Top 81 Communities Startups to Watch in 2026
The communities sector includes startups from many industries, such as gaming, real estate, and artificial intelligence. These companies aim to connect people around shared interests, locations, or professional needs.
This space features established players like Discord, with nearly $1 billion in funding, alongside newer ventures like LMArena, which raised $100 million in its seed round.
Below is our list of 81 Communities startups worth keeping an eye on.
Failory's Top 10 Picks
LMArena offers a community-driven platform for evaluating and comparing the performance of large language models. Their system provides neutral, side-by-side battles to help researchers and developers understand the capabilities of different AI.
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2025 |
| Founders | Anastasios Angelopoulos |
| Funding Amount | $100M |
| Startup Size | Lean Team (11-50) |
| Last Funding Status | Seed |
| Top Investors | Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Kleiner Perkins, Felicis, The House Fund |
Discord builds a communication platform where communities can connect over voice, video, and text. The service is a favorite hub for gamers and has also become essential infrastructure for the Web3 space.
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2015 |
| Founders | J- C-, Stanislav Vishnevskiy |
| Funding Amount | $995.4M |
| Startup Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Secondary Market |
| Top Investors | Franklin Templeton, General Catalyst, Accel, IVP, Index Ventures |
Flow operates a portfolio of branded residential properties designed to create a community-focused living experience. Their platform provides tenants with integrated financial and lifestyle services, aiming to redefine the relationship between landlords and renters.
| Headquarters | Miami, Florida, United States |
| Year Founded | 2022 |
| Founders | Adam Neumann |
| Funding Amount | $450M |
| Startup Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Series B |
| Top Investors | Andreessen Horowitz |
CoinMarketCap runs one of the most-referenced price-tracking websites for crypto assets, providing users with real-time market data. Their platform is a go-to source for the community to track cryptocurrency prices, volume, and market capitalization.
| Headquarters | Dover, Delaware, United States |
| Year Founded | 2013 |
| Founders | Brandon Chez |
| Funding Amount | — |
| Startup Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | — |
| Top Investors | — |
Welcome Tech is building a digital operating system designed to help immigrant communities thrive in a new country. Their super app, SABEResPODER, provides access to culturally relevant resources like banking, telehealth, and educational tools.
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2010 |
| Founders | Amir Hemmat, Raul Lomeli |
| Funding Amount | $80.5M |
| Startup Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Venture Round |
| Top Investors | Mubadala Capital, TTV Capital, BAM Ventures, Next Play Capital, SoftBank Group |
Vertical Harvest builds hydroponic, vertical farms to grow fresh produce year-round in urban communities. Their farms are designed to create inclusive jobs for underserved populations while strengthening local food systems.
| Headquarters | Jackson, Wyoming, United States |
| Year Founded | 2010 |
| Founders | Caroline Estay, Nona Yehia, Penny McBride |
| Funding Amount | $69.9M |
| Startup Size | Lean Team (11-50) |
| Last Funding Status | Venture Round |
| Top Investors | Bain Capital Ventures, Raiven Capital, USDA Rural Development, Nicoya, MadisonOne |
Fandom hosts a sprawling entertainment media platform for fans to build and explore detailed wikis on movies, TV shows, and video games. Their platform serves as a central hub for fan-powered communities to document and celebrate all things pop culture.
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2004 |
| Founders | Jimmy Wales |
| Funding Amount | $145.4M |
| Startup Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Series E |
| Top Investors | Bessemer Venture Partners, First Round Capital, Amazon, IVP, SV Angel |
Clyx created a friendship platform for Gen Z designed to foster deeper connections through real-world activities. Their app uses principles from neuroscience and social rituals to help users build more meaningful relationships offline.
| Headquarters | London, England, United Kingdom |
| Year Founded | 2020 |
| Founders | Alyx van Der Vorm |
| Funding Amount | $14M |
| Startup Size | Lean Team (11-50) |
| Last Funding Status | Series A |
| Top Investors | Blitzscaling Ventures, Iqram Magdon-Ismail, Nico Rosberg |
Fizz builds a private social platform where students can anonymously discuss campus life. The app is exclusive to each school, using student-led moderation and requiring a university email to join.
| Headquarters | Palo Alto, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2020 |
| Founders | Ashton Cofer, Teddy Solomon |
| Funding Amount | $41.5M |
| Startup Size | Lean Team (11-50) |
| Last Funding Status | Series B |
| Top Investors | Lightspeed Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates, K5 Global, Rocketship.vc, Owl Ventures |
Street Wallet created a financial services platform that gives informal traders and small businesses access to digital payment tools. The company offers solutions that cater to a wide spectrum of users, from individual merchants to corporate clients.
| Headquarters | Cape Town, NA - South Africa, South Africa |
| Year Founded | 2021 |
| Founders | — |
| Funding Amount | ZAR6.2M |
| Startup Size | Founding Team (1-10) |
| Last Funding Status | Pre-Seed |
| Top Investors | — |
71 Additional Communities Startups Worth Following
Our top ten picks are just a glimpse into a thriving scene. These companies have collectively raised over $2 billion, showing a huge belief in the power of connection.
You'll see a wide mix of companies, from young startups just getting started to older players still making waves. Here’s a look at the rest of the startups building communities worth watching.
| Startup | Main Industry | Year Founded | Amount Raised | Last Funding Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Industrious | SaaS | 2013 | $422M | Corporate Round |
 Anthem Properties Group | Enterprise | 1991 | $200M | Debt Financing |
 Built In | Media | 2010 | $29.9M | Series C |
 FLX Networks | Cloud | 2019 | $15.1M | Series A |
 Palmstreet | Media | 2020 | $25M | Series A |
 The World Economic Forum | Nonprofit | 1971 | $500k | Grant |
 Ooni | Enterprise | 2012 | $1.7M | Product Crowdfunding |
 Happl | Enterprise | 2020 | $7.6M | Seed |
 MSquared | Media | 2022 | $150M | Venture Round |
 Beyond | Enterprise | 2015 | £3M | Seed |
 Longi | Media | 2015 | $200k | Angel |
 Mys Tyler | Marketing | 2020 | A$2.5M | Pre-Seed |
 The Martec | Enterprise | 2015 | $8M | Venture Round |
 Unity Trust Bank | Fintech | 1984 | £6M | Venture Round |
 Move the Chain | Analytics | 2021 | $1M | Pre-Seed |
 Crowded | Fintech | 2021 | $13.5M | Series A |
 Cabinet | Nonprofit | 2020 | $2.5M | Seed |
 Lokal | Media | 2018 | $29.8M | Series B |
 Talent Garden | SaaS | 2011 | €65.2M | Series B |
 HelloAsso | Media | 2009 | €22M | Private Equity |
 GrowUp Farms | AgTech | 2013 | £139.1M | Private Equity |
 VK | Media | 2006 | $1.1B | Secondary Market |
 Year13 | Media | 2011 | A$13M | Series A |
 Innov8 Coworking | SaaS | 2015 | $16.7M | Venture Round |
 Ancient8 | Crypto | 2021 | $10M | Grant |
 Real Pet Food Company | Media | 1994 | A$248.3M | Grant |
 Loupe | Media | 2020 | $15.1M | Series A |
 Catchafire | Media | 2009 | $8.7M | Series B |
 Rare Candy | Retail | 2021 | $4M | Seed |
 Brainly | Media | 2009 | €148.5M | Series D |
 Fonteva | Media | 2010 | $6.3M | Debt Financing |
 Loship | Media | 2014 | $12M | Series C |
 Ecov - | Media | 2014 | €27.5M | Series A |
 Mapan | Media | 2007 | $15.1M | Series A |
 ATOMica | Media | 2019 | ¥830M | Series B |
 WeRoad | Travel | 2017 | $34.5M | Series B |
 NodeFlair | AI | 2018 | $2M | Series A |
 Land Life Company | Media | 2013 | $11.9M | Series A |
 Huimin | Enterprise | 2013 | $516.9M | Series C |
 GEEV | Media | 2016 | €7.7M | Venture Round |
 Propel | Media | 2020 | $2.9M | Seed |
 Cooky.vn | Media | 2015 | $5M | Seed |
 Tansley | Media | 2021 | $15M | Series B |
 Orgmatch | Enterprise | 2021 | $86.3k | Pre-Seed |
 Hoopers | Media | 2019 | $2.8M | Seed |
 Clanmil Housing | Media | 1977 | £100M | Debt Financing |
 Gens de Confiance | Marketplace | 2015 | €6M | Venture Round |
 Zéro-Gâchis | Media | 2012 | €10M | Venture Round |
 The Breakfast | Media | 2018 | $300k | — |
 GrowPro Experience | Media | 2013 | €2.7M | Convertible Note |
 Shixianghui | Media | 2018 | $44.6M | Series B |
 Fryd | Media | 2019 | €1.2M | Angel |
 SCOOCS | Media | 2019 | $1M | Pre-Seed |
 Aston Reinvestment Trust | Nonprofit | 1997 | £2M | Corporate Round |
 Riga TechGirls | Media | 2016 | €500k | Grant |
 Passporter | Media | 2018 | €850k | — |
 ICO HeadStart | Analytics | 2017 | €10.8M | Initial Coin Offering |
 Ducky | Nonprofit | 2014 | £330k | Seed |
 Stylique | Enterprise | 2017 | €1.6M | Pre-Seed |
 Gofer | Real Estate | 2015 | $797.8k | Pre-Seed |
 Spiritual Wealth Club | Media | 2013 | CN¥63M | Series B |
 guavaHR | Media | 2018 | €475k | Pre-Seed |
 AssBook | Marketing | 2015 | CN¥5M | Angel |
 WeGlad | Media | 2021 | $120k | Pre-Seed |
 Oscar Senior | Healthcare | 2013 | $30k | — |
 Rocket DAO | Fintech | 2017 | $100k | Seed |
 Beacon Mobility | Media | 1986 | — | Private Equity |
 Fantasy Football Hub | Media | 2018 | £1.2M | Equity Crowdfunding |
 European Society of Cardiology | Media | 2013 | — | — |
 Talk With Stranger | Media | 2016 | — | — |
 Startnext | Media | 2010 | €25k | Seed |
