Research
Research
Research that proves or disproves the category. Every claim traces to a graded observation in the public dataset.
Flagship
Annual report · 2026Preliminary
State of Zero-Employee Startups 2026
How many companies qualify, the Race to $1B, revenue and team structure, which functions are automated and which stay human, and where public evidence runs out.
Preliminary edition · 16 Oct 2026
Live tracker
Race to the First $1B Zero-Employee Company
Ranked by latest supported private valuation. No imputed values.
Updated 16 Oct 2026
Data & reference
Dataset
Company dossiers
Evidence-graded dossiers on zero- and near-zero-employee companies.
10 published
Benchmarks
Revenue per human & team structure
Comparisons that only use time-consistent, evidenced inputs.
As of 16 Oct 2026
Leaderboard
Sortable leaderboard
Score, revenue, valuation, revenue per human, autonomy and evidence quality.
10 companies
Definition
What is a zero-employee startup?
The canonical definition and how it differs from solopreneurs, one-person companies and autonomous companies.
Reference
Methodology
Classification, evidence & scoring
The versioned rules behind every number on the site.
ZES-0.1
Stack
Tools that replace a business function
Autonomy level, approval needs and sourced pricing.
Reference