StartupBlink

590 Top startups in Santa Monica for August 2026

We rank Headspace, TrueCar and Rayton Solar in Santa Monica along with 587 other startups based on an algorithm that scores startups based on total investment, employee count, and quarterly website traffic. Santa Monica is part of Los Angeles Area startup ecosystem which ranks #4 globally and #3 in North America.

Powered by

Category

Startups

Unicorns

Exits

Coworking Spaces

Accelerators

Top Unicorn Startups in Santa Monica for 2026

Five startups have achieved unicorn status by exceeding USD 1 billion in valuation. Collectively, the top three unicorns in Santa Monica have raised more than USD 9.76B.
1st
Liquid Death logo
Liquid DeathSB Score: 602

Liquid Death offers 100% mountain water from the Australian Alps in eco-friendly cans. Stay hydrated with sustainable hydration in a can.

View Full Page
Website
liquiddeath.com
Employee range
251 – 500
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$260.6M
National Rank(United States)
Regional Rank(North America)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
2nd
Recharge logo
RechargeSB Score: 510

Recharge offers e-commerce businesses a subscription management software to simplify and optimize their operations. Streamline your subscriptions with ease and efficiency.

View Full Page
Website
rechargepayments.com
Employee range
501 – 1,000
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$277M
National Rank(United States)
Regional Rank(North America)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
3rd
Autograph logo
AutographSB Score: 365

Autograph is an NFT platform connecting iconic brands and legends in sports, entertainment, and culture to offer exclusive digital collections and experiences. Join us to access unique content from your favorite personalities and immerse yourself in the world of collectibles like never before.

View Full Page
Website
autograph.io
Employee range
1 – 10
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
National Rank(United States)
Regional Rank(North America)
Global Rank(Worldwide)

Total amount:5

Best Startups in Santa Monica for 2026

1st
Headspace logo
HeadspaceSB Score: 627

Headspace is your lifelong guide to better mental health. By combining AI and cutting-edge technology, clinical science and human care, we provide people around the world with always-there support, ranging from our meditation and mindfulness content, self-guided care, mental health coaching, and therapy - all in one app. We partner with leading employers, health plans and partners, bringing even more support to their populations, including psychiatry, EAP, care navigation and work-life services. Our team of experts ranges from mental health clinicians to Emmy award-winning producers, and data scientists, working together as one to help millions of people around the world build resilience and feel better. In a busy, complicated world, Headspace is here to remind you that your mind matters.

View Full Page
Website
www.headspace.com
Employee range
501 – 1,000
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$175.7M
National Rank(United States)
Regional Rank(North America)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
2nd
TrueCar logo
TrueCarSB Score: 623

TrueCar simplifies car buying and selling with transparent pricing and dealer details for smooth transactions.

View Full Page
Website
truecar.com
Employee range
11 – 50
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$11M
National Rank(United States)
Regional Rank(North America)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
3rd
Rayton Solar logo
Rayton SolarSB Score: 605

StartEngine is an equity crowdfunding platform that allows people to invest and own shares in startups and early-stage companies. It allows companies to offer equity, debt, revenue shares, or royalties through crowdfunding. It primarily caters to media, commercial services, healthcare, software, infrastructure, manufacturing, and cleantech sectors.

View Full Page
Website
www.startengine.com
Employee range
101 – 250
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$87.6M
National Rank(United States)
Regional Rank(North America)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
4th
GumGum logo
GumGumSB Score: 585

GumGum is an artificial intelligence company focusing on computer vision and natural language processing. The company's mission is to unlock the value of images and videos produced everyday across the web, social media, and broadcast television. It teaches machines to solve hard problems across the media industry. The company serves contextual marketing in line with content users, helps marketers and right holders understand the media value of their sponsorship investments, and introduces the content safety analysis engine that finds what is relevant or what is dangerous. GumGum was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California.

View Full Page
Website
www.gumgum.com
Employee range
251 – 500
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$133.8M
National Rank(United States)
Regional Rank(North America)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
5th
BuildOps logo
BuildOpsSB Score: 569

BuildOps provides a software platform for modern commercial contractors to manage their invoicing & billing, scheduling, estimates, proposals, payments, workflows, custom forms, financial reporting, and more. Its integrates service management, project management, dispatching, and reporting tools to streamline operations and improve efficiency. It enables businesses to manage work orders, track technician schedules, and optimize resource allocation in real time. BuildOps also offers features for invoicing, customer relationship management, and analytics to enhance decision-making. The platform is designed to help contractors improve productivity, reduce paperwork, and increase profitability through automation and cloud-based solutions.

View Full Page
Website
buildops.com
Employee range
251 – 500
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$225.8M
National Rank(United States)
Regional Rank(North America)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
6th
Happiest Baby logo
Happiest BabySB Score: 568

Happiest Baby (www.happiestbaby.com) is a mission-driven technology company dedicated to helping parents succeed at their most important job–raising healthy, happy children. Happiest Baby created SNOO, the world's first smart sleeper using advanced robotic technology, implementing Dr. Karp's landmark 5 S’s method for soothing babies. SNOO has won 29 international honors, including the National Sleep Foundation Innovation of the Year and is in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution as an iconic example of 21st Century form and function. The benefits of SNOO to reduce postpartum depression, SIDS, and help drug exposed babies are being studied at top medical centers. Happiest Baby is dedicated to developing science-based products and services to enhance child well-being and to help solve everyday parenting challenges. Based in Los Angeles, California, Happiest Baby, Inc. was founded in 2001 by Dr. Harvey Karp (pediatrician, child development specialist) with his wife and business partner, Nina Montée-Karp. Happiest Baby's hero product SNOO reduces infant crying, boosts sleep and prevents rolling over. That makes SNOO the safest, most effective baby bed ever made. SNOO was designed in collaboration with the celebrated industrial designer, Yves Behar, and a team of MIT-trained engineers. Some of Happiest Baby's investors are Greycroft, Google Ventures, Lux Capital, Felicis Ventures and Obvious Ventures...as well as several influential parent advisors/investors, including Justin Timberlake, Jessica Biel, Scarlett Johansson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Maria Sharapova and Zoe Saldana, in their goal to give support to parents and children across the country and around the world.

View Full Page
Website
happiestbaby.com
Employee range
101 – 250
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$93M
National Rank(United States)
Regional Rank(North America)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
7th
Atom Tickets logo
Atom TicketsSB Score: 566

Atom is an Android and iOS app designed to make going to the movies easy again. The app combines online movie ticket booking with social features and shows users information about current movies, including reviews and trailers. Users are able to share listings with friends, poll them about what they want to see before purchasing advance tickets. It also allows users to book group seating but pay for tickets separately and order snacks so they don’t have to wait in line at concession stands.

View Full Page
Website
www.atomtickets.com
Employee range
51 – 100
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$110M
National Rank(United States)
Regional Rank(North America)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
8th
Luxury Presence logo
Luxury PresenceSB Score: 561

Luxury Presence provides technology and marketing tools to real estate agents and brokers. It empowers real estate professionals at all levels by generating new leads through digital marketing and increasing the agent’s sales volume, brand recognition, and market share.

View Full Page
Website
www.luxurypresence.com
Employee range
501 – 1,000
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$72.5M
National Rank(United States)
Regional Rank(North America)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
9th
DMarket logo
DMarketSB Score: 560

DMarket is a cross-chain marketplace to trade all possible NFTs and virtual items, and technology for building metaverses. DMarket is one of the world’s biggest trading platforms for NFTs. Based on the latest Newzoo report it’s a Top-3 blockchain-based marketplace along with OpenSea and Rarible. DMarket's technology for building metaverses is created for brands, influencers, video games, esports organizations, broadcasters, or any kind of entities. In June 2020, DMarket raised $7.2 million from Silicon Valley venture capitalists. Almaz Capital and Fulgur Ventures funds are among the company's investors, as well as Xsolla, developer of payment solutions for the gaming industry.

View Full Page
Website
dmarket.com
Employee range
51 – 100
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$26.2M
National Rank(United States)
Regional Rank(North America)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
10th
PatientPop logo
PatientPopSB Score: 549

PatientPop is the only complete practice growth solution that empowers healthcare providers to thrive in the digital age. By enhancing and automating each touchpoint in the patient journey — from first impression online, to digital booking, to post-appointment follow-up — PatientPop makes it easy for healthcare providers to attract more patients, manage online reputation, modernize the patient experience, and automate the front office.

View Full Page
Website
www.patientpop.com
Employee range
501 – 1,000
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$125M
National Rank(United States)
Regional Rank(North America)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
11th
Botanic Tonics logo
Botanic TonicsSB Score: 548

Botanic Tonics offers plant-based wellness tonics. They provide an alternative to alcohol, energy drinks, and synthetic focus enhancers. They offer a plant-based herbal supplement drink by blending kava with other ancient plants, enabling consumers to feel good and feel free.

View Full Page
Website
botanictonics.com
Employee range
101 – 250
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$25M
National Rank(United States)
Regional Rank(North America)
Global Rank(Worldwide)

Total amount:342

Most Funded Startups in Santa Monica for 2026

The top three most funded startups in Santa Monica have raised total funding of more than USD 1.27B. Swell Energy has 0.55% more funding than Miramax Films.
1st
Swell Energy logo
Swell EnergySB Score: 349

Swell Energy is a home energy company that provides smart grid and energy management solutions for homeowners and businesses. The distributed energy and grid solutions provider is accelerating the mass adoption of residential and commercial clean energy technologies by making it easy for consumers to take control of their home energy use, achieve energy security and generate GridRevenue. The company provides homeowners and businesses with financing and educational resources, partnering with trusted local solar + storage companies and top technology providers for seamless, high-quality installations of the best available products. By creating a critical mass of dynamic and responsive clean energy resources within utility service areas across the United States, Swell Energy is also delivering virtual power plant networks and grid-balancing services to utilities, which are fundamental to our future distributed energy system.

View Full Page
Website
www.swellenergy.com
Employee range
1 – 10
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$582M
National Rank(United States)
Regional Rank(North America)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
3rd
Cinq Music logo
Cinq MusicSB Score: 405

Cinq is a record label and music distribution company that provides rights management to brand management services. Cinq Music focuses on creative new ways to monetize each client’s brand while continuing to harness traditional revenue streams.

View Full Page
Website
cinqmusic.com
Employee range
11 – 50
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$310M
National Rank(United States)
Regional Rank(North America)
Global Rank(Worldwide)

Total amount:342

Top Hiring Startups in Santa Monica by Employee Number

The top three hiring startups in Santa Monica have an median employee size that is between [501-1000]
1st
Cornerstone OnDemand logo
EdtechEdtech

Cornerstone OnDemand is a leading global provider of a comprehensive learning and talent management solution delivered as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). The company enables organizations to meet the challenges they face in empowering their people and maximizing the productivity of their human capital. Cornerstone currently empowers over 19.1 million users across 191 countries and in 42 languages. Their integrated cloud-based software offering consists of Cornerstone Onboarding, Cornerstone Recruiting, Cornerstone Performance, Cornerstone Learning, Cornerstone Connect, Cornerstone Succession, Cornerstone Compensation and Cornerstone Extended Enterprise. Their clients use their solution to develop employees throughout their careers, engage all employees effectively, improve business execution, cultivate future leaders, and integrate with their external networks of customers, vendors and distributors. The company has more than 2,100 clients, including multi-national corporations, large domestic enterprises, mid-market companies, state and local public sector organizations, higher education institutions and non-profit entities. Clients include BJC HealthCare, Flextronics, Kelly Services, Pearson, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Teach for America and Virgin Media Limited, among many others. Cornerstone supports multiple client deployments of more than 150,000 users, including one client with more than 700,000 users. Cornerstone is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, with offices in Auckland, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, Munich, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Sydney and Tel Aviv.

View Full Page
Website
www.cornerstoneondemand.com
Employee range
1,001 – 5,000
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$44.7M
National Rank(United States)
Regional Rank(North America)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
2nd
Headspace logo
HeadspaceSB Score: 627

Headspace is your lifelong guide to better mental health. By combining AI and cutting-edge technology, clinical science and human care, we provide people around the world with always-there support, ranging from our meditation and mindfulness content, self-guided care, mental health coaching, and therapy - all in one app. We partner with leading employers, health plans and partners, bringing even more support to their populations, including psychiatry, EAP, care navigation and work-life services. Our team of experts ranges from mental health clinicians to Emmy award-winning producers, and data scientists, working together as one to help millions of people around the world build resilience and feel better. In a busy, complicated world, Headspace is here to remind you that your mind matters.

View Full Page
Website
www.headspace.com
Employee range
501 – 1,000
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$175.7M
National Rank(United States)
Regional Rank(North America)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
3rd
Luxury Presence logo
Luxury PresenceSB Score: 561

Luxury Presence provides technology and marketing tools to real estate agents and brokers. It empowers real estate professionals at all levels by generating new leads through digital marketing and increasing the agent’s sales volume, brand recognition, and market share.

View Full Page
Website
www.luxurypresence.com
Employee range
501 – 1,000
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$72.5M
National Rank(United States)
Regional Rank(North America)
Global Rank(Worldwide)
4th
PatientPop logo
PatientPopSB Score: 549

PatientPop is the only complete practice growth solution that empowers healthcare providers to thrive in the digital age. By enhancing and automating each touchpoint in the patient journey — from first impression online, to digital booking, to post-appointment follow-up — PatientPop makes it easy for healthcare providers to attract more patients, manage online reputation, modernize the patient experience, and automate the front office.

View Full Page
Website
www.patientpop.com
Employee range
501 – 1,000
Web Traffic (Monthly)
Funding amount
$125M
National Rank(United States)
Regional Rank(North America)
Global Rank(Worldwide)

Total amount:590

Explore More Top Startups

Explore the Startup Ecosystem of Santa Monica

National Rank

(United States)

new

Regional Rank

(North America)

3rd

0

Global Rank

(WorldWide)

4th

0

Visit

Top Cities for Startups in United States - Ranked by StartupBlink

StartupBlink ranks the startup ecosystems of more than 100 countries and 1,000 cities. Download our latest Global Startup Ecosystem Report.
2026 National Rank CityGlobal RankTotal Score & National ShareAnnual Growth

Access subscores for 1000 cities and 100 countries

Quantity Score
Quality ScoreBusiness Score
1st
0
1st
0
935.32535.2%
0.0%
00.00
00.00
00.00
2nd
0
2nd
0
352.15913.3%
0.0%
00.00
00.00
00.00
3rd
0
4th
0
152.3715.7%
0.0%
00.00
00.00
00.00
4th
0
5th
+
1
127.1194.8%
0.0%
00.00
00.00
00.00
Microsoft Excel icon
Download CSV file