As the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. sits at the crossroads of commerce and invention. While the city may be mostly known as a political playground, it’s not merely lawmakers and activists stalking its historic streets.
In truth, Washington has been one of the cities at the helm of the tech revolution for the past several decades. According to a recent CBRE report, the city ranks third in the nation for its ability to attract and foster tech talent, making the city a fierce contender to become the nation’s leading tech hub — and a female-dominated one at that. SmartAssets ranked the district as number one on its list of Best Cities for Women in Tech in 2018. But the stats don’t stop there. In fact, it's the leading city in the country for African American entrepreneurs, according to Tech.co.
Tech Companies In DC To Know
- LivingSocial
- Arcadia
- CleanChoice Energy
- Clutch
- Mapbox
- Babyscripts
Given Washington’s reputation as a progressive, Millennial-focused metropolis, it’s no surprise that many innovative startups are planting roots in the city. These fledgling companies are joining the ranks of tech leaders who have called Washington home for decades such as EastBanc Technologies and Athenium Analytics. The city’s tech community spans a diverse range of industries, with a significant amount of companies hailing from the clean energy sector in particular. Despite the disparities among them, Washington's tech residents are united by their ambitious desire to transform people’s lives and redefine industries. Here’s a look at some tech companies located in the heart of Washington doing their part to turn the nation’s capital into a tech leader.
Tech Companies in Washington, D.C. to Know
Founded: 2014
Founded by Kiran Bhatraju and Ryan Nesbitt, Arcadia has created a platform that provides people with easy access to clean energy, savings programs and transaction-free fee payment options. The company’s members are given access to a mobile-optimized dashboard where they can manage their accounts, track account activity and view their energy usage. Arcadia has secured $70.5 million in funding since its inception.
Founded: 1964
Intelsat understands what it takes to deliver fast online connections and has now expanded its reach within the aviation industry. The organization continues to develop high-speed internet results, improving customer experiences and airline safety standards. With real-time information and speedy streaming services, flight team members can monitor conditions while passengers settle in for a smooth journey.
Founded: 2016
With its headquarters located in Downtown, Upside offers a cashback rewards app that enables the brick-and-mortar world with the analytics of e-commerce. The app infuses personalization into every user’s interface through machine learning that provides them cashback offers for the retailers that they’re most likely to engage with.
Founded: 2015
Nisos provides client organizations with custom security solutions so they can understand and defend against digital and physical threats. Its analysts have expertise in areas like online platform trust and safety, corporate security for physical locations, fraud intelligence and retail threat intelligence, enabling them to support organizations in identifying and overcoming security challenges.
Founded: 2014
Babyscripts has developed a new model for prenatal and postpartum care to enhance the doctor/patient relationship outside of the clinic during routine, low-risk pregnancies. After being enrolled into the program by their OBGYN, patients can use the company’s app to receive practice-specific, provider-approved tasks related to nutrition, exercise and other behaviors. Each patient is also sent a physical “mommy kit,” which includes an internet-enabled weight scale and blood pressure cuff.
Founded: 2013
SparkMeter offers access to clean electricity in hard-to-reach places and underserved markets through low-cost metering solutions. In an effort to improve operations and increase financial sustainability, the company enables utilities operating in remote areas to access a range of features such as prepaid billing, customer communications and remote monitoring and control. SparkMeter currently serves utilities operating in rural parts of Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Founded: 2011
Founded by Tom Matzzie and Richard Graves, CleanChoice Energy is dedicated to making renewable energy available to everyone. The company removes the need for homeowners and businesses to install solar panels or own their own space, giving clients the opportunity to maintain their utility lines upon switching to renewable energy. CleanChoice doesn’t enforce home visits, upfront costs, complicated installations or service interruptions, instead ensuring 100 percent of their clients’ power comes from renewable sources in their region.
Founded: 1994
Capital One is dedicated to consumers who find themselves on the go, and this commitment has taken on the form of enhanced digital products. Customers can protect their information with virtual card numbers while shopping online, through the bank’s mobile app, or through a digital wallet. In addition, cloud technology resolves issues faster and creates added convenience for customers.
Founded: 2017
Pie Insurance is an insurtech company that provides workers’ compensation, liability, auto and general policies for small businesses. By using proprietary machine learning technology to offer personalized quotes, it’s able to offer competitive pricing quickly. The company boasts a three-minute average quote time.
Founded: 2014
Created by Emmanuel Smadja and Michael Davis, Mpower Financing is a social benefit corporation that offers student loans to international students studying in the US and Canada without requiring a co-signer, collateral or U.S. credit history. The company disburses payments directly to the university on behalf of students to pay for tuition or services like housing, meal plans and health insurance. Mpower Financing boasts $220.5 million in funding.
Founded: 2011
Founded by Mike Beares, Clutch is a ratings and reviews platform for IT, marketing and business service providers. The platform was designed to serve as a data-driven field guide to business-buying decisions, which is achieved through real client feedback, industry data analysis and competitor comparisons. Clutch is currently used by more than half a million buyers and sellers.
Founded: 2007
Operating as a subsidiary of Groupon, LivingSocial is an online marketplace that allows people to buy and share the best things to do in their city and elsewhere. The company offers deals in various categories including local experiences, travel, restaurants, sports and fitness, health and beauty, gadgets, home decor, and fashion. Having undergone nine funding rounds, LivingSocial has raised $928.2 million since its founding.
Founded: 2003
New Signature helps small, medium-sized and enterprise customers solve business challenges with Microsoft solutions. The company helps businesses make major investment decisions through economic analysis and then provides IT expertise to plan, design, deploy, customize, manage and support their Microsoft solutions. New Signature helps its clients leverage a variety of Microsoft technologies such as Office 365, Skype for Business, SharePoint, Azure and Windows Intune.
Founded: 2016
GRAIL has developed a blood test designed to detect cancer early by analyzing DNA shed into the bloodstream from all cells in the body, including cancer cells. The company’s Washington, D.C. office is situated just a block from the White House, but whether employees work remotely or in person depends on their specific roles.
Founded: 1960
Dedicated to advancing space-related technologies, Aerospace designs and develops solutions for launch assurance, satellites and space exploration. Its extensive experience allows it to offer strategic guidance and technical support to help ensure the success of space missions. As approaches to space exploration continue to shift, it remains a key player in shaping space policy and equipment development. Its new headquarters is in Chantilly, Virginia, just outside D.C.
Founded: 2011
Mapbox offers a location data platform that provides maps, turn-by-turn navigation and location search and data to developers. Reaching more than 600 million people each month, the company enables organizations like Facebook and Lonely Planet to design and build their own applications. Companies from a wide range of industries use Mapbox’s platform for asset tracking, interactive storytelling, real-time mapping, on-demand logistics, data visualization, and more.
Founded: 2000
Founded by John M. Falk, Compressus is a medical software company that offers workflow and telemedicine applications for medical image management. Their MEDxConnect solution enables the use of patient information throughout the healthcare organization by anticipating clinician and administrator requirements and presenting relevant electronic patient information, clinical data, lab results and medical images for review, analysis and treatment. Acquired by Versata Enterprises in 2015, Compressus has received $18.8 million in funding since its founding.
Founded: 2009
Founded by Laura O’Shaughnessy, Code3 is an insights company that manages digital advertising for consumer brands. The company’s Audience Intelligence Platform allows companies to harness the power of customer data, enabling marketers to prospect and acquire their highest value customers. Code3 is dedicated to delivering actionable insights from customer data on advertising platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter.
Founded: 2007
Afiniti has created an AI platform that identifies behavioral patterns to transform the quality of interpersonal relationships for businesses. The company’s Enterprise Behavioral Pairing technology uses data to pair individuals on the basis of behavior, thus leading to more successful interactions and increasing enterprise profitability. Afiniti works with a wide range of clients including Virgin Media, Caesars, AXA Direct Insurance and G6 Hospitality.
Founded: 2021
Bonterra builds software solutions intended to help nonprofits, corporations, public agencies and other organizations make a positive social impact through philanthropic and volunteer opportunities. Its products offer users tools for handling important functions like optimizing websites for fundraising initiatives and managing grant programs.
Founded: 2014
Launched by Alex Wirth and Jonathan Marks, Quorum develops software for public affairs professionals, providing a place for stakeholder engagement, legislative tracking and grassroots advocacy. The company lets users map, track, change and report on the policy landscape in one place. Quorum is used by various congressional offices and organizations including General Motors, Club for Growth, Toyota and The United Nations Foundation.
Founded: 2013
Learning how to navigate complex and sometimes messy data sets has become imperative for many companies, so Kensho has designed cutting-edge solutions. Tapping into the data of S&P Global, the organization is able to reconfigure and sift through information with advanced machine learning technology. With Kensho’s solutions and the latest abilities of artificial intelligence, companies can analyze data faster than ever.
Founded: 2010
Established by Adam Vitarello and Tobin Moore, Optoro helps brands and retailers manage and process returned and excessive inventory. Using data and real-time decision making, the company helps improve the customer experience, grow top-line revenue, reduce costs and drive sustainability. Optoro works with a variety of retailers and brands such as IKEA, Target, Staples, Groupon and Under Armour.
Founded: 1997
Athenium Analytics offers advanced data analytics solutions that measure, manage and mitigate critical risks. The company gives businesses the tools to forecast their own success, empowering leaders within insurance, construction, agriculture and finance to effectively assess risks, analyze weather conditions and improve operations. Athenium Analytics’ client base includes Guidewire, In-Q-Tel, IBM, Pure Insurance and Celina Insurance Group.
Founded: 1999
EastBanc Technologies is a full-lifecycle product development firm that helps clients adapt to ever-changing market demands. Backed by a team of data scientists, engineers and architects, the company offers a variety of solutions spanning DevOps, cloud, DataOps and API services. EastBanc Technologies is dedicated to offering flexible and affordable solutions to businesses, thus enabling them to innovate, save money and rescue timelines.
