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Sacramento Startups to Watch in 2027: Verified Security, Food Biotech, eFuels and Fintech Companies, Where Founders Get Support and What Happened to the Old List

Sacramento Startups to Watch in 2027: Verified Security, Food Biotech, eFuels and Fintech Companies, Plus Where Founders Get Support

Sacramento is California's capital, and its startup scene draws on two strong research and talent pools: the state government and UC Davis in nearby Davis. The 2026 version of this article listed ten Sacramento startups. When we checked them, one had moved its headquarters to Texas, two could not be matched to a Sacramento company, one website no longer loads, and several were described wrongly. For this 2027 edition we checked every company on its own website in November 2026 to confirm that it exists, that it is based in Sacramento or the wider Sacramento region and that it is still active. We did not pad the list to ten. What happened to the old names is explained near the end.
Quick answer: the Sacramento startups to watch in 2027 are Rhombus (cloud physical security), one.bio (dietary fiber science), Infinium (eFuels), GRIN (creator marketing software) and Acorn Finance (home improvement financing), plus Amplifye in Davis and the drug maker Nivagen. For help, start with UC Davis Venture Catalyst and its Aggie Venture Accelerator, the Carlsen Center at Sacramento State and the City of Sacramento's innovation programmes.
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Why Sacramento Matters for Founders in 2027

Three things shape startups in the Sacramento region. The first is UC Davis, with its research in food, agriculture, health and life sciences, which turns research into companies through its Venture Catalyst office and its new accelerator. The second is the state capital itself: energy, climate, health and financial rules are written here, and startups that sell to regulated industries can meet regulators and agencies in person. The third is cost and space: companies on this list run labs, manufacturing plants and large teams in the region instead of renting small offices in San Francisco.
The City of Sacramento backs the scene with its own money. Its Sacramento Innovation Grant Program (previously called RAILS) funds "startup enablers": community programmes, incubators and accelerators that help founders take an idea to a viable company. Founders do not apply for these grants directly; they join the programmes that the grants pay for.
Sacramento is a mid-sized ecosystem, much like the ones in our guides to Stockton startups and Bakersfield startups in California's Central Valley. Compare it with larger Sun Belt hubs in our lists of San Diego startups to watch and Tucson startups to watch, or with another mid-sized university city in Greensboro startups to watch.

Sacramento Startups to Watch in 2027 Compared

CompanyWhat it doesSacramento-area baseLatest facts we cite
RhombusCloud-managed security cameras, access control and sensorsSacramento address on its website; founded 2016$45M Series C announced on its blog in 2024; LenelS2 integration
one.bioScience-selected dietary fibers for foodIts lab is in Sacramento (its website)Glycopedia fiber database; $27M Series A according to Food Business News
InfiniumeFuels from waste CO2, plus computing infrastructurePress releases datelined SacramentoCommercial-scale eFuels facility in Corpus Christi, Texas
GRINCreator and influencer marketing softwareSacramento address in its privacy policyAI teammate Gia; says 5,000 brands since 2017
Acorn FinanceHome improvement financing through a lender networkSacramento address in its privacy policyFounded in 2018; $0 dealer fees for contractors
AmplifyeEnzymes that make protein easier to absorbDavis, in the Sacramento regionUC Davis spinout; the old Digestiva site now forwards to it
NivagenGeneric, specialty and sterile injectable drugsHeadquarters and sterile plant in Sacramento100,000 sq ft sterile injectables facility
Sources: each company's official website and press releases, checked 2 November 2026. Funding is only listed where the company published it, or marked "according to" a news report.

The Sacramento Startups to Watch in 2027

1. Rhombus: cloud physical security

Rhombus sells cloud-managed physical security for businesses, schools and public buildings: smart cameras, door access control, readers and intercoms, audio, environmental and motion sensors, and live alarm monitoring, all run from one platform with an open API and more than 50 integrations. Its About page says it was founded in 2016 by Garrett Larsson (CEO), Dave Gustafson (CTO) and Omar Khan (COO) and was one of the first companies to offer cloud-based physical security at enterprise level, and its website lists Sacramento as its address. In a letter from the founders published in August 2024, Rhombus announced a $45 million Series C round led by NightDragon, with Bluestone Equity Partners, Cota Capital, Tru Arrow Partners, Caden Capital and Uncorrelated Ventures. In June 2026 its blog announced an integration with LenelS2 Elements that brings AI video and cloud access control together.
Lesson for founders: Rhombus raised a $45 million round from Sacramento by selling to a boring, essential budget line: building security. You do not need a San Francisco office to raise a large round.
Best for: founders in security, IoT hardware and B2B software.
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2. one.bio: the science of dietary fiber

one.bio works on dietary fiber as a biological signal. Its website says modern diets have lost most of the diverse fiber that gut bacteria turn into signalling molecules, and that the company has built the Glycopedia, a database of fiber structures, their fermentation pathways and their effects. It used the Glycopedia to select a fiber, tested it in people for two weeks and reports that participants had fewer digestive symptoms at high servings. Its first food line, the Vitality Collective, is built on these fibers. The website places its lab in Sacramento. According to Food Business News, the company raised a $27 million Series A round led by Alpha Edison in December 2024. The old version of this article called it a clean energy company, which was wrong.
Lesson for founders: one.bio turns a research database into products and partnerships. In a food and agriculture region, data about ingredients can be worth more than the ingredients.
Best for: founders in foodtech, nutrition science and consumer health.

3. Infinium: eFuels and computing infrastructure

Infinium describes itself as a technology company working on the global shifts in energy and digital infrastructure. Its two platforms are Infinium Energy, which turns waste emissions into sustainable products, and Infinium Edge, which is meant to help the next generation of computing scale more efficiently. Its April 2024 press release on PR Newswire about a CO2 supply agreement with a subsidiary of Kinetik was datelined Sacramento and said that Infinium operates the world's first commercial-scale eFuels facility, in Corpus Christi, Texas. The old version of this article called Infinium an IT services company, which did not match what the company does.
Lesson for founders: Infinium keeps its head office in Sacramento while building plants where the CO2, power and customers are. Your headquarters and your factory do not have to be in the same state.
Best for: founders in climate tech, low-carbon fuels and energy infrastructure.
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4. GRIN: creator marketing software

GRIN sells creator marketing software for consumer brands. Its platform finds creators, drafts outreach, and runs gifting, affiliate and paid programmes, with one wallet for creator payments that holds fees in escrow until payout. Its AI teammate, Gia, searches for creators and moves programmes forward while the brand's team makes the decisions. The company says 5,000 brands have used GRIN since 2017. Its privacy policy gives a Sacramento mailing address for the company. GRIN was not on the old list; we added it because its own site confirms the Sacramento base. It does not publish its funding on its website.
Lesson for founders: GRIN shows that a consumer-marketing software company can be built far from Los Angeles and New York, as long as the product sells online.
Best for: founders in marketing technology, AI agents and the creator economy.

5. Acorn Finance: home improvement financing

Acorn Finance connects homeowners and home improvement contractors with a network of lenders. Its About page says it was founded in 2018 by Giri Addanki to make home improvement financing simple, fair and accessible. Its homepage offers contractors financing with $0 dealer fees and says customers can check personalised rates with no impact on their credit score. Its privacy policy, updated in February 2026, gives the company's compliance address in Sacramento. It does not publish funding figures on its site.
Lesson for founders: Acorn sells to contractors, who then bring their customers. A B2B2C model can be cheaper than finding every homeowner yourself.
Best for: founders in fintech, lending marketplaces and home services.

6. Amplifye (formerly Digestiva): protein enzymes from UC Davis

Amplifye makes enzymes that break down protein so that the body can absorb more of it: more bioavailable peptides and more free amino acids from the same protein source, and more protein from food co-products and waste streams. Its mission is to double the world's available protein without one more acre of land. The company's address is on West Covell Boulevard in Davis, and the old digestiva.com website now forwards to Amplifye. In May 2026 UC Davis Venture Catalyst described Amplifye as a UC Davis-born startup that targets protein absorption for people on GLP-1 therapies.
Lesson for founders: Amplifye changed its name and sharpened its story around a trend, GLP-1 drugs, without changing its core science.
Best for: founders in food science, animal nutrition and biotech.

7. Nivagen Pharmaceuticals: generic and sterile drugs

Nivagen Pharmaceuticals develops, makes and sells generic and specialty drugs, including sterile injectables, and offers 503B outsourcing and contract development services. Its website lists its headquarters office and its sterile manufacturing site in Sacramento, its research and development lab in Davis and a solid oral dose plant in Pittsburg, California. It describes a 100,000 sq ft c-GMP sterile injectables facility in Sacramento aimed at FDA drug shortages. Nivagen is not a young startup: its timeline says it was incorporated in 2009-2010, and its logo now reads "A PAI Pharma company".
Lesson for founders: drug shortages are a market. Nivagen grew from a virtual sales company into a manufacturer by building capacity where supply was weak.
Best for: founders in pharmaceuticals, life sciences manufacturing and health supply chains.

Where Sacramento Startups Get Money and Support

UC Davis Venture Catalyst turns UC Davis research into companies. It runs the START programme for UC Davis-affiliated founders, the STAIR proof-of-concept grants (the Autumn 2026 round is closed; funded projects run for 12 months with a review committee of industry and investor experts) and an NSF I-Corps customer discovery short course. In 2026 the university also launched the Aggie Venture Accelerator for early-stage life science startups. Its first cohort, announced in July 2026, is SinewUS, Pharm to Food and ThriveSpan Labs; founders meet twice a week for four months and finish with a Demo Day. It runs with The March Group, a venture firm whose Aggie Venture Accelerator Fund invests in select participants.
  • Carlsen Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Sacramento State): a regional hub in the Sac State Library that aims to make innovation and entrepreneurship pervasive throughout the Greater Sacramento Region. Its programmes include the Capital Hacks hackathon, college pitch competitions and a Startup Challenge, and its Global Entrepreneurship Week events were scheduled for 16 to 20 November 2026.
  • UC Davis Innovation Institute for Food and Health: research projects, fellowships for PhDs, MBAs and undergraduates, venture capital partners and an angel investor network for food and health innovation, with the vision to make the food we love healthier for people and the planet.
  • City of Sacramento Economic Gardening: one-year cohorts for second-stage companies with 5 to 99 employees and $1 million to $50 million in revenue, at least about 25% of it from outside Sacramento County. Each company gets 40 hours of research from the National Center for Economic Gardening and can receive match grants of up to $50,000 to act on it.
  • City of Sacramento Innovation Grant Program: the 2026 round funds three kinds of programmes, entrepreneur access and education, incubators and accelerators, and innovation and investment readiness. The awardees are listed in the city council report on the city's innovation grants page, so check it to find a funded programme near you.
  • California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA): the state's directory of small business advisers in California's network of support centres, plus lists of state and federal grants and lending programmes.
For founders who are just starting, the Carlsen Center and the programmes funded by the city are the easiest doors to walk through. For research-based companies, start with Venture Catalyst. For more investors, see our guide to angel investors in North America.

Sacramento Startups From the Old List: What Changed

The 2026 version of this article listed ten startups. Here is what we found when we checked each one in November 2026:
  • Rhombus, one.bio, Infinium, Acorn Finance and Nivagen: real and based in Sacramento, so they stay on the list. The old descriptions of one.bio (clean energy) and Infinium (IT services) were wrong and have been corrected.
  • Digestiva: its website now forwards to Amplifye in Davis, which we list under its current name.
  • PowerSchool: a real education technology company, but the footer of its website now gives its headquarters in Plano, Texas, and it is not a startup.
  • Eureka Health: the website the name points to belongs to a company that runs operations for independent physicians in New York and the San Francisco Bay Area. We found no Sacramento healthcare startup of that name, so it was removed with its claims.
  • Scooly: its website, myscooly.com, did not load when we checked, so it was removed.
  • Futuro Health: real and based in Sacramento, but it is a national nonprofit that trains allied health workers, not a startup.
We also checked Origin Materials in West Sacramento, a sustainable materials company. On 10 June 2026 it announced that it would voluntarily delist from Nasdaq and deregister with the SEC, in connection with a Plan of Dissolution put to shareholders on 1 July 2026, so we did not list it. We also removed the old article's unsourced claims about costs, grants and support programmes, and links to third-party startup directories.

Which Sacramento Startup Should You Learn From?

  • You build B2B hardware or security software: study Rhombus, which raised a large round from Sacramento.
  • You build food, nutrition or ingredient science: study one.bio and Amplifye, and talk to UC Davis.
  • You build climate or energy technology: study Infinium, which keeps its head office in Sacramento and builds plants elsewhere.
  • You build marketing or AI software: look at GRIN and its AI teammate Gia.
  • You build fintech: look at Acorn Finance's contractor-led model.
  • You are just starting: join a Carlsen Center programme or one funded by the City of Sacramento's innovation grants.
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How Founders Use Sacramento's Startup Scene

Notice where the money comes from: university proof-of-concept grants, a new university accelerator with its own fund, city grants for the programmes that train founders, and a handful of larger venture rounds for companies that sell nationally. If you build in Sacramento, plan for non-dilutive money and early revenue first: see our lists of grants for early-stage startups and grants for female entrepreneurs. When you are ready for investors, compare our guide to early-stage VC firms.
Many investors are in the San Francisco Bay Area. Meet them at the must-attend startup events in San Francisco, the top foodtech startup events and the top climate tech startup events. If you are still choosing where to build, compare cities in our guides to the best cities for early-stage startups and the startup cities of North America.
Before you copy any of these business models, validate your startup idea with real customers. Visibility matters in a mid-sized ecosystem: publish your startup press release and write about your product with the F/MS AI SEO Tool so customers, investors and AI assistants can find you.

FAQ About Sacramento Startups to Watch in 2027

Which Sacramento startups should I watch in 2027?

Our verified list: Rhombus, one.bio, Infinium, GRIN and Acorn Finance in Sacramento, plus Amplifye in Davis and the drug maker Nivagen Pharmaceuticals. We checked each one on its own website in November 2026.

Why does the list have seven companies, not ten?

We only list companies whose own website or press releases confirm that they exist, are based in the Sacramento region and are active. Four names on the old list are based elsewhere, could not be matched to a Sacramento company, no longer have a working website or are not startups.

Which Sacramento startup has published the largest funding round?

Of the companies on our list, Rhombus published the largest round on its own blog: a $45 million Series C led by NightDragon, announced in August 2024. Other companies do not publish their funding on their sites.

Is Sacramento a good place to start a startup?

It suits founders in food and agriculture science, life sciences, climate tech and B2B software who want UC Davis research, state agencies and lower costs than the Bay Area. Many investors are still in the San Francisco Bay Area, so plan to travel for fundraising.

Where can Sacramento founders get free help?

The Carlsen Center at Sacramento State runs pitch competitions, a Startup Challenge and events, and the City of Sacramento funds community programmes, incubators and accelerators through its Innovation Grant Program. UC Davis researchers can use Venture Catalyst's START programme and NSF I-Corps course.

Is there an accelerator in Sacramento?

UC Davis launched the Aggie Venture Accelerator in 2026 for early-stage life science startups. Its first cohort, announced in July 2026, has three startups that meet twice a week for four months before a Demo Day, and a fund managed by The March Group invests in select participants.

Does the City of Sacramento give grants to startups?

Its Innovation Grant Program funds organisations that run programmes for founders, not startups directly. Its Economic Gardening programme offers growing companies with 5 to 99 employees research support and match grants of up to $50,000.

What happened to the startups on the old list?

We kept Rhombus, one.bio, Infinium, Acorn Finance and Nivagen, and list Digestiva under its new name, Amplifye. We removed PowerSchool (headquartered in Texas), Eureka Health (no Sacramento company found), Scooly (website down) and Futuro Health (a nonprofit, not a startup).

Where can I get a backlink by writing about my startup?

You can publish a guest post in one of the Fe/male Switch startup blogs, which rank in Google and in AI tools. Get a quality backlink.

About the Author

Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
2026-11-02 19:54 Best Startups