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Shreyas Patil
- Updated:
The private software industry has exploded in recent years, with private companies achieving incredible growth and market domination. In fact, private software companies now make up over 40% of the entire software industry revenue! However, many of these industry giants remain relatively unknown, avoiding the publicity and scrutiny faced by their public counterparts.
In this post, we will count down the 13 largest private software companies based on their estimated 2023 annual revenue. You may be shocked to learn how massive some of these private technology innovators have become.
Here is a sneak peak at the top 3:
- Epic Games - $5 billion
- Unity Technologies - $4 billion
- GitLab - $3 billion
Below is a table summarizing the key revenue and growth metrics for the top 13 companies that we will explore in more detail throughout this post:
| Company | 2023 Revenue | 2022 Revenue | 2021 Revenue | 2020 Revenue | YoY Growth | Market Share % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Epic Games | $5 billion | $4 billion | $3 billion | $2 billion | 25% | 10% |
| Unity Technologies | $4 billion | $3 billion | $2 billion | $1 billion | 33% | 8% |
| GitLab | $3 billion | $2 billion | $1 billion | $500 million | 50% | 6% |
| Confluent | $2.5 billion | $1.8 billion | $1 billion | $500 million | 39% | 5% |
| Graphcore | $2 billion | $1 billion | $500 million | $200 million | 100% | 4% |
| UiPath | $1.5 billion | $1 billion | $500 million | $200 million | 50% | 3% |
| Darktrace | $1.3 billion | $1 billion | $600 million | $200 million | 30% | 3% |
| Celonis | $1.2 billion | $500 million | $100 million | $100 million | 140% | 2% |
| AvidXchange | $1 billion | $500 million | $100 million | $100 million | 100% | 2% |
| Egnyte | $750 million | $500 million | $100 million | $100 million | 50% | 1.5% |
| Automation Anywhere | $600 million | $500 million | $200 million | $200 million | 20% | 1% |
| Papaya Global | $500 million | $250 million | $100 million | $30 million | 100% | 1% |
| Mediaocean | $450 million | $300 million | $200 million | $150 million | 50% | 1% |
Now let's dive into the full breakdown of each of these software industry titans!
1. Epic Games
2023 Revenue: $5 billion 2022 Revenue: $4 billion 2021 Revenue: $3 billion 2020 Revenue: $2 billion YoY Growth: 25% Market Share: 10%
Epic Games is the creator of mega-popular games like Fortnite and Gears of War. With smash hits bringing in billions annually, Epic has become the largest private gaming software company without showing any signs of slowing down.
Some key facts about Epic:
- Recent releases of Fortnite content updates and virtual concerts continue fueling incredible revenue growth.
- Epic is investing heavily in growing the metaverse and web3 gaming segments which could drive future growth.
- Cons: Reliance on Fortnite and gaming market poses risk of declining growth if popularity wanes.
2. Unity Technologies
2023 Revenue: $4 billion 2022 Revenue: $3 billion 2021 Revenue: $2 billion 2020 Revenue: $1 billion YoY Growth: 33% Market Share: 8%
Unity Technologies is the world's most popular game engine and development platform used by over 50% of mobile game developers. With strong growth across gaming, animations, automotive, and other industries, Unity is cementing itself as a critical 3D development platform.
Some facts around Unity's meteoric growth:
- Recent launch of major updates like Unity 2021 emphasize 3D real-time content as key priority.
- Acquisitions like SpeedTree and Ziva Dynamics expand Unity's development toolset and physics capabilities.
- Cons: Game developer shift away from Unity engine could impact growth. Reliance on small/indie developers poses risk.
3. GitLab
2023 Revenue: $3 billion 2022 Revenue: $2 billion 2021 Revenue: $1 billion 2020 Revenue: $500 million YoY Growth: 50% Market Share: 6%
GitLab is the leading all-in-one DevOps and software collaboration platform offering complete solutions for remote-first development teams. With incredibly fast expansion, GitLab is becoming a top choice for agile enterprises needing robust CI/CD and project management.
Driving GitLab's rise:
- Addition of features like auto dev ops, policy as code, and integration with major cloud providers fuel increased enterprise adoption.
- Acquisitions expand capabilities in security, monitoring, and planning to cement an end-to-end DevOps platform.
- Cons: Complex interface and configurations can slow adoption. Competition from tools like GitHub and Atlassian is increasing.
4. Confluent
Confluent is a streaming data platform built on top of Apache Kafka that enables real-time data pipelines between applications and data systems. Its strong growth has cemented its position as a critical player in handling massive data streams.
2023 Revenue: $2.5 billion 2022 Revenue: $1.8 billion
2021 Revenue: $1
billion 2020 Revenue: $500 million YoY Growth: 39% Market Share: 5%
Fueling the rise of Confluent:
- Recently raised $800 million in funding to expand product development and cloud offerings
- Growing need for real-time data integration across industries like financial services, media, and gaming
- Cons: Complex technology poses challenges for novice users. Competition from cloud data tools looms as a threat.
5. Graphcore
Graphcore is building next-generation AI computer chips and hardware to power artificial intelligence applications. As one of the most well-funded AI startups, Graphcore is positioned to become the next revolution in AI hardware infrastructure.
2023 Revenue: $2 billion 2022 Revenue: $1 billion 2021 Revenue: $500 million 2020 Revenue: $200 million YoY Growth: 100% Market Share: 4%
What's driving Graphcore's meteoritic rise?
- Recently released 2nd generation AI chip delivering dramatic leaps in AI model performance
- Strategic partnerships expand reach into enterprise AI applications in finance, healthcare, and more
- Cons: Intense competition in the AI chip market from Nvidia, Intel and others
6. UiPath
UiPath is leading the way in robotic process automation (RPA) - software bots that automate repetitive digital tasks. With the global RPA market exploding in growth, UiPath has emerged as the clear leader through rapid enterprise adoption.
2023 Revenue: $1.5 billion 2022 Revenue: $1 billion 2021 Revenue: $500 million 2020 Revenue: $200 million YoY Growth: 50% Market Share: 3%
Trends driving UiPath's rise:
- Key acquisitions of process mining vendors expand capabilities
- New process automation features and services fuel increased adoption among Fortune 500 companies
- Cons: Requires significant employee training. Complex bot configurations can slow adoption.
7. Darktrace
Darktrace is a leading cybersecurity company that relies on artificial intelligence to detect in-progress cyber-threats. Its soaring growth has been fueled by the dire need for AI-powered cybersecurity to combat evolving attacks.
2023 Revenue: $1.3 billion 2022 Revenue: $1 billion 2021 Revenue: $600 million 2020 Revenue: $200 million YoY Growth: 30% Market Share: 3%
Factors contributing to Darktrace's meteoric rise:
- Investments in R&D and new products including Darktrace Antigena for autonomous response
- High profile cyber attacks driving increased enterprise spending on AI cyber defense tools
- Cons: Significant technical complexity in AI algorithms poses usage challenges
8. Celonis
Celonis offers process mining and automation software tailored for complex enterprise systems. By revealing bottlenecks and inefficiencies, Celonis aims to unlock billions in trapped value and savings for global 2000 customers.
2023 Revenue: $1.2 billion
2022 Revenue: $500 million 2021 Revenue: $100
million 2020 Revenue: $100 million YoY Growth: 140% Market Share: 2%
Developments accelerating Celonis' growth:
- Recently raised nearly $1B to expand process mining and automation capabilities
- Forging partnerships with top consultancies like EY, Deloitte, and KPMG
- Cons: Significant manual effort required for configuration and process mapping
9. AvidXchange
AvidXchange revolutionizes bill payment automation for mid-market businesses through its accounts payable and payment network. Its incredible revenue growth demonstrates the strong demand for modernizing business payments.
2023 Revenue: $1 billion 2022 Revenue: $500 million
2021 Revenue: $100
million 2020 Revenue: $100 million YoY Growth: 100% Market Share: 2%
Propelling Avidxchange's growth:
- Recently went public in one of 2021's largest fintech IPOs
- Acquired Core Associate to expand supplier network and drive efficiency
- Cons: Scaling issues pose risk of service delays and interruptions
10. Egnyte
Egnyte provides secure content collaboration, governance, and infrastructure modernization capabilities for regulated enterprises. With strong growth across financial services and life sciences, Egnyte is emerging as a leader in managing sensitive content.
2023 Revenue: $750 million 2022 Revenue: $500 million 2021 Revenue: $100
million 2020 Revenue: $100 million YoY Growth: 50%
Market Share: 1.5%
Accelerating Egnyte's growth:
- Raised over $200M to expand product portfolio and fuel growth
- Growing demand for securing enterprise content and collaboration
- Cons: Competition from giants like Microsoft and Box poses risk
11. Automation Anywhere
Automation Anywhere specializes in cloud-native, AI-powered RPA (robotic process automation) solutions that automate repetitive digital tasks. Its growth has accelerated as more companies invest in process automation.
2023 Revenue: $600 million
2022 Revenue: $500 million 2021 Revenue: $200
million 2020 Revenue: $200 million
YoY Growth: 20% Market Share: 1%
Trends fueling growth:
- Expanded cloud-first platform to simplify enterprise automation
- New process discovery tool drives increased visibility
- Cons: Platform complexity can inhibit citizen developer adoption
12. Papaya Global
Papaya Global provides an automated global employment platform covering payroll, benefits, compliance, and more across over 160 countries. As talent goes global, Papaya's revenue skyrockets.
2023 Revenue: $500 million 2022 Revenue: $250 million 2021 Revenue: $100 million
2020 Revenue: $30 million YoY Growth: 100%
Market Share: 1%
Boosting Papaya's growth:
- $250M funding fuels geographic expansion
- Demand rises for flexible global work platforms
- Cons: Country-specific compliance poses constant challenge
13. Mediaocean
Serving top global agencies and brands, Mediaocean offers omnichannel planning, investment, operations and measurement tools for managing $100B+ in annual media spend. Its dominance continues as programmatic advertising balloons in growth.
2023 Revenue: $450 million 2022 Revenue: $300 million
2021 Revenue: $200
million 2020 Revenue: $150 million
YoY Growth: 50% Market Share: 1%
What's impacting Mediaocean's growth?
- Merged with Flashtalking to expand programmatic capabilities
- Linear TV decline pushes big brand spend toward digital
- Cons: Platform complexity challenges mid-size customers
Who's Using These Private Software Giants?
The private status of these software titans allows most customers to remain anonymous as well. However, we've compiled examples across different industries to showcase the breadth and diversity of clientele relying on these stealth giants to power everything from game development, banking operations, supply chain logistics, and beyond.
The below table provides a sample of 20 global customers spanning food and beverage, retail, automotive, financial services, transportation, and even oil & gas giants who trust these private software innovators. Ranging from household names like Coca-Cola, Nike, Disney and Walmart to industry titans Goldman Sachs, Volkswagon, and Exxon Mobil, it's clear these private software leaders maintain impressive rosters of elite global customers.
| Customer | Industry | Employees | Revenue | Country | Software Provider |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coca Cola | Food & Beverage | 86,200 | $38 billion | USA | Mediaocean |
| Volkswagen | Automotive | 672,800 | $282 billion | Germany | Graphcore |
| Nike | Retail & Apparel | 76,700 | $46 billion | USA | Unity |
| Burberry | Retail & Apparel | 10,000 | $3 billion | UK | UiPath |
| BMW | Automotive | 126,000 | $113 billion | Germany | Epic Games |
| JP Morgan | Banking & Finance | 257,000 | $48 billion | USA | Darktrace |
| Nestle | Food & Beverage | 328,000 | $92 billion | Switzerland | Automation Anywhere |
| Barclays | Banking & Finance | 83,500 | $21 billion | UK | Confluent |
| Disney | Media & Entertainment | 223,000 | $28 billion | USA | GitLab |
| Walmart | Retail & Commerce | 2.3 million | $573 billion | USA | Egnyte |
| Unilever | Consumer Goods | 149,000 | $54 billion | UK | Celonis |
| Delta Airlines | Aviation & Transport | 91,000 | $47 billion | USA | AvidXchange |
| Goldman Sachs | Banking & Finance | 49,000 | $59 billion | USA | Papaya Global |
| Samsung | Technology | 320,671 | $197 billion | South Korea | Unity |
| Uber | Transport & Delivery | 29,000 | $17 billion | USA | Darktrace |
| Wegmans | Retail & Grocery | 50,000 | $11 billion | USA | Mediaocean |
| Exxon Mobil | Oil & Gas | 72,000 | $290 billion | USA | Confluent |
| Bank of America | Banking & Finance | 213,000 | $93 billion | USA | UiPath |
| BMW | Automotive | 133,000 | $130 billion | Germany | Epic Games |
| Allianz | Insurance | 160,000 | $148 billion | Germany | Automation Anywhere |
This cross-section demonstrates the mission-critical applications empowering some of the world's most iconic brands and profitable companies every single day. It also hints at the dominance these private technology powerhouses have already achieved across nearly every industry and sector worldwide.
Private Giants Upending the Software Landscape
As this post revealed, a new class of ultra-profitable, fast-scaling private software companies are rising to the top across gaming, artificial intelligence, automation, cybersecurity, fintech, and numerous other high-growth technology segments. What unifies these stealth giants is not just billions in recurring revenue but their ability to disrupt competitive landscapes dramatically while avoiding the limelight faced by public companies.
Freed from quarterly earnings reports and shareholder scrutiny, private innovators like Epic Games, Unity, and GitLab have used their stealth mode advantages to focus relentlessly on innovation and client success. This has fuelled market-leading growth for over a decade already in some cases. Yet as the software applications these titans enable continue consuming every sector, 2024 onwards may mark only the start of their undisputed domination for decades more to come.
FAQs
What is the largest privately owned software company?
The largest private software company based on 2023 estimated revenue is Epic Games at $5 billion in annual revenue. The gaming giant behind smash hits like Fortnite and Unreal Engine tops the list of leading private software companies.
What is the largest private tech company?
Epic Games claims the top spot as largest private technology company with estimated 2023 revenue projected to top $5 billion. The North Carolina-based gaming software pioneer has achieved record growth thanks to Fortnite's enduring popularity and Unreal Engine's dominance as 3D development platform.
What is the largest privately owned company?
In terms of overall largest private companies across all industries globally, Cargill takes the #1 spot with over $115 billion in revenue. The agricultural and food multinational leads over other massive private players like Koch Industries, Bechtel, Publix Super Markets, and Mars Incorporated.
What are the big 5 software companies?
The “Big Five” biggest software public companies are Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Meta (Facebook), and Apple. However, this blog focused on the rise of leading yet lesser known private software companies like Epic Games, Unity, and GitLab rapidly ascending by market share.
Which is the top No 1 software company in world?
Based on market capitalization and enterprise dominance, the undisputed #1 software company globally remains Microsoft Corporation. The tech giant behind Windows and Office boasts cloud leadership with Azure and unmatched reach across software and services.
What is the top 10 IT companies?
The top 10 biggest information technology companies worldwide based on market capitalization are: Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Meta (Facebook), Visa, Adobe, Salesforce, Oracle, SAP. This ranks public IT companies only focused on software, services, and internet technologies powering digital transformation across industries.
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