Memfault Named to the 2021 Big50 Startup Report, Startup50.com’s Report on the Top Startups in Tech

Memfault’s device observability platform gives IoT device developers the tools to accelerate product development and easily monitor and update products after release

Connected device observability platform provider Memfault has been named a “Hot Startup to Watch” in Startup50’s 2021 Big50 Startup Report. Memfault’s observability platform for connected devices gives firmware engineers and connected device developers the speed and agility that previously had only been available to software developers. Instead of building costly in-house solutions or managing a patchwork of different tools, developers have a single solution for fleetwide device updating, monitoring, and debugging at scale.

The 2021 Big50 Startup Report spotlights 50 high-upside startups that have gained a foothold in fast-growth tech sectors. Each year, Startup50 features startups that are poised to upend the status quo in a range of industries, from next-gen cybersecurity to SD-WAN to AI to IoT. The startups featured in the 2021 Big50 are the best of the best, the startups that have distinguished themselves through online competitions and/or having the right fundamentals (team, funding, market opportunity) to challenge the status quo.

Jeff Vance founded Startup50 in 2013 as a site that would focus exclusively on hot technology startups. Rather than simply covering the startups and subjectively declaring certain startups “hot” or “disruptive” or “unicorns,” however, Jeff sought a more objective selection process. The idea was to come up with a system, one featuring rigorous competitions and challenges, that would strip away the spin and force startups to focus on what really matters: real people and the real-world problems they’re struggling to overcome.

Big50 Alums Had Big Years in 2019 and 2020

Since the last Big50 published in 2019, several Big50 alumni have gone on to accomplish big things. Big50 alumni not only raised new VC rounds, but several also executed successful exits via IPOs or acquisitions. On the IPO front, Asana, Cloudflare, Ping Identity, Rackspace, Snowflake, and Sumo Logic all achieved successful IPOs since our last report published in 2019.  These follow Big50 alumni Elastic, Pivotal Software, and Zscaler, which all exited in 2018. This past two years also saw a number of major acquisitions; VMware acquired both Datrium and Nyansa, Microsoft acquired CyberX, and Juniper purchased 128 Technologies for $450M. Arista acquired Awake Security; Fortinet purchased OPAQ, and Veeam acquired Kasten. Rancher Labs landed itself a $40M Series D round and then was acquired by SUSE shortly after.

How the Big50 Startup Competition Works

The startups in the 2021 Big50 faced a series of challenges designed to test their ability to carve out a market niche, refine messaging, motivate customers, and impress VCs. Startups are also judged on their ability to secure funding, land on-the-record customers, and attract top-flight talent.

“The startups in the 2021 Big50 Startup Report are challenging the status quo in a number of high-growth, high-tech markets, including networking, security, AI, IoT, cloud, and more,” said Jeff Vance, founder and Editor-in-Chief of Startup50. “Recent Big50 alumni have been acquired by market leaders, raised massive rounds of funding, and successfully executed IPOs. The startups in this year’s report are well-positioned to continue that growing tradition of successful exits. Of course, not every startup in the Big50 will upend markets, but I won’t be at all surprised if several of the startups in this report are household names in the not-too-distant future,” Vance added.

“I’ve been covering startups since the dotcom bubble first started to inflate. As a journalist, one of the most difficult challenges is separating the startups that are true contenders from the science projects,” Jeff said. “With so much noise in the startup world, finding any meaningful signals, especially ones that truly correlate with success, is an uphill battle. The startups in this report are the ones that have the right combination of attributes, such as funding and named customers, that show they’re ready to compete in cut-throat, high-growth markets.”

Memfault was founded in 2018 by embedded engineers from Pebble, Oculus, and Fitbit. After years of building custom solutions, founders François Baldassari, Chris Coleman, and Tyler Hoffman wanted to offer device developers everywhere an observability platform that could proactively monitor, update, patch, and debug devices instead of relying on the reactive process of needing customer feedback to be alerted to issues. Memfault allows developers end-to-end monitoring of fleetwide device health, and the capability to remotely push updates and fix bugs before end users are even aware of a problem. 

About Startup50.com and the 2021 Big50 Startup Report

Jeff Vance founded Startup50 in 2013 to establish a site that would evaluate, test, and track hot technology startups. Jeff also regularly contributed features stories to a number of publications, including Network World, CIO, IDG Insider Pro, and many others. The Big50 is Jeff’s yearly roundup of the hottest 50 tech startups to watch. To be featured in the Big50, startups must go through Startup50’s rigorous vetting process. The startups in this year’s report represent the technologies, market sectors, and trends that are poised to upend the economic status quo in the coming year and beyond. Read about them at www.startup50.com.

About Memfault

Memfault is the first cloud-based platform for connected device monitoring, debugging, and updating, which brings the efficiencies and innovation of software development to hardware processes. The company helps teams catch, triage, and fix bugs in the field before they are noticed by end-users. Consumer electronics, industrial automation, and IoT businesses across all industries rely on Memfault to deliver better products faster, without compromising stability and reliability, that improve over time. The company was founded by engineers with decades of experience from Fitbit, Oculus, and Pebble. Memfault is backed by Uncork Capital, Partech, S28 Capital, and Y Combinator.