Deloitte released the 2017 North America Technology Fast 500, an annual ranking of the fastest growing North American companies in the technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and energy tech sectors. Donuts Inc. claimed the top spot with a growth rate of 59,093 percent from 2013 to 2016.

Based in Seattle, Donuts Inc. is the leading global registry for new domain extensions and provides customers with innovative services for the discovery, registration, usage and monetization of high-quality domain names. Founded in 2010, Donuts Inc. helps individuals and organizations manage and enhance their online brands by offering a large assortment of top-level domains that complement and extend beyond the traditional dot-com.

Awardees are selected for this honor based on percentage fiscal year revenue growth from 2013 to 2016. Overall, the 2017 Technology Fast 500 companies achieved revenue growth ranging from 135 percent to 59,093 percent in the 2013 to 2016 time frame, with a median growth rate of 380 percent.

"The Deloitte 2017 North America Technology Fast 500 winners underscore the impact of technological innovation and world class customer service in driving growth, in a fiercely competitive environment," said Sandra Shirai, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP and U.S. technology, media and telecommunications leader. "These companies are on the cutting edge and are transforming the way we do business. We extend our sincere congratulations to all the winners for achieving remarkable growth while delivering new services and experiences for their customers."

"Donuts is delighted to be recognized by Deloitte as the fastest-growing tech company in the Fast 500 list," said Bruce Jaffe, Donuts president and chief executive officer. "With the world's largest portfolio of new domain names, ranging from .life, .social, .email, and .news, to specifics such as .pizza and .plumbing, our rapid growth underscores accelerating global demand. The Fast 500 achievement will further amplify our efforts to drive adoption of new domain names, as businesses and individuals embrace innovative ways to promote their digital identities."

The top 10 ranked companies are as follows:

Regional growth and innovation remain strong in 2017:
Deloitte's Technology Fast 500 winners represent more than 40 states and provinces across North America. 

Silicon Valley, continues to lead the rankings in geographic representation with 18 percent of the companies on the list in 2017. In addition, the rankings also saw strong geographic representation from the New York metro area at 16 percent, Los Angeles at 8 percent, New England at 6 percent and the Greater Washington D.C. and Washington State areas each at 5 percent, respectively. Following is a summary of the 2017 ranking by regions with a significant concentration of winners:

Software fastest growing sector, maintaining a 22-year stronghold
Software companies continue to deliver the highest growth rates for the 22^nd straight year, representing 59 percent of the entire list and seven of the top 10 winners overall. Of the private companies on the list, 43 percent identified themselves in software as a service (SaaS), 19 percent in enterprise software and 9 percent in both data analytics and security. Since the creation of the ranking, software companies have consistently made up the majority of winners, with a median growth rate of 371 percent in 2017.

Biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies made up the second most prevalent sector in this year's rankings, at 17 percent and a median growth rate of 453 percent in 2017. Digital content, media and entertainment companies rank third at 11 percent and a median growth rate of 543 percent. 

Following is a summary of the 2017 ranking by industry sector:

Majority of Fast 500 companies received venture backing
In the 2017 Fast 500 rankings, 70 percent of the companies were backed by venture capital at some point in their company history. Notably, nine of the top 10 companies on the Technology Fast 500 in 2017 received venture funding.

"Emerging growth companies are powering innovation in the broader economy," said Heather Gates, national managing director of Deloitte & Touche LLP's emerging growth company practice.  "The growth rates delivered by the companies on this year's North America Technology Fast 500 ranking are a bright spot for the capital markets and a strong indicator that the emerging growth technology sector will continue to deliver a strong return on investment. Deloitte is dedicated to supporting the best and brightest companies of the future in the emerging growth company sector. We are proud to acknowledge the significant accomplishments of this year's Fast 500 winners."