CNBC Disruptor 50 Terms and Conditions

Nominations for the CNBC Disruptor 50 may be submitted by company employees, investors, or any communications representatives. To nominate a company for the 2025 Disruptor 50 list, we require a one-time application fee of $795 before Monday, February 10 at 11:59 pm ET.

After the application fee is submitted, you will receive an email that contains a link to the official application form, which must be completed by Monday, February 10 at 11:59 pm ET, along with a PDF version of the application form that you can use for planning purposes before submitting responses.

All companies MUST complete the application form to be considered for the 2025 Disruptor 50 list.

The application form requires the nominee company to submit detailed qualitative and quantitative information about its business model, its sales, user growth and profitability, use of breakthrough technology, employee and leadership diversity, and more.  

We estimate the application form will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. However, companies often require additional time to confirm details and edit their responses before hitting “submit” on the application form.  

We will provide all companies with a PDF version of the application form that they can use for planning purposes before submitting responses. This document will also contain answers to frequently asked questions about the application details.  

Once all applications are received, companies are then scored across approximately 15 quantitative categories, which are weighted according to an analysis by the Disruptor 50 Advisory Board, a group of leading thinkers in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship. In 2024, the council found that “scalability” and “user growth” were the most important criteria, followed by “sales growth” and “use of breakthrough technologies.” These categories received the highest weighting, but the methodology is designed to ensure that companies must score highly on a wide range of quantitative and criteria to make the final list. (Additional note: category weightings change year-to-year based on the input of the Advisory Board.)  

A holistic qualitative assessment is also part of each company’s consideration.

A full explanation of our methodology can be found here: cnb.cx/4hN9c6Q

CNBC does not share or publish category weighting and is not able to provide any details beyond the above. Providing complete and honest responses is the best way to give your company its best chance of being named to the Disruptor 50 list.