Skip to content
Superscout
Get Pro
Rankings

CNBC Disruptor 50

CNBC's annual ranked list of 50 private companies using technology to challenge established industries. It is one of the most visible late-stage startup lists in U.S. business media and its No. 1 pick draws wide coverage.

Visit the Disruptor 50 site

Reliability
Grade B · 8/12
Publisher
CNBC
Ranks
Startups, Private, venture-backed companies (mostly U.S.)
Editions
14 since 2013
Method
Mixed
How items get in
Free nomination
Status
Active
CNBC Disruptor 50
SectionEditions
Get Pro
Actions
Get Pro

Editions

EditionPublishedTop of the listOn record
2026May 19, 2026Anthropic50
2025June 10, 2025Anduril50
2024May 14, 2024OpenAI14 of 50
2023May 9, 2023OpenAI10 of 50
2022May 17, 2022Flexport50
2021May 25, 2021Robinhood3 of 50
2020June 16, 2020Stripe1 of 50
2019May 15, 2019Indigo Ag5 of 50
2018May 22, 2018SpaceX1 of 50
2017May 16, 2017Airbnb6 of 50
2016June 7, 2016Uber10 of 50
2015May 12, 2015Moderna Therapeutics1 of 50
2014 Method changedJune 17, 2014SpaceX5 of 50
20132013Not recordedAt the publisher

How the ranking works

Companies submit detailed applications with quantitative data (sales, users, employee growth) and qualitative descriptions; some data is kept confidential and used only for scoring. CNBC adds PitchBook data on funding, valuation and investor quality and IBISWorld industry data. Advisory boards weight the criteria: in 2025, scalability and user growth ranked highest, followed by sales growth and access to capital.

Weighted quantitative scores are combined with a qualitative review by CNBC editors and advisory members to produce the final ranking. In 2025 CNBC added a VC advisory board alongside the academic board.

Ranked positions: Each item has a position (1, 2, 3), with ties allowed. Companies are nominated or apply through CNBC's submission form and supply confidential metrics; eligibility requires private, independent companies (2025: founded after January 1, 2010). No fee was found in the sources reviewed. VC advisory board members are barred from evaluating their own portfolio companies.

Read the publisher’s methodology

How far to trust it

Superscout grades every ranking on six criteria, each scored 0 to 2. CNBC Disruptor 50 scores 8 of 12, grade B.

Transparency 1/2
Criteria and ranked importance are described, but exact weights are not.
Independence 2/2
Free nomination; advisers recuse from portfolio companies.
Evidence 1/2
Mix of submitted metrics, PitchBook data and editorial review.
Stability 1/2
Advisory structure changed in 2025; 2013 was unranked.
Coverage 1/2
Top slice of venture-backed private companies that apply.
Track record 2/2
14 editions.

History

The list launched in 2013 as an unranked group of 50 and has been ranked since 2014. Early No. 1s included SpaceX (2014, 2018), Moderna (2015), Uber (2016) and Airbnb (2017); recent editions have been led by AI and defense companies (OpenAI 2023 and 2024, Anduril 2025, Anthropic 2026). CNBC's retrospective counted 233 companies across the first nine lists, 65 of which later went public.

How it is received

Honorees routinely publicize their inclusion (for example Vanta, ŌURA, Iambic and Metropolis in 2026). CNBC's own retrospectives track IPOs and acquisitions among alumni as evidence of the list's predictive value. No independent methodological critique was found in the sources reviewed.

Strengths

  • Ranked, so relative position carries information.
  • Combines submitted company data with PitchBook and industry data.
  • Long, consistent annual run since 2013.
  • Publisher tracks alumni outcomes (IPOs, acquisitions, shutdowns).

Weaknesses

  • Largely limited to companies that are nominated or apply.
  • Weights and final ordering include editorial judgment and are not fully disclosed.
  • Skews toward well-funded, late-stage U.S. companies.
  • Full lists are hard to access programmatically (CNBC pages block automated fetching).

Open questions

Facts not verified yet. They stay visible so they are not mistaken for settled facts.

Superscout describes CNBC Disruptor 50 independently from the publisher’s own pages and outside coverage, linked below. The rankings belong to CNBC.

Suggest a correctionHow the research works
Sources and known limits

Last reviewed .