CNBC is officially opening applications for the 2026 Disruptor 50 list, marking our fourteenth annual exploration of venture-backed companies spearheading innovation across diverse industries. This year’s list will place a significant emphasis on companies not only experimenting with artificial intelligence but also demonstrating their capability to deploy these technologies at scale, generating tangible business value.
The deadline for all submissions is Monday, February 23, at 11:59 PM EST.
Eligibility is extended to all independent, privately-owned companies established after January 1, 2011. Founders, executives, investors, or their designated communications representatives can access and complete the application through our dedicated portal.
Nominees will undergo a stringent evaluation process, assessing a comprehensive range of quantitative and qualitative metrics. These include, but are not limited to, scalability, revenue and user growth trajectory, and the strategic implementation of breakthrough technologies.
The landscape in 2026 is poised for a pivotal shift, impacting both the technology sector and capital markets. SpaceX, a company that, alongside OpenAI, has achieved the distinction of topping CNBC’s Disruptor 50 list twice, is reportedly preparing for a public listing this year. This offering is anticipated to generate tens of billions of dollars, potentially valuing the company at over $1 trillion. Such a monumental IPO, possibly the largest on record, signals a broader trend: even highly capital-intensive, long-term technology ventures are increasingly optimizing for the accountability and transparency demanded by public markets.
This strategic pivot reflects a significant recalibration within the tech ecosystem. The era of speculative growth, where ambition and scale often superseded clear profitability, is receding, making way for a more pragmatic, enterprise-centric model of disruption. In 2026, a company’s competitive edge will likely be defined less by the sheer volume of capital raised and more by its efficacy in transforming that capital into robust, scalable businesses capable of meeting, and exceeding, public market expectations.
Despite this shift, private capital remains robust and actively seeking opportunities to fund long-horizon, large-scale ventures, particularly within the burgeoning generative AI space. Data from PitchBook indicates that OpenAI and Anthropic collectively secured $176.5 billion in venture funding during the first three quarters of 2025 alone.
CNBC’s two advisory boards—one comprising leading academic experts in innovation and entrepreneurship, and the other featuring prominent venture capitalists—will contribute to weighting the quantitative criteria that form the bedrock of the Disruptor 50’s proprietary methodology. This methodology has cemented the Disruptor 50 recognition as a benchmark of excellence within the startup community. The quantitative scores are then integrated with qualitative assessments and editorial reviews conducted by CNBC staff, who meticulously examine every submission to finalize the selection of this year’s fifty leading disruptors.
Honorees for the 2026 Disruptor 50 list will be notified in March, with the official announcement and comprehensive coverage scheduled for May across CNBC’s television, digital, and social media platforms.
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