RealLIST Startups 2025: Meet DC’s hottest early-stage companies of the year 

RealLIST Startups 2025 in DC is supported by JPMorgan Chase Startup Banking. Technical.ly is a free news resource thanks to financial partners like this Technical.ly client.

The DC region bustles with tech industry momentum, and startups play a major role. 

Our annual RealLIST Startups feature recognizes the impact of these early-stage companies. Since bringing this tradition to the region in 2017, we’ve catalogued nearly 150 DMV startups as honorees or honorable mentions. 

It’s always difficult to narrow down the finalists — the area has more than 26,000 tech firms, per Technical.ly’s Tech Economy Dashboard. It helps that the region has no shortage of different industries, including major regional sectors like cybersecurity, life sciences and IT. The ecosystem historically benefitted from proximity to the federal government, too. 

Here’s how our RealLIST Startups process works: We call for nominations, look at our past coverage and do some internet sleuthing to compile the roster. Eligible startups must fulfill at least the following requirements:

• Founded no earlier than 2022 (though we know founding dates can be tricky)
• Earns most of its revenue by selling an innovative product or service (no consulting firms)
• Has shown some track record of success
• Remained independent, without having undergone a significant exit. That means it hasn’t been acquired, merged or gone public.
• Headquartered or has a founder based in the DC metropolitan area

These latest companies join the illustrious company of prior honorees from 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018 and 2017.

Do you know of a company not featured on this list that should be? You can always offer your nominations for the RealLIST Startups (or any of our annual RealLISTs) using this submission form.

Keep scrolling to see Technical.ly’s RealLIST Startups of 2025. 

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