The field of artificial intelligence is growing fast and drawing attention. The launch of conversational chatbot ChatGPT roused so much curiosity, it garnered 100m active users in just two months.
Big names like Google and Amazon are investing major sums in the technology. In total, AI startups received $52.1B in venture capital in 2022.
These startups are building creative solutions to problems faced by businesses and consumers in areas ranging from military surveillance to coffee roasting.
Top AI Startups: 40 Picks
1. Abnormal Security
Founded: 2018
Location: San Francisco, California
Abnormal Security uses AI to detect dangerous emails that can slip past traditional security systems. They protect more than 5% of Fortune 1000 companies from email-based cybercrime.
2. Adept AI
Founded: 2022
Location: San Francisco, California
Adept is teaching an AI model to use computers like humans do. If all goes to plan, its AI assistant will perform plain language commands — like “make a spreadsheet of my monthly expenses” or “edit out the background noise in this sound clip” — using existing software.
3. AlphaSense
Founded: 2011
Location: New York, New York
The startup’s AI search platform allows professionals to filter through documents — like quarterly reports and trade journals — in a more sophisticated way than hitting Ctrl-F. It can also summarize texts and turn spreadsheets into graphics.
4. Amp Robotics
Founded: 2015
Location: Louisville, Colorado
Its AI robotic sorting system is used to increase precision and speed in the recycling process, so that fewer items end up in landfills.
5. Anthropic
Founded: 2021
Location: San Francisco, California
The AI research company was founded by former employees of ChatGPT maker OpenAI. Their chatbot, Claude, can be put to work as a customer service representative, legal research assistant, or personal coach.
6. Cleerly
Founded: 2017
Location: New York, New York
Cleerly uses AI to compare 3D scans of a patient’s heart with a database of millions of others to detect early signs of heart disease.
7. Dataiku
Founded: 2013
Location: New York, New York
Dataiku is a platform that uses AI to help organizations across industries make better use of their data. For example, they can help subscription-based media companies predict customer churn, or help retailers optimize stock levels across multiple locations. Their clients include Unilever and Cisco.
8. Descartes Underwriting
Founded: 2018
Location: Paris, France
Descartes Underwriting is a global insurer for climate-related risks. They use AI to process data from satellites, radar, and other sources to identify and model climate trends.
9. Diligent Robotics
Founded: 2017
Location: Austin, Texas
This company has developed robot health care assistants that support hospital staff by performing routine tasks, like fetching medicine and transporting lab samples.
10. Domino Data Lab
Founded: 2013
Location: San Francisco, California
Domino Data Lab helps data analysts and IT professionals improve the speed and quality of their data science projects by leveraging AI. Their platform is used by over 20% of the Fortune 100.
11. Eightfold AI
Founded: 2016
Location: Santa Clara, California
Eightfold’s suite of HR tools use AI to automate the process of sourcing and screening job candidates, saving employers time and reducing bias. Their career center uses AI to match job seekers to roles and help workers plan their career path.
12. Geek+
Founded: 2015
Location: Beijing, China
Geek+ manufactures autonomous robots that are used for picking, moving, and sorting in factories and warehouses. Their clients include Nike, Walmart, and Toyota.
13. Grammarly
Founded: 2009
Location: San Francisco, California
The AI-powered app and browser extension helps users compose clear, error-free, and tone-appropriate emails, documents, and social media posts. The tool is used by 30m+ people daily.
14. H2O.ai
Founded: 2012
Location: Mountain View, California
H2O.ai is an AI platform that allows organizations to build predictive models and analyze data for a range of purposes, without writing any code.
15. Insilico Medicine
Founded: 2014
Location: Hong Kong
Insilico Medicine has created a virtual AI-powered laboratory that can comb through massive data sets to expedite the drug discovery process. It focuses on the treatment of degenerative diseases.Their technology can also identify weaknesses in the design of clinical trials.
16. Jasper.ai
Founded: 2021
Location: Austin, Texas
Jasper uses AI to help businesses write brand-appropriate content, like customer service emails, website copy, and social media posts, faster. Their customers include Google, Intel, and Sports Illustrated.
17. Jupiter Intelligence
Founded: 2017
Location: San Mateo, California
Jupiter Intelligence uses AI, climate models, and geographical data to estimate the risks posed by extreme weather and climate change for any location on the planet.
Their hyperlocal analysis helps organizations better protect infrastructure and communities, invest wisely, and make suitable adaptations to business models and supply chains. Their customers include NASA, BP, and the City of Miami.
18. Keenon Robotics
Founded: 2010
Location: Shanghai, China
Keenon builds AI delivery robots that can serve meals in restaurants, offices, and hospitals, and carry out room service requests in hotels. They have 35k+ robots operating in 600+ cities.
19. Komodo Health
Founded: 2014
Location: San Francisco, California
Komodo Health tracks 325m patients’ health care encounters. It uses AI to glean market insights from the data, which it sells as a subscription service to biopharmaceutical companies.
20. Miso Robotics
Founded: 2016
Location: Pasadena, California
The startup creates AI robots for commercial kitchens. Their robots flip burgers and fry chips for brands like White Castle and Chipotle.
21. Moveworks
Founded: 2016
Location: Mountain View, California
Moveworks is a conversational AI chatbot that supports enterprise employees with everything from IT problems to expense approvals and annual leave queries. Their customers include Slack and LinkedIn.
22. Next Insurance
Founded: 2016
Location: Palo Alto, California
Next Insurance is an online-based insurance company for small businesses. It leverages AI to speed up applications and claims.
23. Nuro
Founded: 2016
Location: Mountain View, California
Nuro aims to build driverless electric vehicles that specialize in delivering goods (like online shopping packages). They have partnered with companies like FedEx, Domino’s, and 7-Eleven, and preproduction of their fleet is underway.
24. Observe.ai
Founded: 2017
Location: San Francisco, California
Observe uses AI to transcribe and analyze call center conversations to uncover actionable sales and customer service insights.
25. OpenAI
Founded: 2015
Location: San Francisco, California
The AI research company’s mission is “to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.” It is best known for its human-like chatbot, ChatGPT, which is the fastest-growing consumer app in history.
26. Otter.ai
Founded: 2016
Location: Mountain View, California
Otter.ai is an AI meeting notes assistant that transcribes and summarizes digital meetings. It has so far transcribed 1B+ meetings.
27. People.ai
Founded: 2016
Location: San Francisco, California
The AI-powered sales management platform automatically captures sales activities from sources like sales reps’ emails to identify which activities are most successful at driving sales. It also tracks whether reps are dedicating enough time to their most important clients.
28. Plenty
Founded: 2013
Location: San Francisco, California
Plenty grows leafy greens in indoor vertical farms that require less land and water than conventional farms. They use AI to control nutrient, light, and water levels to maintain perfect conditions for their crops.
29. Pony.ai
Founded: 2016
Location: Fremont, California
Pony.ai is a leader in the autonomous vehicle industry and the first company to obtain a license to operate self-driving taxis in China. The company also plans to mass-produce autonomous trucks.
30. Riid
Founded: 2014
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Riid builds digital education solutions, like AI test-prep app Santa, with the goal of democratizing quality education.
31. Semios
Founded: 2010
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Semios is a crop management platform that uses on-the-ground sensors and AI to predict and manage climate, insect, and disease-related risks.
32. Shift Technology
Founded: 2014
Location: Paris, France
Shift Technology uses AI to automate decision making (such as underwriting) in the insurance industry. It helps companies process claims faster, better predict risk, catch fraud, and reduce costs.
33. Skydio
Founded: 2014
Location: Redwood City, California
Skydio manufactures autonomous drones that navigate using AI. Their drones are used by the US Army and police, and to monitor construction sites and infrastructure.
34. Socure
Founded: 2012
Location: New York, New York
Socure uses AI to help companies digitally verify their customers. They take a holistic approach, analyzing a customer’s email, phone number, documents, and IP address alongside their behavior to improve identity fraud capture by up to 45%. Their customers include banks, crypto exchanges, and Buy Now, Pay Later providers.
35. Stability AI
Founded: 2019
Location: London, UK
This startup develops AI-generated content tools like Stable Diffusion, a text-to-image generator, and Dance Diffusion, which generates original audio.
36. Tempo
Founded: 2015
Location: San Francisco, California
The company’s home fitness platform combines a weight cabinet with AI sensors that track the movement of the weights, to count your reps and correct your form.
37. Tractable
Founded: 2014
Location: London, UK
Tractable’s AI can assess external damage to a vehicle or property by analyzing a smartphone photograph, making it quicker and easier to arrange repair or insurance claims after accidents or extreme weather.
38. Vectra AI
Founded: 2012
Location: San Jose, California
Vectra is a cybersecurity platform for businesses that uses AI to detect and investigate cyberthreats. Their clients include government authorities, hospitals, and banks.
39. Vise
Founded: 2016
Location: New York, New York
Vise is an AI-driven investment management platform for financial advisors. It automatically builds and manages unique investment portfolios based on market information and client preferences.
40. Viz.ai
Founded: 2016
Location: San Francisco, California
Viz.ai uses AI to detect warning signs of disease in patients’ scans and send automatic mobile alerts to health care teams. Its software has been shown to expedite the delivery of life-saving treatment and is used in 1.3k+ hospitals.
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