51 enterprise startups to bet your career on in 2018

51 startups 2018

As we approach another holiday season and the year draws to a close, our thoughts will soon drift to our goals for 2018.

For those thinking of moving on to a new job at an up-and-coming young company, we've compiled this list to help.

All of these companies are "enterprise" startups, meaning they specialize in making tech for work and business use, a massive $3.7 trillion worldwide market. And all of them achieved milestones in 2017, setting themselves up for a successful 2018 and beyond.

We looked for one or more of the following elements: promising technology, healthy partnerships, experienced leadership and adequate funding. In other words, these companies have all the markings of long-term hits, or those likely to be snapped up by a bigger player for a hefty sum when the time is right.

Zapier: The plumbing that connects the internet

Name: Zapier
Headquarters: None
Funding to date: $1.3 million, otherwise profitable and self-funded

Zapier, which makes tools for connecting business software to other business software, is somewhat of an anomaly on this list.

It took a meager $1.3 million seed round when it was founded in 2012, but Zapier hasn't touched another dime of investor money since. That's because it's been profitable since 2014, and hit a $20 million annualized run rate by 2017.

On top of that, Zapier doesn't have a headquarters. Instead, its team of around 85 people is entirely remote, working from their own homes all over the globe. Earlier this year, Zapier made headlines when it announced it would actually pay $10,000 in moving expenses for employees to leave the San Francisco Bay Area. the opposite of how it normally works.

Maybe it's no coincidence that "Zapier" rhymes with "happier."

Smyte: Bringing Facebook's trust and safety features to a broader audience

Company name: Smyte
Headquarters: San Francisco
Funding to date: $6.25 million in 3 rounds

Smyte is the trust and safety feature startup you've never heard of but definitely want to have on your side.

Despite being just two years old, and early in its fundraising, Smyte has already landed customers like Indiegogo, GoFundMe, Medium, and Task Rabbit, who all have used its machine learning technology to catch everything from e-commerce fraud to space, scams, bots and harassers.

The company's success can be attributed in part to its all-star cast of tech veterans. The founding trio has resumes from Facebook, Instagram and Google.

Cofounder CEO Pete Hunt is also one of the well-known fathers of a popular tool for programmers that came out of Facebook called React.

Fetch Robotics: Creating the warehouse robots of tomorrow

Company name: Fetch Robotics
Headquarters: San Jose, California
Funding to date: $23 million in 2 rounds

Fetch is a leader in what's known as "warehouse optimization" which attempts to create the perfect mix of human and robotic workers, each doing what they do best to make warehouses as efficient as possible.

There's never been a bigger need for Fetch's robots. As online retailers takeover the role of brick and mortar storefronts, companies face new challenges in quickly getting products out the door.

Fetch specializes in autonomous warehouse technology that works with humans to move cargo around quickly. It's like autonomous vehicles for moving boxes.

Fetch's CEO Melonee Wise, who joined in 2014, is a legend in the robotics industry. She was an early employee at Willow Garage, a now-defunct startup that helped launch the current renaissance in robotics.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider