2025 Dallas 100™ Startups Contribute Billions to DFW Economy

SMU Cox Annual Awards Gala Celebrates Entrepreneurship Ecosystem 

Dallas (SMU) Nov. 24, 2025 – QualiZeal, Inc., an AI-powered engineering and digital transformation service provider headquartered in Irving, ranks as the fastest-growing privately held startup company in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The 35th Annual SMU Cox Dallas 100™ Awards Gala honored QualiZeal and 99 other area startups Nov. 20 at the Dallas Renaissance Hotel in Addison. QualiZeal was also honored in June with the Gold Stevie® Award as the 2025 Fastest Growing Tech Company of the Year at the Annual American Business Awards in New York. Founded in 2021, the company is staffed by a team of 750 people who work with a range of corporations and companies to keep software defect-free.    

The Dallas 100 celebrates the area’s top entrepreneurial companies based on growth over three years. Emily Choi, Ph.D., the Linda A. and Kenneth R. Morris Endowed Director of the Caruth Institute for Entrepreneurship, the event’s founding sponsor, said, “At this event, we celebrate the ecosystem that makes possible the venture, the communities and all the places where ideas come from.” 

Choi and Josh Taylor, Executive Director of the William S. Spears Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership, a title sponsor this year, gave thanks to retired Caruth Institute Executive Director Jerry White, who co-launched the Dallas 100 in 1990. White offered congratulations in a letter that was included in the event program. He wrote, “To this year’s winners: You are part of a powerful tradition. You’re building great companies—and shaping the future of our region along the way.”    

The revenue range among this year’s top 100 startups was up to $250M for the three most recent fiscal years for which complete financial records are available. The broader revenue qualification this year opened the application pool to more early-stage startup companies.  

Texas Capital Bank Managing Director and Dallas 100 Chair Bill Rolley told the audience of entrepreneurs that, “Constant change has innovated. Dallas-Fort Worth continues to be one of the biggest business regions in the world, and for good reason. Our state fosters a culture of innovation and opportunity that has ambitious leaders, bold thinkers, and companies ready to grow the driving force.” Texas Capital was this year’s presenting sponsor.

Hundreds of the area’s entrepreneurial companies submitted 2022-2024 sales information, which was reviewed by outside accounting firm Forvis Mazars based on percentage growth and absolute dollar growth over the previous three years, emphasizing their contributions to the area’s economy. Collectively, the 2025 Dallas 100-ranked companies generated more than $10 billion in sales from 2022 to 2024, the last year for which complete financial records are available. All 100 companies had a combined annual growth rate over the past two years of more than 70%.  

Along with the William S. Spears Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership, Forvis Mazars, Executive Press, Polsinelli and USI Insurance Services, served as the 2025 title sponsors. The Dallas Business Journal and KRLD NewsRadio 1080 were this year’s media sponsors. 

The top 10 fastest-growing DFW companies in 2025 received special recognition at the event as The Hilltop 10. Listed in rank order, The Hilltop 10 companies are 1) QualiZeal, Irving; 2) Neuro Pathway, Dallas; 3) Maverick Power, McKinney; 4) HighLevel, Dallas; 5) MYNGLY, Richardson; 6) Island, Dallas; 7) WRG LLC, Carrollton; 8) Verus RX LLC, Dallas; 9) Meltar Supply, Addison; and 10) Unleashed Brands, Bedford.

A complete, ranked list of all 2025 SMU Cox Dallas 100 companies, listed from No. 1 to No. 100, follows.