RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – The 2021 Inc. 5000 list, which tracks and ranks the fastest-growing companies in the United States, includes 127 North Carolina firms with 73 repeat honorees, according to the data set.
Raleigh-based Pendo, which last year ranked 26th on the list, fell to 571st on this year’s edition, with a growth rate of 846%.
Charlotte-based Printful, which is now valued at more than $1 billion after a $130 million investment in May, is ranked 1,355th with a growth rate of 352%.
Three firms are in the top 50. Butner-based Nugget Comfort is the highest-ranked North Carolina company on the list at #29, with a growth rate of 9,624%. Asheville’s Pine Gate Renewables, which partnered with Duke University last year, ranks 37th, with a growth rate of 8,209%, and Conover-based Textile Based Delivery Inc., which is also known as NUFABRX, ranks 50th with a growth rate of 6,684%.
Two Charlotte firms appear in the top 100, with QC Kinetix ranking 62nd with a growth rate of 5,873% and Carewell, which raised $25 million in May, ranking 74th with a growth rate of 5,162%.
No other North Carolina firms are in the top 250.
Charlotte-based pest control company Aruza posted a growth rate of 1,792% and ranks 256th. Apex-based Sitation is ranked 379th with a growth rate of 1,274%. Raleigh-based Crossrope ranks 391st with a growth rate of 1,239% and AURA Technologies, which won a $50 million contract in April, ranks 458th with a growth rate of 1,048%.
Telecommunications firm Guerrilla RF, based in Greensboro, posted a growth rate of 990%, ranking the company 489th.
A number of North Carolina technology, healthcare, and gaming firms are ranked between 500 and 1000, including:
- Cornelius-based Elevate Digital (512th)
- Mooresville-based Powerhome Solar (520th)
- Raleigh’s Pendo (571st)
- Wilmington-based Vantaca (679th)
- Fayetteville-based Blue Light (731st)
- Swannanoa-based PIVOT Healthcare (785th)
- Greenville-based Grover Gaming (850th)
- Wilmington-based Catalyst Clinical Research (934th)
- Newton-based Corporate Armor (943rd)
In total, the North Carolina companies tracked on the list generated $4.3 billion in revenue and created 12,705 jobs, according to the Inc. data set.
Other Triangle-based companies that appear ranked on the list from 1,000-2,500:
- Reveal Mobile (1,362nd)
- Kaimetrix, L.L.C (1,481st)
- FM:Systems (1,490th)
- CREO (1,593rd)
- Keen Decision System (1,601st)
- Sift Media (1,655th)
- Eva Garland Consulting (1,933rd)
- BioAgilytix Labs (1,939th)
- Kelaca (2,131st)
- MyComputerCareer (2,217th)
- Open Sky Group (2,225th)
- LearnPlatform (2,280th)
Triangle-based technology, healthcare, and gaming companies appearing on the list ranked between 2,501 and 5,000 include:
- Adwerx (3,421st)
- OnPar Technologies (3,552nd)
- Nuventra (4,253rd)
- Terra Dotta (4,433rd)
- WorkSmart (4,728th)
- WingSwept (4,984th)
- USIP Communications (4,989th)
* An earlier version of this story accidentally omitted Sitation, which ranked 379th on the 2021 Inc. 5000 list.