Over the past decade the term startup has been a buzz-word with increasing frequency. The official definition of a startup is as following: Early stage in the life cycle of an enterprise where the entrepreneur moves from the idea stage to securing financing, laying down the basis structure of the business, and initiating operations or trading.*
Global Innovation Management Institute (GIMI) list of Top 10 Most Innovative Startups is based on five main criteria: (1) innovative business model, (2) responsive to future trends, (3) has a disruptive solution to the problem, (4) attracts over $1 million of investments in first year, and (5) has established international/global presence.
Scroll down to find out what are the Top 10 Most Innovative Startups.
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Canva is the Sydney, Australia-based online graphic design platform, founded in 2012. It offers  a free graphic-design tool website, that has an easy to use drag-and-drop interface and provides access to over a million options for graphics, pictures and fonts. Canva follows its well-known mantra âAmazingly simple graphic design.â By the  end of 2016 Canvaâs funding was valued at  $345 million.
Desktop Metal is pioneering the advancement of technology in the metal 3D printing. Its mission is to bring metal 3D printing to all design and manufacturing teams and make 3D metal printing available even to small and medium-sized companies, which couldnât afford it before. It speeds up prototyping and innovation across all industries. Metal 3D printers allow businesses to construct and test components for new medical devices, robots and vehicles. Desktop Metal has raised  $97 million in equity funding since its founding in 2015.
D-Orbit is an Italian startup headquartered in Milan with branches in the other Italian cities, Portugal and the USA. D-Orbit steps into the future and approaches the problem of space debris. It was founded in 2011 by a team of experienced aerospace professionals and it aims to mitigate the problem of space debris, removing them through a decommissioning device that is installed in new space-crafts before launch.
Laurel & Wolf allows shared economies to step in to the field of interior design. By definition Laurel & Wolf is an interior design service that connects its users with top designers to transform usersâ space, all online for a low, flat fee. Web-based platform started in 2014, and already by 2015 it raised $5.5 million.
Pearl makes cars smart. It believes the latest automotive technology should be available to every driver â whether it is an old or new car. The first product of Pearl is a license plate frame that connects to userâs phone, giving a back-up camera if the car doesn’t come with one. Pearl was launched in 2016 and raised $50 million in funding.
Rappi, a one-year-old startup based in Colombia, that aims to deliver âeverything â under on-demand delivery principle. Rappi has already completed more than one million deliveries in Colombia and Mexico, and its reach extends beyond. The Latin American market is well suited for on-demand delivery services, since there growing middle class enjoys the idea of their food and groceries being delivered to them via motorcycles and bicycles. Rappi plans to expand to the other Latin America countries over the next year.
Slack started as an internal tool used in the company, and later turned into globally recognized team communication platform. Today it is an integral  part of many teams in tech. It brings all communication tools used by company together; from support requests, code check-ins, and error logs to sales leads. The main differentiator is the possibility to create companyâs own channels for the communication, either based on department, project or other. In 2016 Slack was awarded as Fastest Rising Startup.
Snapchat – technology and social media company behind messaging app. The Snapchat app popular mobile app allows its users to send videos and pictures, both of which will self destruct after a few seconds of a person viewing them. The app’s focus on fun features like stickers, drawing tools, and augmented-reality filters has helped Snapchat grow to more than 150 million daily users and become a hot advertising platform, with a projected 2017 ad revenue of over $935 million. From personal usage Snapchat becomes one of the most popular business promotional platforms.Â
Two Estonian entrepreneurs Taavet and Kristo spotted a problem: Banks hiding huge charges in unfair exchange rates. They established the TransferWise, the startup that focuses on eliminating high bank fees from foreign exchanges by matching its users based on the currency they have and require.
WeLab is one of the most funded startups in Asia, with raising $160 million as for 2016 first quarter information. Founded in 2013 in Hong Kong, WeLab is internet finance technology company, which mission is to innovate traditional credit services in order to better serve consumers with a cheaper, faster and more hassle-free way of borrowing money. It reinvents traditional financial services by creating seamless mobile lending experiences.Â
The Top 10 Most Innovative Startups
