Toronto-based 1Password is the only Canadian startup featured in this year’s Cloud 100 list, a ranking of global private cloud-computing companies jointly created by Bessemer Venture Partners and Salesforce Ventures, in partnership with Forbes magazine.

Out of a list of 100 companies, 1Password ranked right in the middle, taking the number 50 spot. Cloud 100 featured companies from a variety of verticals; 1Password was the sole company operating in identity security.

1Password is one of the few companies in this year’s Cloud 100 that doesn’t focus on AI.

Founded in 2005, 1Password has long focused on its namesake, developing solutions for managing passwords. It has since become one of Canada’s most valuable tech companies, with a current valuation of $6.5 billion USD, according to the list.

Over the past year, 1Password has shifted its focus to a “passwordless future” with its own iteration of passkeys—a type of authentication method that allows users to log into sites and services without a password.

Compared to traditional passwords, passkeys are said to be more resistant from phishing and hacking as they do not require user credentials that bad actors could steal. With passkeys, users need only a personal device to authenticate their identities using a face scan or fingerprint.

In its own 18-month window of ushering in passkeys, 1Password launched a passkeys solution for businesses in May, allowing them to implement passkeys for their apps and websites without their own authentication infrastructure.

1Password is also one of the few startups in Cloud 100 this year that doesn’t focus on artificial intelligence (AI), as the list is largely populated by companies that offer an application of AI technology in some capacity.

RELATED: 1Password launches passkeys for businesses as shift to passwordless picks up

According to Bessemer, over half (55) of the companies in the Cloud 100 this year have announced a generative AI product or feature in the last eight months, while 70 are using AI or machine learning (ML) in their products today.

OpenAI, creator of AI chatbot ChatGPT, became a new entrant and took the number one spot, replacing Stripe which has had a stronghold for four of the last five installations of the list.

1Password CEO Jeff Shiner recently spoke about AI’s threat to cybersecurity as password cracking tools are getting better using the technology.

Feature image courtesy 1Password.

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