Top 50 B2B Marketplace Ranking
Applico's third annual report
We are excited to announce our third annual Top 50 B2B Marketplace report, exclusively for paid subscribers. Similar to prior editions, we have taken both a quantitative and qualitative approach to identifying product marketplaces that have shown great traction. These are privately-owned businesses, not service marketplaces and specifically working in B2B distribution verticals.
2023 was a unique and turbulent time for many. As a result, this year’s ranking has seen a significant shake up, with 14 new marketplaces introduced, including one new entrant that debuts at #2.
Funding for Top 50 Takes a Dive
It was a tough year for startup funding. In 2022, there was over $2B in VC capital raised by the top 50, in comparison to only $700M in 2023. Additionally, deal count was sharply down with 23 fundraising deals, a 5 year low and a 40% decrease from 2022. We saw a few notable names from the 2023 list close their doors while others, like Indigo Ag, made big pivots and raised at a 94% discount compared to its prior $3.5B valuation.
However, the top of the list remains very strong. Faire, #1 in the ranking, raised funding from Shopify and announced a strategic partnership. The other big theme this year is a continuation of a trend we noted in the previous edition of the rankings: the convergence of SaaS and B2B marketplaces. Acculynx, a new entrant at #2 in the rankings, started out as a SaaS tool for roofing contractors. After building a dominant market position on the demand side, it integrated the supply side and eventually began charging a take rate to distributors. GrubMarket, #3 in this year’s Top 50 ranking, has also combined SaaS and marketplace, but from the other direction – starting with marketplace and then layering in a SaaS product to create lock-in and recurring revenue. For more on each of these examples, click below to access the full report.
Here is our Top 10:
What’s in the report:
Full ranking of Top 50 B2B Marketplaces
Fundraising Statistics and 2023 Capital Raises
GMV and Revenue Insights
Detailed Ranking Breakdown
Honorable Mentions
Vertical-by-vertical B2B Comparison
SaaS and Marketplace Convergence and Insights on Top Marketplaces
Top VCs Funding B2B marketplaces
Notable Strategic Investments
Research and Ranking Methodology
This full 27 page report is available exclusively for Distribution Technology subscribers!