The tech industry may be spreading all around the country, but the Bay Area remains ground zero for its hottest companies.
The region is home to more of the 500 fastest growing tech businesses — as well as more of the top 100 — than any other area in the country, according to a new study from Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd. What's more, there are more Bay Area companies on the quickest-growing list this year than there were last year, said Garrett Herbert, a managing partner in Deloitte's Silicon Valley office.
"It’s proof that there's no better place to innovate, create, disrupt and scale than Silicon Valley," he said.
For its report, Deloitte looked at how both public and private companies grew their revenue from the beginning of 2017 to the end of last year. It took a broad view of the tech industry, including companies operating in fields ranging from pharmaceuticals to software.
Some 103 Bay Area companies made the list, led by Coherus Biosciences Inc. (Nasdaq:CHRS). The Redwood City pharmaceutical company grew by 30,480% over the four-year period, making it the sixth-fastest growing company overall.
Among the other big Bay Area names on the list were Zoom Video Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:ZM), Twilio Inc. (NYSE:TWLO), Square Inc. (NYSE:SQ), Pinterest Inc. (NYSE:PINS), Roku Inc. (Nasdaq:ROKU) and Cloudflare Inc. (NYSE:NET). Most of the Bay Area fast-growers are based in San Francisco, but San Jose, South San Francisco, San Mateo, Redwood City and Mountain View were also well-represented on the list.
Among the top 100 fastest growing companies, 28 are based in the Bay Area. Just 10 are located in New York and only six in Massachusetts.
The Bay Area will likely keep its place as a top center for innovation and tech growth, Herbert said.
The region "has a history of innovation, a talent pool filled with smart, creative, entrepreneurial people, and a culture that embraces creativity and change," he said. "It's why we’ve been home to so many startups over the years, and why I'm confident the region will continue to be the top place to start a fast-growing tech company in the future."
