Insights
Jan 15, 2022
Insights
Feb 20, 2023
Top Startup Studios of 2023
The startup studio business model, also known as venture studios, continues to grow. As the world regains momentum post-pandemic, we have studios developing startups in new industries with unexpected focuses. In 2022, we saw studios globally fine-tune their model and make headlines. Not only did these studios see tremendous growth, but their companies have also gained traction, proving that the startup studio model is here to stay.
Startup studios amplified growth in areas of healthcare and medical technology, which is expected to continue in 2023. Additionally, mobile and web app growth among studios continues to thrive, another trend of 2023 we have shared in our recent insights.
We are proud to bring the 2023 top startup studio list! It is ranked based on their contribution to the startup ecosystem and top-performing startups. We are thrilled to see new studios on this year's list as they break through the noise and emerge as successful companies.
Top Startup Studios of 2023
Alive Ventures
Alive Ventures is a startup studio that imagines and builds companies, products, and services that help older adults live, work, and love. Alive Ventures has formally spun out of the Scan Foundation. Alive Ventures helps de-risk the traditional startup process while attracting high-caliber design and entrepreneurial talent to its mission. In 2022, they had three team members recognized among the “2022 Emerging Women Investors In Latin American Tech.”
Location: Los Angeles, CA, United States
Founder: John Zapolski
Companies
AlleyCorp
AlleyCorp is a startup studio that funds companies and invests in early-stage businesses. AlleyCorp is exclusively focused on investing in transformational companies in New York City. Since its inception as a venture/idea studio, AlleyCorp originates the idea, forms the founding team, funds the initial 6–12 months, launches the company, and maintains integral leadership throughout the company's lifecycle. In 2022, Alley Corp put massive efforts into launching two new health solutions, Auxa Health, and Synapse Bio. Auxa Health aims to help healthcare organizations bridge the gap between individuals and their access to health benefits. Synapse Bio is working to detect dementia sooner with their machine learning technology.
Location: New York, NY, United States
Founders: Dwight Merriman, Kevin Ryan
Companies
Atomic
Atomic is a startup studio founded by Jack Abraham and Steph Mui in 2012. They pioneered the model of bringing together ideas, talent, and capital to start multiple companies in parallel. In 2022, their company, Found, a science-based weight care company, partnered with Instacart. Additionally, Atomic partnered with Brex, a business credit card company, to host a dinner that invited the next generation of entrepreneurs to connect and grow together.
Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Founders: Jack Abraham, Steph Mui
Companies
Betaworks
They are an early-stage venture capital firm and startup studio that is based in New York City. They work with entrepreneurs and founding teams to conceive, launch, and scale new companies. They provide a range of resources, support, and expertise to help startups succeed in their early stage. Their companies did some serious fundraising in 2022 with Hidden Door raising $7 million and Stardust raising $2.2 million.
Location: New York, New York, United States
Founders: Andy Weissman, Billy Chasen, John Borthwick
Companies:
Builders
Builders is a Rotterdam-based startup studio designed to build and grow technology companies from scratch by bringing together bold ideas, seasoned co-founders, operational support, and investment capital. In 2022, one of Builders' ventures, Obeyo, was nominated in two categories of the Coliving Awards -Content & Media and PropTech & ConTech.
Location: Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
Founders: Alex Buis, Michael Lier
Companies
Coplex
Coplex is a corporate startup studio that turns the art of building businesses into a repeatable science. The Coplex Startup Studio combines the right team and a proven 9-12 month program to experiment and rapidly execute winning ideas to maximize your chance of success. In 2022, their portfolio company, Smile Virtual, was acquired by Udo, which marked their first acquisition.
Location: Phoenix, AZ, United States
Founders: Anthony Johnson, Ilya Pozin, Nikola Mickic
Companies
eFounders
This startup studio was founded in France in 2011. They have a strong presence in the field of entrepreneurship and building the future of work. eFounders notes that 2022 was a year of change for them as the tech industry continued to shift. They welcomed 35 companies with three of them being unicorns in addition to launching a web3 startup studio, 3founders.
Location: Paris, Ile-de-France, France
Founders: Thibaud Elziere, Quentin Nickmans
Companies
Expa
Founded by Garret Camp in 2013, they have a diverse portfolio across an array of industries. In addition to being a startup studio, they focus on investing in portfolio companies and helping them raise additional capital. They have supported 100+ founders and reached millions of users throughout their time. They had an incredible year in 2022 with Loop raising $30 million in funding and Convey being named No. 6 on the CNBC Disruptor 50.
Location
Founder: Garret Camp
Companies
Flashbulb Games
Denmark studio Flashbulb is a small startup studio with big ambitions. They are individual experts in their fields and are battle-proven as a team. They have all worked together for years at the recently closed Microsoft Studio, Press Play, and some of them have been making games together for a decade. In 2022, they were nominated for four categories of the Spilprisen Awards, including Game Of The Year, Best Game Design, Best Visuals, and Best Audio.
Location: Copenhagen, Hovedstaden, Denmark
Founders: Mikkel Thorsted, Rune Dittmer
Games
GrowValley
GrowValley is a UAE-based startup studio and fund. They are on a mission to build disruptive startups with influential partners to create extraordinary growth. In 2022, GrowValley had a busy year with the launch of ShamsValley, a new venture builder, in partnership with Sharjah Media City. This joint venture builder will focus on problems in the media industry, and work to invent and invest in solutions.
Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Founders: Asisha Mathews, Jazeer Jamal, William J. Daly
Company
High Alpha
They are a startup studio based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They were founded in 2015 by Scott Dorsey, Eric Tobias, and Mike Fitzgerald. They work to combine entrepreneurship, venture capital, and company building to create an impressive portfolio. In 2022, they ran a speaker series highlighting people within the ecosystem and providing resources for founders to learn. In addition, they launched Stitch, a marketing segment.
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Foundesr: Scott Dorsey, Eric Tobias, and Mike Fitzgerald
Companies:
Human Ventures
Human Ventures is a startup studio based in New York City that focuses on launching and scaling companies. Founded in 2015 by Joe Marchese, Human Ventures follows a unique model that combines the aspects of both venture capital and startup incubation. They were recently featured in Forbes for their national expansion and $4.4 million seed raise for TBD Health putting them in a position to start 2023 on the right foot, leading the way for the ecosystem.
Location: New York, New York, United States
Founder: Joe Marchese, Heather Hartnett
Companies:
Indigo Lab Inc
Indigo Lab Inc is a New York-based startup studio that is dedicated to ConsciousTech and creates ventures that contribute to a collective conscious evolution with the mission to lower human suffering and foster human flourishing. In 2022, Indigo raised over $1 million in funding to build conscious tech companies and shared insights from their dive into the psychedelic industry.
Location: New York, NY, United States
Founder: Pierre Giraud
Companies
Madrona Venture Labs
Madrona Venture Labs is a startup studio that builds companies from scratch. Based in Seattle and housed at Madrona Venture Group, Madrona Venture Labs makes use of money from its funds to incubate concepts and recruit a management crew to ultimately run the enterprise. In 2022, they announced their new event, Launchable, an event series for venture-scale startups. They will have industry experts discuss foundation models and hope to spark inspiration for early founders by offering them the chance to pitch their idea.
Location: Seattle, WA, United States
Founders: Sam Clark, Steve Jarvis
Companies
OSS Ventures
OSS Ventures puts a heavy focus on building software solutions in partnership with innovative tech founders. They created over ten companies within a two-year time span, and in 2022 they launched two brands, Vertical and Juno. Vertical is a platform that increases efficiency by reducing costs and prioritizing better project management. Juno is a one-stop shop digital operational system.
Location: Paris, Ile-de-Paris, France
Founder: Renan Devillieres
Companies:
Pioneer Square Labs (PSL)
PSL is a startup studio and venture capital fund. PSL exists to champion the next generation of founders by bringing together world-class talent, big ideas, and investment capital. They work with the best entrepreneurs in the Pacific Northwest to turn the best ideas into fully-funded companies with rapid customer adoption. PSL had an extremely busy year with the investment in Outgo and Starfish Space, in addition to their startup Shipium being added to the “Most Promising Startups of 2022” list by The Information.
Location: Seattle, WA, United States
Founder: Greg Gottesman
Companies
Wilbur Labs
Wilbur Labs are best known for top-ranking ventures, Vacation Renter, and Joblist. Their founders work to turn entrepreneurs' big ideas into market-leading companies. In 2022, they launched their Founder FAQ series, and VacationRenter received a Travel Weekly Magellan Award.
Location: San Francisco, CA, United States
Founders: Phil Santoro, David Kolodny
Companies
75 & Sunny
75 & Sunny was created to support and mentor startups and their leaders in LA and beyond. Its team provides 75 & Sunny companies with a broad range of support, including leadership coaching, marketing and PR advice, brand amplification, product strategy, recruiting, access to a broad network of partners that include top venture capital and private equity firms, overall mentorship, and help with subsequent fundraising. In 2022, they invested in five companies including Route, Luxury Presence, Hive Mapper, Robin Golf, and Invisible Universe.
Location: Los Angeles, CA, United States
Founder: Spencer Rascoff
Companies
We will be keeping up with these top studios throughout the year, and we expect exciting things to come. Be sure you stay up to date on all things startup studios by following us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.
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