18 of the hottest under-the-radar startups to watch in 2017

But there's a new wave of companies eschewing the Valley/Alley life in favor of building their startups in their hometowns or in less tech-focused metros. Now, places like Utah, Seattle, Boston, and Colorado are becoming hubs for enterprise and consumer startups.

Below are some of the most exciting startups from cities across the US.

Uptake is helping to improve some of the nation's oldest industries.

Where it's from:

What it is: Uptake uses analytics and predictive software to increase safety and enhance performance for companies in industries like construction, aviation, mining, and rail, according to Forbes. Uptake was founded by Groupon cofounder Brad Keywell and has the backing of construction-equipment giant Caterpillar.

Founder: Brad Keywell

Funding: $51 million from Lightbank, Caterpillar, GreatPoint Ventures, and New Enterprise Associates.

Hudl is a tech tool for sports teams.

Where it's from: Lincoln, Nebraska

What it is: Hudl is a key component in helping more than 100,000 sports teams nationwide win games. The startup allows coaches to record or upload video to its platform, annotate it with text, drawings, or voice, and share it with players on their mobile devices.

Founders: David Graff, Brian Kaiser, and John Wirtz

Funding: $77 million from Accel Partners, Nelnet, Nebraska Angels, and others.

Heptio wants to take Kubernetes mainstream.

Where it's from:

What it is: In 2014, Google released the free software Kubernetes — a tool to manage and maintain huge piles of containers that's based on the tech it had developed for the same function. Kubernetes became a smash hit, with developers all over the world using it to get a little bit of that Google magic in their own computing infrastructures. Now two of its founding team members have launched a new startup, Heptio, to turn it into a business and make it accessible to enterprises everywhere.

Founders: Joe Beda and Craig McLuckie

Funding: $8.5 million from Accel and Madrona Ventures.

Pindrop Security can pick up when someone is trying to steal your identity over the phone.

Where it's from:

What it is: Pindrop Security is a fraud prevention and authentication tool that's now being

Founder: Vijay Balasubramaniyan

Funding:$122 million from CapitalG, GV, Felicis Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and others.

Starry wants to supercharge your internet.

Where it's from:

What it is:Launched in January 2016, Starry will sell wireless equipment that will deliver supercharged internet speeds up to 1 gigabit per second. That's fast enough to download a two-hour movie in just a few seconds.

Starry makes a receiver called the Starry Point that hangs out your window like an antenna. You can hook up your own wireless receiver or use its own Starry Station, a $250 device that can tell you right from its screen how fast your internet is performing.

Founder:

Funding:

SendGrid is proving that email isn't dead.

Where it's from:

What it is: If any startup can prove email is not dead, it's SendGrid. This 7-year-old startup, which makes email marketing and tracking tools, is profitable, expects to generate $100 million in revenue next year, and has signed up over 42,000 paying customers, including some of the largest tech companies like Uber, Airbnb, and Spotify.

Founders: Tim Jenkins, Jose Lopez, and Isaac Saldana

Funding: $80.36 million from Bain Capital Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Founders Fund, and others.

Jamf is helping IT pros manage Apple.

Where it's from:

What it is: What started out as a bootstrapped company founded by two IT guys who loved Macs has become a full-fledged phenom. makes software that lets companies manage hundreds or thousands of Macs and iOS devices. The company boasts more than 9,000 customers — including one of the world's biggest Mac users, IBM — and has over 38,000 members in its Nation, an online community for Apple IT professionals.

Founders: Chip Pearson and

Funding: $30 million from Battery Ventures, Dell Ventures, GSV Capital, and Summit Partners.

Nowait lets you get in line at restaurants without leaving your house.

Where it's from:

What it is:

Founder: Robb Myer

Funding: $22 million from Yelp, Birchmere Ventures, Carnegie Mellon University, and others.

Bellhops wants to take the pain out of moving.

Where it's from: Chattanooga, Tennessee

What it is: Bellhops is an on-demand startup for moving. The Tennessee-based company operates in more than 50 cities nationwide and is staffed by local college students. What sets Bellhops apart from other movers is its convenience: you can instantly get a quote online, reserve a moving crew for $1, and choose from three different types of moves.

Bellhops best serves small-scale moves (up to two bedrooms) and uses algorithms to make the whole thing more affordable.

Founders: Stephen Vlahos and Cameron Doody

Funding: $22 million from Canaan Partners, Lowercase Capital, Alexis Ohanian, and others.

Invincea built a super-fast way to stop ransomware.

Where it's from:

What it is: Invincea offers a next-generation antivirus product that can stop, among other things, ransomware, a hack attack that locks up a computer and demands a ransom.

Its claim to fame is speed. It can identify and stop malware in less than 20 milliseconds, so it doesn't slow a computer down as it works to protect it.

Founder:

Funding: $47.4 million from Dell Ventures, Grotech Ventures, and others.

OfferUp is eBay and Craigslist rolled into one.

Where it's from:

What it is:

Founders: Nick Huzar and Arean Van Veelen

Funding: $222 million from GGV Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, GGV Capital, and others.

Cylance is using artificial intelligence to outsmart hackers.

Where it's from:

What it is:

Founders: Stuart McClure and

Funding: $177 million from Insight Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, and others.

Simple takes the millennial approach to banking.

Where it's from:

What it is: Simple wants to build a more modern bank.

Founders:

Funding: $15 million from Shasta Ventures, First Round Capital, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, and others.

ScienceLogic is watching the cloud to $100 million-plus in revenue.

Where it's from:

What it is:ScienceLogic helps companies locate and monitor all of their IT assets in the company's own data center or in the cloud.

The rise of cloud computing has been very, very good for this company: ScienceLogic's revenue under contract — its bookings — increased from about $30 million in 2014 to $100 million in 2015, CEO Dave Link told Business Insider earlier this year. He expects big growth for 2016, too, although he wouldn't share the target number.

Founder: Dave Link

Funding: $84 million from Goldman Sachs Group, Intel Capital, and New Enterprise Associates.

Nucleus is building the intercom of the future.

Where it's from:

What it is: Intercoms aren't the sexiest home technology, but Nucleus wants to turn it into one of the most useful. Backed by Amazon, the startup built a touch-screen device that can be placed anywhere inside a home and responds to voice commands using Amazon's Alexa technology.

It's a lot more than a typical intercom: the Nucleus also lets you audio and video chat between rooms or with other homes that have the system. Plus, you can tap into Alexa to do things like read headlines or listen to music. Nucleus went on the market in August and sold out on Amazon on the first day.

Founder:

Funding:

Qualtrics is an IPO-bound market research company.

Where it's from:

What it is:Qualtrics offers software for doing sophisticated surveys, market research, and analysis. It sprang into the Valley spotlight in 2012, when the tech world discovered that this family startup had bootstrapped its way to big growth and profitability.

At one point, its young 30-something CEO, Ryan Smith, had an acquisition offer of $500 million in one hand and seven term sheets from major VC firms in the other. He turned down the offer and decided to grow the company himself.

Founders: Ryan Smith and Jared Smith

Funding: $220 million from Sequoia Capital, Accel Partners, and Insight Venture Partners.

Lola is the 21st century travel agent.

Where it's from: Boston, Massachusetts

What it is:works as a chat app combination of artificial-intelligence technology

Founder: Paul English

Funding: $20 million

Convoy wants to revamp the multibillion-dollar trucking industry.

Where it's from:

What it is:Convoy wants to be the "Uber for trucks": an online service that, with the click of a button, lets shippers order a truck and keep track of drivers. Convoy cuts out a costly and time-consuming aspect of the trucking industry — brokers — by companies who need things shipped directly to the trucking companies.

Founders: Dan Lewis and Grant Goodale

Funding: $18.5 million from Greylock Partners, Bezos Expeditions, Marc Benioff, and others.