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Top 15 Irvine Startups to Watch in 2026

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Irvine's startup scene is marked by its wide range of industries, from software and financial technology to life sciences.

Significant funding rounds highlight this growth, with companies like SaaS platform Kajabi raising $550M and Fintech firm Acorns securing $510M. These companies represent the upper tier of a dynamic and expanding local economy.

Below is our list of 15 Irvine startups worth keeping an eye on.

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Carro built a collaborative commerce platform that lets e-commerce stores sell products from other brands without holding inventory. Their marketplace connects retailers looking to expand their catalogs with DTC suppliers seeking new sales channels.

Year Founded2015
FoundersDavid Perry, Jason Goldberg
Funding Amount$50M
Startup SizeLean Team (11-50)
Last Funding StatusSeries B
Top InvestorsAlumni Ventures, Corazon Capital, Kli Capital, PayPal Ventures, Evolution Ventures

Syntiant develops ultra-low-power semiconductors that run AI models directly on edge devices. The company’s Neural Decision Processors power always-on voice, audio, and sensor features in consumer and industrial electronics.

Year Founded2017
FoundersJeremy Holleman, Kurt Busch, Pieter Vorenkamp, Steph Bailey
Funding Amount$91.4M
Startup SizeMajor Organization (1,001-5,000)
Last Funding StatusVenture Round
Top InvestorsAlumni Ventures, Microsoft, Atlantic Bridge, Khazanah Nasional, Bosch Ventures

Acorns offers a financial app that automatically invests spare change from users' daily purchases, a concept known as micro-investing. Their platform is designed to make building wealth accessible by combining saving, retirement, and banking tools into one service for beginners.

Year Founded2012
FoundersJason Martell, Jeff Cruttenden, Mark Dru, Walter Cruttenden
Funding Amount$510M
Startup SizeLarge Team (251-1,000)
Last Funding StatusSeries F
Top InvestorsHeadline, TPG, BlackRock, Industry Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures

Rapid Nexus builds a wound treatment system for chronic and nonhealing wounds. Its proprietary hydrogel delivers a continuous stream of oxygen to the wound bed, accelerating the healing process and reducing infection risk.

Year Founded2020
FoundersMargaret Kalmeta
Funding Amount$3.8M
Startup SizeFounding Team (1-10)
Last Funding StatusSeed
Top Investors

Nullspace develops modern computer-aided engineering software for radio frequency applications. Their simulation suite helps engineers design and analyze complex electromagnetic systems for the aerospace, automotive, and electronics industries.

Year Founded2023
FoundersDaniel Faircloth, Jason Keen, Masha Petrova
Funding Amount$3.2M
Startup SizeFounding Team (1-10)
Last Funding StatusSeed
Top InvestorsFathom Fund, Golden Seeds, SummitSpark Partners

Kajabi builds an all-in-one platform for knowledge entrepreneurs to create, market, and sell digital content like online courses and membership sites. The system combines website building, payment processing, and marketing automation to help creators run their entire online business in one place.

Year Founded2009
FoundersKenny Rueter, Travis Rosser
Funding Amount$550M
Startup SizeLarge Team (251-1,000)
Last Funding StatusPrivate Equity
Top InvestorsTPG, Spectrum Equity, Meritech Capital Partners, Tiger Global Management, Owl Rock Capital

Turion Space builds and operates DROID satellites to address national security needs in space. Their technology provides space domain awareness and is designed for tasks like orbital debris removal and satellite servicing.

Year Founded2021
FoundersPatryk Wiatr, Ryan Westerdahl, Tyler James Pierce
Funding Amount$27.8M
Startup SizeMid-Size Team (51-250)
Last Funding StatusSeries A
Top InvestorsGaingels, Y Combinator, Veteran Ventures Capital, Correlation Ventures, Pegasus Tech Ventures

Kantata develops a professional services automation platform used by organizations to manage their entire project lifecycle. The purpose-built software provides clarity and control through integrated tools for resource management, project accounting, and business intelligence.

Year Founded2008
FoundersRaymond Grainger, Roger Neel, Sean Crafts
Funding Amount$111.5M
Startup SizeLarge Team (251-1,000)
Last Funding StatusSeries E
Top InvestorsGoldman Sachs Growth Equity, Silicon Valley Bank, Carrick Capital Partners

Caylent helps companies design, build, and manage their cloud infrastructure on Amazon Web Services. As an AWS Premier Partner, they focus on cloud native services, including data engineering and application modernization.

Year Founded2015
FoundersJP La Torre, Stefan Thorpe
Funding Amount$16.2M
Startup SizeLarge Team (251-1,000)
Last Funding StatusPrivate Equity
Top InvestorsGryphon Investors, (ERA) Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator, East Los Capital, Tolga Tarhan, Stephen Garden

Wing Assistant provides businesses with on-demand virtual assistants to manage daily operational tasks. Their assistants handle everything from CRM and social media management to research and executive support.

Year Founded2018
FoundersKaran Kanwar, Martin Gomez, Roland Polzin, Saideep Gupta
Funding Amount$2.2M
Startup SizeMajor Organization (1,001-5,000)
Last Funding StatusSeed
Top InvestorsBerkeley SkyDeck Fund, SkyDeck Berkeley, Surface Ventures, Brookstone Venture Capital, UCI Applied Innovation

5 Additional Irvine Startups Worth Following

But our main list is just the beginning. Other Irvine founders are building in diverse fields like fintech and sports, and together have raised over $1.6 billion.

Their companies range from brand new to more than a decade old. Here are the other startups that complete our list.

StartupIndustryYear FoundedAmount RaisedLast Funding Round
ModRetro logo ModRetroHardware2024$19.1MUndisclosed
Hyperice logo HypericeSports2011$147.8MDebt Financing
Qcells logo QcellsEnergy2015$1.5BDebt Financing
LendAPI logo LendAPIFintech2024$3.2MSeed
AGTools logo AGToolsAgTech2017$4.2MSeed

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