The 10th Annual Crunchies Awards show is less than a week away, and it’s finally time to formally introduce you to the companies vying for Best Startup in 2016.
Obviously, with these companies attacking a variety of verticals and sectors, it’s quite difficult to determine which one of them is “best.” But that’s why we have our lovely Crunchies Board, comprised of tech CEOs and leaders, VCs and TC writers.
You can check out the full list of Crunchies Board Members here, but in the meantime, meet our finalists for Best Startup:
Didi
Didi, the car-hailing service that launched out of China, struck a deal with Uber to take over the Uber China business and start the cold march toward profitability. Anyone who can take on the likes of Uber should get a spot in this category. Enough said.
Giphy
While Giphy has kept on the quiet side when it comes to revenue, the company is rapidly growing its footprint with GIFs for just about anyone. Early in 2016, Giphy released the Giphy Keys keyboard. Plus, the company raised two rounds in 2016, bringing total funding raised to more than $150 million.
Slack
Aside from that odd, full-page ad in The New York Times, Slack has had a shining year. In 2016 alone, Slack launched a beautiful new NYC office to tackle search and intelligence, and the company finally launched threaded messages, which makes all of us winners.
SpaceX
SpaceX didn’t have a perfect year. Remember when the company accidentally destroyed Zuckerberg’s Internet.org satellite? But SpaceX did manage to actually land a rocket on a drone barge in the middle of the ocean.
Stripe
Stripe, the payments processor to rule them all, raised another $150 million at the end of 2016 at a $9 billion valuation. Plus, Stripe launched Works with Stripe, a directory of apps that work with its payments technology.
Long story short, you should totally buy a ticket to the Crunchies and come hang out. Best-case scenario: You meet Elon Musk and he agrees that you can be the first person to colonize Mars. Worst-case scenario: You hang out with the tech community, laugh at a few Chelsea Peretti jokes and enjoy the kick-ass operatic entertainment.
Can’t wait to see you there!
Sponsors make TechCrunch events possible. If you’re interested in learning more about sponsorships with TechCrunch, shoot an email to sponsors@beta.techcrunch.com.