2023 was a challenging year for many founders and entrepreneurs. Silicon Valley Bank closed and venture capital dollars were hard to come by.
Colorado companies raised $4.24 billion in 2023, a significant decrease from the $6.07 billion raised the year prior, according to the PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor report released in early January.
Yet, companies forged through. They became resilient and found ways to continue innovating, scale their teams and support other startups.
And new endeavors launched. According to a September 2023 report from the Downtown Denver Partnership, 1,548 tech startups are based in the Denver city center. That’s an increase of 244 startups compared to the 2021-22 DDP Entrepreneurship & Innovation report.
Colorado Inno is celebrating the wins of 2023 and looking ahead to potential accomplishments in 2024 with our annual Startups to Watch.
Here, we’ve selected 20 early-stage Colorado ventures worth keeping an eye on in the year ahead, including an accelerator program, gluten-free manufacturer, AI platform for educators and companies working to save water and suppress wildfires.
This year, we’ve split our 20 winners into five categories.
- Consumer applications: From affirmations for the Black community and a mindfulness solution for mothers to a home maintenance platform, these apps are diving into 2024.
- Environment: These four ventures are building environmental solutions, ranging from water management to suppressing fires.
- Food, drink and travel: Hailing from Denver, Aspen and Longmont, these startups are manufacturing gluten-free cinnamon rolls, vegan gummy vitamins for teenagers and kids, non-alcoholic beer and wine and travel-sized beauty products made with women of color in mind.
- Innovation: This list includes five innovative companies tapping into sports marketing, working with underrepresented tech founders and developing tech for mobile robots, AI for teachers and quantum technology.
- Software: Colorado has become a software tech hub over the years, with solutions ranging from ridesharing for medical appointments to a platform that connects businesses with government bid opportunities.
