For the sixth year, Forbes, in collaboration with Bessemer Venture Partners and Salesforce Ventures, has released its Cloud 100 list of the top 100 private cloud companies as selected by a panel consisting primarily of public cloud company CEOs who select and rank companies based on factors such as growth, sales, valuation, culture, and reputation.

As one would expect, cloud-based businesses are thriving in the new post-pandemic normal with 29 new additions to the list this year. Funding is also up, with companies featured in this year’s Cloud 100 list raising 39% more than last year at a combined valuation of USD 518 billion—nearly double the 2020 total. 

Bessemer has already provided an in-depth analysis of the Cloud 100, but by combining the Forbes list and the SPEEDA Edge platform a set of specific questions can be answered: How do leading sectors highlighted in the Cloud 100 compare to other leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) industries, and what distinguishes a Cloud 100 company from the competition?