We are excited to recognize Austin’s top 100 tech employers of 2015. These digital companies have driven the city’s talented workforce to new heights and economic growth by creating over 42,000 jobs.
To put that into perspective, these 100 companies alone comprise about 48 percent of the roughly 86,000 people estimated to be working in STEM jobs in Austin.
Seven of the top 10 companies are relative newcomers, having been founded on average just 12 years ago. Furthermore, 10 of the companies on the list are 5 years old or younger, and together they employ 1,221 people. That, of course, lines up well with Austin’s explosive growth over the last decade. In fact, 60 percent of the top 10 companies are born and bred, native Texas companies. Read more
Top 100 Companies Hiring
The following companies on our list are currently hiring. Check them out.
Employees*: 250+ | Founded: 2009 | Type: eCommerce
Employees*: 100+ | Founded: 2010 | Type: B2B Web
Employees*: 200+ | Founded: 2010 | Type: B2B Web
Employees*: 990 | Founded: 2005 | Type: Travel Tech
Employees*: 468 | Founded: 2001 | Type: Consumer Web
Employees*: 200+ | Founded: 2010 | Type: Software
Employees*: 200+ | Founded: 2009 | Type: Consumer Web
Employees*: 200+ | Founded: 1999 | Type: E-commerce
Employees*: 100+ | Founded: 2001 | Type: B2B Web
Employees*: 100+ | Founded: 1999 | Type: Consumer Web
Employees*: 100+ | Founded: 2012 | Type: B2B Web
Employees*: 100+ | Founded: 2009 | Type: B2B Web
Employees*: 100+ | Founded: 2014 | Type: Software
Employees*: <100 | Type: 2004 | Type: E-commerce
Employees*: <100 | Founded: 2001 | Type: Software
Employees*: <100 | Founded: 2008 | Type: Consumer Web
Employees*: <100 | Founded: 2010 | Type: Software
Employees*: <100 | Founded: 2009 | Type: Software
Rank is determined by total Greater Austin-based employees at digital technology companies as of April 2015.
Looking at the list as a whole, 57 percent of companies make software. That was far and away the largest percentage, with consumer web companies making up the next largest group claiming 17 percent. B2B web and digital agencies each took 10 percent of the list.
An overwhelming 71 percent of the top 100 companies are privately held, while 28 percent of those who are public are headquartered in or around Austin. As you might expect, of those out-of-state companies about 50 percent are headquartered in California. This is a clear indication that the rest of the country has come to recognize Austin's talented workforce and high standard of living and many are choosing Austin as their second home.
As we noted in the 2014 Austin Startup Report, funding has been on the rise, and 2014 saw a record breaking $993 million invested and $437 million in exits. This level of investment speaks favorably for Austin's future, as startups continue to mature and grow.
Since its 2008 inception, SpareFoot has raised a total of $59 million in venture capital, with $33 million raised this year. Today over 9,500 facilities list on SpareFoot, and to get a larger chunk of the $25 billion self-storage market, the company has been on a hiring spree. They announced plans to hire 100 more employees.
With $23 million in funding in March, adding to their $39.2 million total, WP Engine has begun focusing on international expansion. The WordPress hosting company’s customers span small personal sites to large enterprise sites in 128 countries. WP Engine is currently adding 100 employees.
Spredfast also raised funding in March to expand, securing $24 million in growth financing to continue hiring both in Austin and abroad. Spredfast's software allows marketers to track, manage and amplify real-time conversations across the spectrum of social media using a single dashboard. In 2014, Spredfast merged with Austin-based Mass Relevance, both of which boast Austin Ventures among their investors.
Expanding Austin’s play into the EdTech industry, Civitas Learning has put February's $16 million to use by continuing its remarkable growth trajectory. Civitas has doubled in size over the past year to support the 2.5 million students at the higher education institutions its software services. Civitas's cloud-based, predictive analytics platform and engaging applications to increase college graduation success rates.
Main Street Hub’s integrated marketing automation platform is designed simply for small businesses. Since its founding in 2010, Main Street Hub’s revenues have grown by 4,000 percent and currently has approximately 5,000 customers. The Downtown-based company plans to continue the heavy hiring push this year with the $20 million received by SVB in late February.
Austin is the third fastest growing city in the United States, and while this has taken a heavy toll on infrastructure and cost of living, the region has done a remarkable job adapting to its status as a global tech hub. New companies dot a 25-mile radius around the city center, undoubtedly adding to the city’s notorious traffic woes. Massive corporate complexes, such as IBM’s, are clearly visible as you travel north of the city.
But some new companies are moving in and setting up shop downtown, often renovating existing structures. athenahealth, for example, transformed the old Seaholm Power Plant into 113,000 square feet of modern office space.
As far as actual employment, the top 100 companies employ 42,218 people in the Austin area – about half of the city’s total estimated STEM jobs. There is a reason that Austin has the lowest unemployment rate of any large city in America.