementia sooner with their machine learning technology.
Location: New York, NY, United States
Founders: Dwight Merriman, Kevin Ryan
Companies:
Builders is a Rotterdam-based startup studio designed to build and grow technology companies from scratch by bringing together bold ideas, seasoned co-founders, operational support and investment capital. In 2022, one of Builders' ventures, Obeyo, was nominated in two categories of the Coliving awards. The categories nominations were for Content & Media and PropTech & ConTech.
Location: Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
Founders: Alex Buis, Michael Lier
Companies:
Coplex is a corporate startup studio that turns the art of building businesses into a repeatable science. The Coplex Startup Studio combines the right team and a proven 9-12 month program to experiment and rapidly execute winning ideas to maximize your chance of success. In 2022, their portfolio company, Smile Virtual was acquired by Udo, which marked their first acquisition.
Location: Phoenix, AZ, United States
Founders: Anthony Johnson, Ilya Pozin, Nikola Mickic
Companies:
This startup studio was founded in France in 2011. They have a strong presence in the field of entrepreneurship and building the future of work. eFounders notes that 2022 was a year of change for them as the tech industry continued to shift. They welcomed 35 companies with three of them being unicorns in addition to launching a web3 startup studio, 3founders.
Location: Paris, Ile-de-France, France
Founders: Thibaud Elziere, Quentin Nickmans
Companies:
Denmark studio Flashbulb is a small startup studio with big ambitions. They are individual experts in their fields and are battle-proven as a team. They have all worked together for years at the recently closed Microsoft Studio, Press Play and some of them have been making games together for a decade. In 2022, they were nominated for four categories of the Spilprisen Awards. The categories were Game Of The Year, Best Game Design, Best Visuals, and Best Audio.
Location: Copenhagen, Hovedstaden, Denmark
Founders: Mikkel Thorsted, Rune Dittmer
Games:
GrowValley is a UAE-based startup studio and fund. They are on a mission to build disruptive startups with influential partners to create extraordinary growth. In 2022, GrowValley had a busy year with the launch of ShamsValley, a new venture builder in partnership with Sharjah Media City. This joint venture builder will focus on problems in the media industry, and work to invent and invest in solutions.
Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Founders: Asisha Mathews, Jazeer Jamal, William J. Daly
Company:
Indigo Lab Inc is a New York-based startup studio that is dedicated to ConsciousTech and creates ventures that contribute to a collective conscious evolution with the mission to lower human suffering and foster human flourishing. In 2022, Indigo raised over $1 million in funding to build conscious tech companies and shared insights from their dive into the psychedelic industry.
Location: New York, NY, United States
Founder: Pierre Giraud
Companies:
Madrona Venture Labs is a startup studio that builds companies from scratch. Based in Seattle and housed at Madrona Venture Group, Madrona Venture Labs makes use of money from its funds to incubate concepts and recruit a management crew to ultimately run the enterprise. In 2022, they announced their new event, Launchable, an event series for venture-scale startups. They will have industry experts discuss foundation models and hope to spark inspiration for early founders by offering them the chance to pitch their idea.
Location: Seattle, WA, United States
Founders: Sam Clark, Steve Jarvis
Companies:
OSS Ventures puts a heavy focus on building software solutions in partnership with innovative tech founders. They created over ten companies within a two-year time-space, and in 2022 they launched two brands, Vertical and Juno. Vertical is a platform that increases efficiency by reducing costs and prioritizing better project management. Juno is a one-stop shop digital operational system.
Location: Paris, Ile-de-Paris, France
Founder: Renan Devillieres
Companies:
PSL is a startup studio and venture capital fund. PSL exists to champion the next generation of founders by bringing together world-class talent, big ideas, and investment capital. They work with the best entrepreneurs in the Pacific Northwest to turn the best ideas into fully-funded companies with rapid customer adoption. PSL had an extremely busy year with the investment in Outgo and Starfish Space, in addition to their startup Shipium being added to the “Most Promising Startups of 2022” list by The Information.
Location: Seattle, WA, United States
Founder: Greg Gottesman
Companies:
Wilbur Labs are best known for top-ranking ventures, Vacation Renter and Joblist. Their founders work to turn entrepreneurs' big ideas into market-leading companies. In 2022, they launched their Founder FAQ series and VacationRenter received a Travel Weekly Magellan Award.
Location: San Francisco, CA, United States
Founders: Phil Santoro, David Kolodny
Companies:
75 & Sunny was created to support and mentor startups and their leaders in LA and beyond. Its team provides 75 & Sunny companies with a broad range of support, including leadership coaching, marketing and PR advice, brand amplification, product strategy, recruiting, access to a broad network of partners that include top venture capital and private equity firms, overall mentorship, and help with subsequent fundraising. In 2022, they invested in five companies including Route, Luxury Presence, Hive Mapper, Robin Golf, and Invisible Universe.
Location: Los Angeles, CA, United States
Founder: Spencer Rascoff
Companies:
We will be keeping up with these top studios throughout the year, and we expect exciting things to come. Be sure you stay up to date on all things startup studios by following us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.
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