Skip to content
Superscout
Get Pro
Rankings

Deloitte Technology Fast 500 North America

An annual ranking of the 500 fastest-growing technology, media, telecom, life sciences, fintech and energy tech companies in North America, ordered purely by percentage revenue growth over a multiyear window. Founders and investors use it as a growth credential, and honorees widely publicize their rank.

Visit the Deloitte Fast 500 site

Reliability
Grade B · 10/12
Publisher
Deloitte
Ranks
Companies, North America (U.S. and Canada); technology, media, telecom, life sciences, fintech and energy tech
Editions
31 since 1995
Method
Data
How items get in
Self-nominated
Status
Active
Deloitte Technology Fast 500 North America
SectionEditions
Get Pro
Actions
Get Pro

Editions

EditionPublishedTop of the listOn record
2025November 19, 2025Impiricus501
2024November 2024TG Therapeutics, Inc.50 of 500
2023November 2023Vir Biotechnology, Inc.50 of 500
2022November 2022Vir Biotechnology, Inc.50 of 500
2021November 2021Axonics, Inc.50 of 500
2020November 18, 2020Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc.10 of 500
2019November 7, 2019UiPath10 of 500
2018November 15, 2018SwanLeap10 of 500
2017November 9, 2017Donuts Inc.10 of 500
2016November 16, 2016Loot Crate10 of 500
2015 Method changedNovember 13, 2015StartApp10 of 500
2014November 13, 2014MobileIron10 of 500
2013November 13, 2013Rocket Fuel10 of 500
20122012Tesla Motors, Inc.At the publisher
20112011Not recordedAt the publisher
20102010Not recordedAt the publisher
20092009Not recordedAt the publisher
20082008Not recordedAt the publisher
20072007Not recordedAt the publisher
20062006Not recordedAt the publisher
20052005Not recordedAt the publisher
20042004Not recordedAt the publisher
20032003Not recordedAt the publisher
20022002Not recordedAt the publisher
20012001Not recordedAt the publisher
20002000Not recordedAt the publisher
19991999Not recordedAt the publisher
19981998Not recordedAt the publisher
19971997Not recordedAt the publisher
19961996Not recordedAt the publisher
19951995Not recordedAt the publisher

How the ranking works

Companies self-submit fiscal revenue for a base year and a current year and are ranked by percentage growth between them. Recent editions use a three-year window (2025: fiscal 2021 to 2024); eligibility requires proprietary IP or technology generating the majority of revenue, base-year revenue of at least US$50,000, current-year revenue of at least US$5 million, at least four years in business, and a North American headquarters (per the 2021 and 2022 brochures).

Because the metric is relative growth, a company growing from a small base can outrank a much larger company with bigger absolute gains, a point Wikipedia's article on the program illustrates. Public and private companies are ranked together, so biotech firms whose revenue jumps after a product launch often appear near the top.

Ranked positions: Each item has a position (1, 2, 3), with ties allowed. Companies apply and submit audited or verifiable revenue figures; eligibility requires proprietary technology, minimum base-year and current-year revenue, four years in business and a North American headquarters. Public and private companies both qualify. No entry fee was found in the sources reviewed.

Read the publisher’s methodology

How far to trust it

Superscout grades every ranking on six criteria, each scored 0 to 2. Deloitte Technology Fast 500 North America scores 10 of 12, grade B.

Transparency 2/2
Eligibility, window and ranking metric are published each year.
Independence 2/2
No entry fee found; ranking is mechanical from submitted revenue.
Evidence 2/2
Ranks derive from reported revenue figures.
Stability 1/2
Window length changed (four years to three years) and sector labels were revised.
Coverage 1/2
Only companies that apply are ranked.
Track record 2/2
30 or more editions since 1995.

History

Deloitte counts 1995 as the first edition (2019 was billed as the 25th year, 2022 as the 28th and 2025 as the 31st), although Wikipedia gives 1997 as the founding year. The growth window changed over time: 2013 and 2014 used four-year windows (2008 to 2012, 2009 to 2013), and from 2015 the program used three-year windows. Sector taxonomy was revised around 2022 to 2025, adding fintech and later a separate artificial intelligence category.

How it is received

The list is widely used as a marketing badge: hundreds of honorees issue press releases announcing their rank each November (for example RainFocus and Vena in 2025). Wikipedia notes the method favors small-base companies because it ranks percentage rather than absolute growth. Software has dominated every edition, per Deloitte's own releases.

Strengths

  • Rank is based on a single hard metric (revenue growth) with published thresholds.
  • Long track record with editions back to the mid-1990s.
  • Full 500-company list is published each year as a downloadable file.
  • Includes public and private companies across the U.S. and Canada.

Weaknesses

  • Percentage growth favors companies with very small base-year revenue.
  • Participation is self-nominated, so non-applicants are absent.
  • Growth window and sector taxonomy have changed over time, limiting comparisons.
  • Revenue spikes from one-off events (for example product approvals) can dominate the top ranks.

Open questions

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

Superscout describes Deloitte Technology Fast 500 North America independently from the publisher’s own pages and outside coverage, linked below. The rankings belong to Deloitte.

Suggest a correctionHow the research works
Sources and known limits

Last reviewed .