Discover the top San Diego companies impacting industries with innovations. This article highlights 10 startups driving advancements in healthcare, AI, biotechnology, logistics, and more. From RNA-targeting therapies to autonomous firefighting drones and personalized marketing tools, these companies showcase the city’s thriving startup ecosystem. Also, it gives an overview of innovative technologies and how key investors are fueling growth, and collaborating between startups and corporates to reshape industries.
10 Top San Diego Companies
- ADARx Pharmaceuticals – RNA Targeting Technology
- Excellos – Cell Therapy
- Tag-N-Trac – Logistics Tracking
- Vistry – Business Chatbot
- Advice Analytics – Investment Analytics
- Advanced AI Solutions – Autonomous Firefighting Drones
- FX1 – Combat Sport Analytics
- Dopplio – Personalized Marketing Videos
- Helport AI – Customer Relationship Optimization
- azyo – Automated ID Verification
Global Startup Heat Map highlights 10 Top San Diego Companies to Watch
Through the Big Data & Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering over 4 760 120+ startups & scaleups globally, we identified 1290+ startups.
The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights the 10 San Diego startups you should watch in 2025 as well as the geo-distribution of all 1290+ startups & scaleups we analyzed for this research.
As the world’s largest resource for data on emerging companies, the SaaS platform enables you to identify relevant technologies and industry trends quickly and exhaustively.
The 10 hand-picked startups highlighted in this report are chosen from all over San Diego and develop solutions for logistics tracking, RNA targeting technology, combat sports analytics, cell therapy, and much more.
Explore 10 Top San Diego Companies to Watch in 2025
1. ADARx Pharmaceuticals
- Founding Year: 2019
- Industry: Pharma
- Technology: RNA Targeting Technology
ADARx Pharmaceuticals develops RNA-targeting technologies for treating genetic, cardiometabolic, and central nervous system diseases. The startup’s platform utilizes oligonucleotides for inhibition, degradation, and editing of disease-causing mRNA, utilizing existing cellular machinery to achieve precise therapeutic effects.
ADARx Pharmaceutical’s approach includes proprietary RNA editing techniques that enable single-base modifications, as well as RNA degradation and inhibition methods that regulate gene expression through modified cryopreservation according to client specifications.
2. Excellos
- Founding Year: 2021
- Industry: Healthcare
- Technology: Cell Therapy
Excellos specializes in the collection, characterization, and manufacturing of human cells for adoptive cell therapies. The startup’s platform, Excellos 360, creates detailed immune profiles and assesses the metabolic and effector potential of donor cells, which goes beyond typical cell and donor screening.
The process reduces variabilities in clinical responses and increases the probability of success in trials. The platform sources from a diverse consented, and recallable donor pool, providing custom-sourced starting materials that meet specific program needs.
Further, Excellos will manufacture Galapagos’ CAR-T therapy GLPG5101 for the FDA-cleared ATALANTA-1 study on relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
3. Tag-N-Trac
- Founding Year: 2021
- Industry: Logistics
- Technology: Logistics Tracking
Tag-N-Trac provides a modular SaaS platform called RELATIVITY for supply chain visibility and traceability. The platform integrates data from various devices and sensors, including Bluetooth, cellular, RFID, and barcodes, to monitor shipments and assets from container to item level.
The platform features two main components: Sense Stream, which analyzes data from active sensors, and Trace Stream, which processes information from passive sources. The system offers real-time monitoring of location and condition, enabling companies to quickly identify and resolve issues such as shipping delays, missing assets, and temperature excursions.
Tag-N-Trac’s solution includes intuitive dashboards, custom reporting, alerts, and advanced analytics to improve operational performance. The platform also integrates with existing enterprise systems like ERP, WMS, and TMS, allowing for rapid deployment and scalability.
4. Vistry
- Founding Year: 2020
- Industry: Cross Industry
- Technology: Business Chatbot
Vistry develops AI-powered chatbots for enterprise operations, focusing on customer service and internal communications. The startup’s product, LumoChat, serves as a virtual assistant that brings the guest experience to digital channels.
This AI-driven solution handles customer inquiries, provides product information, and resolves issues in real-time, operating 24/7 to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.
LumoChat also facilitates online product ordering, efficiently managing high volumes of interactions without extensive human resources. The solution features a chatbot analyzer that studies customer interactions to generate data-driven insights.
5. Advice Analytics
- Founding Year: 2019
- Industry: Finance
- Technology: Investment Analytics AI
Advice Analytics develops AI technology that strengthens client engagement and prospecting for retirement and financial services. The startup’s proprietary machine learning algorithms and generative AI analyze individual-level data to identify and prioritize clients and prospects effectively.
This technology creates hyper-personalized nudge messaging and scores purchase interest for advisory services that eliminate guesswork and reduce intake time.
Advice Analytics’ platform, CommsAI, offers intuitive insights customized to each retirement plan and financial advisory practice, allowing advisors to focus on building strong client relationships.
The system incorporates enterprise-grade security protocols and adheres to privacy and compliance governance, ensuring secure and compliant storage of sensitive information. AI-powered client engagement empowers financial advisors to craft secure communication experiences, run their practices more effectively, and drive growth in their core services.
Interested in exploring all 1290+ San Diego-based startups & scaleups?
6. Advanced AI Solutions
- Founding Year: 2019
- Industry: Firefighting
- Technology: Autonomous Firefighting Drones
Advanced AI Solutions develops autonomous firefighting drones and AI-powered technology for early fire detection and rapid suppression. The startup’s system integrates firefighting drones, long-range thermal cameras, weather collection stations, and AI software to detect fires up to 5 miles away.
Once a fire is detected, critical information is transmitted to fire department command centers for analysis and decision-making. The drones are then quickly deployed to the scene, strategically located near fire-prone areas for low-altitude, high-precision fire combat.
These drones feature dry powder bombs, high-capacity batteries, fire extinguishing tanks, and multiple cameras, enabling them to operate effectively day or night. The system mitigates or potentially extinguishes fires before they spread, sends live video and precise critical information to firefighters, and operates in swarms to combat fires over larger areas.
7. FX1
- Founding Year: 2019
- Industry: Sports
- Technology: Combat Sport Analytics
FX1 offers combat sports analytics through its AI-powered DataPulse platform. The startup integrates artificial intelligence, computer vision, and machine learning technologies to transform live combat sports events into actionable insights.
FX1’s system captures and processes real-time data during matches, extracting high-speed, precise information without disrupting the live experience. The platform offers fight card optimization, sponsorship analytics, and performance enhancement tools for athletes and coaches. FX1 analyzes vast datasets to create balanced matchups, identify brand logos, and provide in-depth performance metrics.
The startup’s technology ensures data security and immutability through blockchain integration, which addresses the evolving needs of sports leagues and broadcasters.
8. Dopplio
- Founding Year: 2022
- Industry: Cross Industry
- Technology: Personalized Marketing Videos
Dopplio provides AI-powered personalized video generation for small-to-medium-sized recruiting, coaching, and lead generation agencies. The startup’s cloud-based SaaS tool automates cold-video outreach by utilizing artificial intelligence to create customized video content at scale. This technology streamlines the process of producing tailored videos for marketing and sales teams, eliminating the need for manual recording and editing.
Dopplio’s solution offers personalization based on individual recipient data and the ability to generate a large volume of videos efficiently. The platform works with existing business development strategies, enabling agencies to focus on core activities while enhancing their outreach efforts.
Further, this automated video personalization service increases engagement rates, saves time for businesses, and ultimately drives revenue growth through more effective marketing and sales communications.
Doppio raised USD 1 million in seed funding from the Amazon Alexa Fund and Google Assistant to advance voice-controlled gaming experiences.
9. Helport AI
- Founding Year: 2020
- Industry: Cross Industry
- Technology: Customer Relationship Optimization
Helport AI develops a platform that optimizes customer relationship management in contact centers. The startup’s AI-powered solution analyzes customer interactions that provide real-time insights and recommendations to enhance agent performance and improve overall service quality.
Helport’ AI’s machine learning algorithms identify patterns in customer communication that enable agents to respond more effectively and efficiently. The platform offers personalized coaching for agents, automated quality assurance, and predictive analytics for customer satisfaction.
Helport AI integrates with various outsourcing models, including large-scale BPO corporations, offshore setups, and hybrid arrangements. This drives customer service excellence and fosters stronger, more meaningful relationships between businesses and their clients.
Additionally, Helport AI partners with MZ Group for investor relations and shareholder communications.
10. azyo
- Founding Year: 2020
- Industry: Cross Industry
- Technology: Automated ID Verification
azyo develops facial recognition technology that identifies and verifies individuals in images, videos, or real-time scenarios. The startup’s solution employs deep convolutional neural networks and powerful graphics processing units to analyze facial features, calculating up to 128 nodal points on each human face for precise identification and authentication.
azyo’s facial recognition algorithms measure specific characteristics such as the distance between eyes and the shape of cheekbones. The technology incorporates liveness detection, addressing a critical challenge in ID verification by distinguishing between real faces and fraudulent attempts.
By combining artificial intelligence, facial biometrics, and machine learning algorithms, azyo’s automated ID verification system enables businesses to rapidly convert more customers, prevent fraudsters from infiltrating online ecosystems, and maintain regulatory compliance.
Additionally, 100Unicorns VC launched a USD 200 million fund to support startups like Azyo. The fund focuses on sectors including EV, fintech, and SaaS.
Discover All Emerging San Diego-based Startups
The 1290+ San Diego-based startups showcased in this report are only a small sample of all startups we identified through our data-driven startup scouting approach.
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