This is a list of companies founded by Harvard University alumni, including attendees who enrolled in degree programs at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

but did not eventually graduate. Companies founded by alumni of Radcliffe College (" Harvard Annex", 1879-1999) are not included in this list. This list is not exhaustive, as it only includes notable

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

of which the founding and development history is well recorded by reliable sources. In particular, subsidiaries are listed with their owners in parentheses. Harvard is a highly successful university in attracting funding for start-up companies, and its alumni have created a large number of companies. According to PitchBook, from 2006 to 2017, Harvard produced 844 company founders as alumni or current students, creating 750 companies, fourth most among all universities in the world. In this list, founders of a company which merged with other companies to form a new company are counted as founders of the new company. However, founders of a company which later dissolved into several successor companies are ''not'' counted as founders of those successor companies; this same rule applies to spin-off companies. Finally, a defunct company is a company that had stopped functioning completely (e.g.,

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

) without dissolving, merging or being acquired.

Top companies by revenues

Fortune Global 500 (2017)

This list shows companies in

Fortune Global 500 The ''Fortune'' Global 500, also known as Global 500, is an annual ranking of the top 500 corporations worldwide as measured by revenue. The list is compiled and published annually by ''Fortune'' magazine. Methodology Until 1989, it listed onl ...

founded or co-founded by Harvard alumni. The cut-off revenue for 2017 Fortune Global 500 companies is $21,609M in 2016. *: _{Merger of different companies, at least one of which was founded by Harvard alumni.}

Fortune 1000 (2017)

This list shows companies in

Fortune 1000 The Fortune 1000 are the 1,000 largest American companies ranked by revenues, as compiled by the American business magazine ''Fortune''. It only includes companies which are incorporated or authorized to do business in the United States, and for ...

(only for companies within the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

) founded or co-founded by Harvard alumni. The cut-off revenue for 2017 Fortune 1000 companies was $1,791M in 2016. *: _{Merger of different companies, at least one of which was founded by Harvard alumni.} **: _{Fidelity Investments, Bloomberg L.P., and Boston Consulting Group are not listed in ''Fortune 1000''. Their revenues are provided by ''Forbes

''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
''.}

Former Fortune-listed companies

For each company, only the latest rankings (up to three years) are shown in this list.

Timeline

Index

This index also contains companies listed in section "Notable defunct & dissolved".

2000–present

1980–99

1960–79

1900–59

Before 1900

Notable defunct & dissolved

References

{{Companies founded by University alumni Harvard University

Harvard University alumni The list of Harvard University people includes notable graduates, professors, and administrators affiliated with Harvard University. For a list of notable non-graduates of Harvard, see notable non-graduate alumni of Harvard. For a list of Harv ...