100 noteworthy young startups -- and what they tell us about tech this year

Looking at what early-stage startups are working on is not only entertaining -- and sometimes concerning -- it can also be a good indicator of where tech is headed. Since we have data on these young ventures at my company, Startup Tracker, we have the opportunity to glimpse emergent product trends in the startup space. We decided to put together a list of the 100 most interesting little-known startups in existence right now and to analyze the underlying patterns. We specifically focused on companies that are building something unique or unconventional. One interesting trend we spotted was the apparent birth of a startup meta-industry -- startups building products for other startups is becoming a thing.