Since 2016, The Cloud 100 has recognized and celebrated the world’s top 100 private cloud companies and is a collaboration by Bessemer Venture Partners, Salesforce Ventures and Forbes. Companies named to the list are recognized within the industry as top-tier private ventures leading the cloud and AI technology revolution.
Category leaders such as Rubrik, Snowflake, ServiceTitan, and Toast, have joined the Cloud 100 ranks, scaled into enterprises, transformed their given industries, and gone on to IPO. Here’s how these esteemed companies, the definitive cohort of top-performing cloud businesses, end up on the list.
Bessemer dedicates months to gathering, validating, and examining submission data that forms the foundation of The Cloud 100. Our comprehensive ranking methodology unfolds through four distinct phases of rigorous evaluation.
Each spring, we launch the Cloud 100 nomination period with open submissions, welcoming any individual or organization to recommend cloud companies worthy of recognition. Eligibility requires companies to maintain their independence, meaning they haven’t undergone majority strategic acquisitions, private equity buyouts, or gone public.
The nomination process requires participating companies to provide detailed responses covering their market segment, performance metrics and financial trajectory, organizational culture, workforce composition, strategic priorities, and future goals. We also factor in insights from prior year Cloud 100 and Rising Stars placements when evaluating returning candidates.
Nominations are sorted into the following 10 categories of cloud companies: AI; Data and Infrastructure; Fintech; Design, Collaboration, and Productivity; Sales, Marketing, and CX; Security; Finance and Legal; HR; Developer; and Vertical Software. As the nature of the cloud ecosystem has broadened over time, these categories have also taken on more expansive definitions themselves (e.g., the AI category now includes compute startups, the Fintech category has grown as financial services startups release more and more cloud software products as part of their platform).
Following compilation, our expert panel of distinguished cloud industry veterans conducts the evaluation and ranking process, with these leaders also empowered to suggest additional companies for consideration. This group comprises public company CEOs and technology visionaries, many of whom previously guided Cloud 100 alumni to success. We may also engage premier investment banks to enhance our analysis, leveraging their insights on companies’ prospective exit strategies and market positioning. The culmination involves Bessemer’s collaboration with Forbes, where their investigative reporting and due diligence work helps shape the definitive rankings.
There are four factors we weigh during the evaluation process:
To determine market leadership (35%) the official Cloud 100 judge panel, composed primarily of public Cloud CEOs, provides their qualitative input and assessment of the companies’ market leadership in various Cloud sectors. Then, an estimate of valuation (30%) is determined based on third-party data providers. Sometimes, this is a range rather than a specific number. Factoring in operating metrics (20%) is also a key part of the nomination process. Ranges are collected based on financial metrics, such as revenue and growth rate.
Financial information requested in the nomination form is a core part of the evaluation process, though it is optional. Financial information is viewed only as described in the Privacy Policy and will never be shared with our judges or event partners. Judges receive a summary numerical score to protect the confidential data of nominees. No financial information is shared publicly without company approval (except for names of winners, the final ranking, and anonymized benchmarking data). The only time financial information may be shown publicly is in aggregate form for benchmarking purposes.
In addition to the factors above, a company’s people and culture (15%) play a significant role in determining its list placement. Based on third-party data providers, each company is evaluated on its size and its diversity and inclusion efforts.
Any private cloud company can be considered for The Cloud 100. Those that have raised less than $30 million may be considered for Rising Stars, a separate list of 20 category-leading cloud companies poised to one day join the ranks of The Cloud 100.
Rising Stars are evaluated by Bessemer Venture Partners and Forbes based on their unique product differentiation, team background and relevant expertise, size of market opportunity and ability to execute in generating early momentum.
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Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bessemerventurepartners/2025/09/03/the-cloud-100-methodology-making-the-definitive-list-of-the-worlds-top-private-cloud-companies/
