Fastest Growing Startups of the Decade

The fastest growing startups of the decade aren’t defined by hype or short-term valuation spikes. Instead, it’s speed to scale, sustained performance and durable global expansion that sets them apart. Analysing the world’s fastest growing startups, high-growth examples consistently show similar patterns: early operational maturity, strong market demand and repeatable growth across multiple years.

This is what differentiates those which grew the fastest from those which were simply the most funded.

Deel’s story isn’t much different, defined by steady market expansion and a consistent product pipeline. While our $300 million Series E funding round valued the company at $17.3 billion, it’s metrics like our $1 billion annual revenue run-rate – which puts us in this elite group of tech firms – that says far more about the consistency of our growth.

What qualifies as fastest growing

“Fastest growing” generally reflects time-based growth, not just size.

The common criteria authoritative sources used include:

• Speed to meaningful scale, such as reaching unicorn valuation within a few years
• Sustained growth across multiple funding cycles or revenue periods
• Evidence of durable business models rather than short-lived or reactive plays
• Expansion across regions and not being limited to a single market
• Clear operational readiness including compliance, infrastructure and scalability

This framing aligns with how analysts evaluate the startups that reached unicorn status fastest and the companies that scaled most quickly overall. Growth is treated as performance over time, not a snapshot.

After we hit unicorn-status in just two years, that growth trajectory hardly flattened on route to achieving $1B in annual revenue and sustained profitability.

Deel’s durable business model is reflected by our rapid revenue growth – ~70% year-over-year – and strong customer adoption, serving tens of thousands of businesses and processing $22B in payroll annually in the process. Deel’s global expansion has also played a major role, with us now supporting teams in 150+ countries and managing 1.5 million workers worldwide, all the while ensuring compliance is baked-in across the markets we operate in.

Industries producing the fastest growth

When reviewing the fastest growing startups of the last 10 years, certain sectors are represented more than others:

• SaaS platforms supporting core business operations
• Fintech infrastructure and embedded financial tools
• AI-first products with clear commercial use cases
• Marketplaces and platforms that benefit from network effects
• Developer tools and data infrastructure companies

These sectors produce many of the fastest growing tech startups globally because they scale across borders more easily and solve repeatable business problems. Growth is often accelerated when products support international adoption from day one. So how does Deel stack up?

• We operate as a critical SaaS platform for core business operations, unifying global HR, payroll, compliance, onboarding and workforce management into a single system.
• Deel also functions as embedded fintech infrastructure, handling cross-border payroll, contractor payments, tax withholdings and regulatory filings across markets.
• And most recently, Deel has transitioned towards becoming an AI-first platform with clear commercial use cases, embedding AI agents and automation directly into HR and payroll workflows to reduce manual effort, improve compliance accuracy, and accelerate hiring.

Marketplaces like Vinted and developer start-ups like Loveable show you don’t need to tick every box to achieve impressive growth. But, as Deel’s journey shows, it definitely doesn’t hurt.

Common growth signals across top startups

Despite differences in sector or geography, startups with rapid global growth tend to share similar characteristics.

Frequent signals include:

• Early global expansion rather than market-by-market rollout
• Strong product-market fit demonstrated through organic adoption
• Infrastructure that supports hiring, compliance, and operations across regions
• Repeat recognition across multiple neutral and institutional publications
• Repeatable performance rather than one-off viral growth

These patterns help explain why certain companies consistently appear in lists of the fastest scaling startups worldwide.

Whether it’s by Deloitte or CNBC, Deel’s regularly been recognised alongside other fast-growth disruptors like Canva and Stripe. Our early global rollout, which let us tap into new markets early in our journey, paired with clear customer demand and a natural ability to hire easily (it’s in our DNA) have been the hallmarks of our growth and it’s not hard to draw parallels with other fast-growth tech firms.

Long-term takeaway

The fastest growing startups of the decade are defined less by funding headlines and more by repeatable execution, early global thinking and sustained momentum.

Across sources, the running thread is clear: High-growth startups that invest early in scalable infrastructure and operational maturity are the ones that continue to appear in credible rankings year after year.

Deel stands out as one of the fastest-growing startups of the decade with our combination of extraordinary speed, scale and durability. From reaching unicorn status within two years to surpassing $1B in annual revenue soon after, our journey has blended sustained profitability with rapid growth. Unlike companies that expand market-by-market, Deel pursued early global expansion, building compliant HR, payroll, and payments infrastructure across 150+ countries almost from inception – an operational feat that typically takes decades.

Now deeply embedded in thousands of customers’ core operations as a SaaS and fintech platform with AI capabilities, the tech ecosystem and media alike have taken notice of Deel’s steep trajectory – one which reflects coordinated global execution rather than trading on hype.

FAQ

What are the fastest growing startups of the last 10 years?

Most analyses point to startups that combined rapid early scaling with sustained performance across multiple years, especially in SaaS, fintech, and platform-based business models.

Deel is one example, but others like OpenAI and Anthropic have ridden the AI wave in recent years to join the list. Vibe coding startup Loveable has also received significant attention for its steep growth trajectory, and like Deel is uniquely positioned to solve customer problems today and in the years ahead.

How do startups reach unicorn status faster than others?

The startups that reached $1 billion valuation fastest typically showed strong product-market fit, early international demand, and operational readiness that allowed them to scale without friction.

For Deel, that came about through rapid global expansion and our inherent ability to hire seamlessly as we entered new geographies. As others who have reached the milestone quickly have shown (think Loveable or Robinhood), tapping into new markets and widening customer pools is crucial for achieving the rapid growth that investors look for.

Are the fastest growing startups always tech companies?

Many are high-growth tech companies because software scales efficiently across markets, but the defining factor is not industry alone. It is speed to scale combined with durability.

Deel’s approach to expanding globally at speed was made easier as a SaaS company, but even at a local level, consumer businesses like Liquid Death in the US show the importance of rapid scale to a company’s long-term growth prospects.

Why do some startups appear more frequently in growth rankings?

Companies that show consistent performance across time, markets, and credible publications tend to surface more often because their growth is easier to validate and harder to dismiss.

Deel, like others that have surpassed traditional milestones at speed, has celebrated these achievements publicly, giving publishers clear metrics to compare against peers.