The Colorado tech sector has seen steady year-over-year growth — and 2017 proved no different. Colorado’s 100 biggest digital tech companies alone employ more than 25,000 people, up 20 percent from 2016. That number was buoyed by growth from pillar tech companies and up-and-comers alike.
Colorado tech’s rising stars
Denver-based Gusto made the year’s biggest leap, moving 53 spots to number 36 and nearly quadrupling in size. OpenTable’s Denver office also saw substantial growth this year, rising 32 spots from 2016 by adding 70 positions. Peaksware, FareHarbor and Catalyst Repository Systems also rose roughly 20 spots each.
Broomfield's Webroot, which ranked at number 15 last year, climbed six spots to number nine after experiencing a year of explosive growth that added 250 new members to its team.
High-growth startups blazing trails
This year’s list includes 14 companies founded in the past five years, proving it’s not just the established tech companies hiring in droves. Of those 15, more than half boast teams of 100 employees or more, including Layer3 TV, Gaia and OrthoFi.
Boulder-based Sovrn, founded in 2014, employs 225 people, landing at number 33 on the list.
Beyond Boulder and Denver
While most companies on the list hail from the Denver and Boulder metro areas, other parts of the Front Range did not go unnoticed. Colorado Springs’ BombBomb jumped 21 spots to number 65, Fort Collins’ Madwire crept up two spots to number 15 and Loveland’s Aleph Objects, while dropping three spots to number 49, continued to see workforce growth.
The 2017 Top 100
Rank: 1 | Employees: 1,800 | Founded: 1935 | 2016 Rank: 1
Rank: 2 | Employees: 1,474 | Founded: 1999 | 2016 Rank: 2
Rank: 3 | Employees: 1,450 | Founded: 1994 | 2016 Rank: 5
Rank: 4 | Employees: 1,042 | Founded: 1993 | 2016 Rank: 4
Rank: 5 | Employees: 800 | Founded: 2001 | 2016 Rank: 6
Rank: 6 | Employees: 718 | Founded: 1982 | 2016 Rank: 3
Rank: 7 | Employees: 700 | Founded: 1998 | 2016 Rank: 9
Rank: 8 | Employees: 644 | Founded: 2007 | 2016 Rank: 7
Rank: 9 | Employees: 600 | Founded: 1997 | 2016 Rank: 15
Rank: 10 | Employees: 586 | Founded: 2002 | 2016 Rank: 11
Rank: 11 | Employees: 501 | Founded: 2001 | 2016 Rank: 8
Rank: 12 | Employees: 500 | Founded: 1998 | 2016 Rank: 9
Rank: 13 | Employees: 482 | Founded: 2001 | 2016 Rank: N/A
Rank: 14 | Employees: 423 | Founded: 2003 | 2016 Rank: 13
Rank: 14 | Employees: 423 | Founded: 2009 | 2016 Rank: 17
Rank: 16 | Employees: 401 | Founded: 1985 | 2016 Rank: N/A
Rank: 17 | Employees: 378 | Founded: 2010 | 2016 Rank: 18
Rank: 18 | Employees: 364 | Founded: 2011 | 2016 Rank: 13
Rank: 19 | Employees: 345 | Founded: 2003 | 2016 Rank: N/A
Rank: 20 | Employees: 340 | Founded: 1998 | 2016 Rank: 18
Rank: 21 | Employees: 328 | Founded: 2005 | 2016 Rank: 16
Rank: 22 | Employees: 326 | Founded: 1999 | 2016 Rank: 12
Rank: 23 | Employees: 318 | Founded: 2011 | 2016 Rank: 30
Rank: 24 | Employees: 300 | Founded: 2009 | 2016 Rank: 21
Rank: 25 | Employees: 288 | Founded: 1991 | 2016 Rank: 20
Rank: 26 | Employees: 268 | Founded: 2000 | 2016 Rank: 47
Rank: 27 | Employees: 254 | Founded: 2007 | 2016 Rank: 27
Rank: 28 | Employees: 250 | Founded: 1999 | 2016 Rank: 24
Rank: 28 | Employees: 250 | Founded: 2002 | 2016 Rank: 22
Rank: 30 | Employees: 231 | Founded: 1994 | 2016 Rank: N/A
Rank: 31 | Employees: 230 | Founded: 2004 | 2016 Rank: 25
Rank: 32 | Employees: 225 | Founded: 2014 | 2016 Rank: 28
Rank: 33 | Employees: 215 | Founded: 2005 | 2016 Rank: 31
Rank: 34 | Employees: 210 | Founded: 1983 | 2016 Rank: N/A
Rank: 35 | Employees: 208 | Founded: 1984 | 2016 Rank: N/A
Rank: 36 | Employees: 207 | Founded: 2011 | 2016 Rank: 90
Rank: 37 | Employees: 204 | Founded: 2010 | 2016 Rank: 50
Rank: 38 | Employees: 202 | Founded: 2002 | 2016 Rank: 26
Rank: 39 | Employees: 201 | Founded: 2011 | 2016 Rank: 55
Rank: 40 | Employees: 194 | Founded: 2007 | 2016 Rank: N/A
Rank: 41 | Employees: 176 | Founded: 2009 | 2016 Rank: 38
Rank: 42 | Employees: 175 | Founded: 2010 | 2016 Rank: 32
Rank: 43 | Employees: 170 | Founded: 2010 | 2016 Rank: 42
Rank: 43 | Employees: 170 | Founded: 2006 | 2016 Rank: 48
Rank: 45 | Employees: 169 | Founded: 1999 | 2016 Rank: 22
Rank: 46 | Employees: 166 | Founded: 2013 | 2016 Rank: 51
Rank: 47 | Employees: 150 | Founded: 2010 | 2016 Rank: 34
Rank: 48 | Employees: 140 | Founded: 2006 | 2016 Rank: N/A
Rank: 49 | Employees: 135 | Founded: 2011 | 2016 Rank: 46
Rank: 50 | Employees: 133 | Founded: 2006 | 2016 Rank: 60
Rank: 51 | Employees: 127 | Founded: 2000 | 2016 Rank: 71
Rank: 52 | Employees: 125 | Founded: 2013 | 2016 Rank: 40
Rank: 52 | Employees: 125 | Founded: 2012 | 2016 Rank: 51
Rank: 54 | Employees: 124 | Founded: 2004 | 2016 Rank: 42
Rank: 54 | Employees: 124 | Founded: 2006 | 2016 Rank: N/A
Rank: 54 | Employees: 124 | Founded: 2000 | 2016 Rank: 39
Rank: 57 | Employees: 123 | Founded: 2013 | 2016 Rank: 66
Rank: 57 | Employees: 123 | Founded: 2008 | 2016 Rank: 51
Rank: 57 | Employees: 123 | Founded: 1986 | 2016 Rank: 64
Rank: 60 | Employees: 122 | Founded: 1998 | 2016 Rank: 92
Rank: 61 | Employees: 120 | Founded: 2010 | 2016 Rank: 42
Rank: 62 | Employees: 117 | Founded: 2008 | 2016 Rank: N/A
Rank: 63 | Employees: 115 | Founded: 2001 | 2016 Rank: 35
Rank: 64 | Employees: 111 | Founded: 2007 | 2016 Rank: N/A
Rank: 65 | Employees: 109 | Founded: 2006 | 2016 Rank: 86
Rank: 66 | Employees: 107 | Founded: 1999 | 2016 Rank: 76
Rank: 66 | Employees: 107 | Founded: 2011 | 2016 Rank: 57
Rank: 68 | Employees: 105 | Founded: 2007 | 2016 Rank: 33
Rank: 68 | Employees: 105 | Founded: 2014 | 2016 Rank: 73
Rank: 70 | Employees: 104 | Founded: 1973 | 2016 Rank: N/A
Rank: 71 | Employees: 101 | Founded: 2010 | 2016 Rank: 77
Rank: 72 | Employees: 100 | Founded: 2013 | 2016 Rank: 94
Rank: 72 | Employees: 100 | Founded: 2010 | 2016 Rank: 63
Rank: 74 | Employees: 98 | Founded: 2006 | 2016 Rank: 64
Rank: 74 | Employees: 98 | Founded: 2009 | 2016 Rank: 40
Rank: 76 | Employees: 96 | Founded: 1999 | 2016 Rank: N/A
Rank: 77 | Employees: 95 | Founded: 2013 | 2016 Rank: 92
Rank: 78 | Employees: 94 | Founded: 2002 | 2016 Rank: 49
Rank: 78 | Employees: 94 | Founded: 2009 | 2016 Rank: 37
Rank: 78 | Employees: 94 | Founded: 2000 | 2016 Rank: 29
Rank: 81 | Employees: 93 | Founded: 2007 | 2016 Rank: 69
Rank: 82 | Employees: 92 | Founded: 2006 | 2016 Rank: 71
Rank: 83 | Employees: 91 | Founded: 2011 | 2016 Rank: N/A
Rank: 84 | Employees: 90 | Founded: 2012 | 2016 Rank: 84
Rank: 84 | Employees: 90 | Founded: 1999 | 2016 Rank: N/A
Rank: 86 | Employees: 87 | Founded: 2001 | 2016 Rank: N/A
Rank: 87 | Employees: 86 | Founded: 2001 | 2016 Rank: 73
Rank: 88 | Employees: 85 | Founded: 2006 | 2016 Rank: 57
Rank: 88 | Employees: 85 | Founded: 2012 | 2016 Rank: N/A
Rank: 88 | Employees: 85 | Founded: 2011 | 2016 Rank: N/A
Rank: 88 | Employees: 85 | Founded: 2005 | 2016 Rank: N/A
Rank: 92 | Employees: 82 | Founded: 2013 | 2016 Rank: 69
Rank: 93 | Employees: 78 | Founded: 2012 | 2016 Rank: 94
Rank: 94 | Employees: 70 | Founded: 2005 | 2016 Rank: 79
Rank: 95 | Employees: 69 | Founded: 2014 | 2016 Rank: 80
Rank: 96 | Employees: 68 | Founded: 2010 | 2016 Rank: 77
Rank: 96 | Employees: 68 | Founded: 1997 | 2016 Rank: 66
Rank: 98 | Employees: 67 | Founded: 1999 | 2016 Rank: 66
Rank: 98 | Employees: 67 | Founded: 2010 | 2016 Rank: N/A
Rank: 100 | Employees: 65 | Founded: 2013 | 2016 Rank: 100
Rank: 100 | Employees: 65 | Founded: 2005 | 2016 Rank: 60
Photos via featured companies, social media and Shutterstock.
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Built In Colorado’s Top 100 is a ranking of the largest digital tech employers in Colorado based on local, full-time employee count as of September 1, 2017. This ranking is compiled by submissions to the Built In Colorado website and market survey as well as press releases, news coverage and other publicly available data.
To be eligible for inclusion, a company’s primary business and industry must be digital technology/innovation, including web and mobile applications, software, IoT, e-commerce, VR/AR and digital agency work. Employee numbers only include workers in the state of Colorado and do not count part-time employees, interns, contractors or non-W2 workers. Both private and public companies have been surveyed.
Some companies that may have been eligible have been excluded because they have self-opted to not disclose headcount or have not supplied the required information requested in the survey.
