AI

Visualized: 25 AI Startups on the Rise

Published

1 month ago

June 7, 2025

Graphics & Design

Lebon Siu

The Decoding the AI Economy Series unpacks key players, diverse markets, and history of AI investments in the U.S. and Europe.

Proportional bubble chart that uses data from Forbes so shows the 25 AI startups on the rise, with Sierra leading the way with $110M invested.

Visualized: 25 AI Startups on the Rise

Key Takeaways

AI startups cover various industries, from machine learning to creativity and art.
Of the companies making Forbes’ list of startups on the rise, the customer service platform Sierra raised the most funding–$110M
Companies producing AI productivity tools received the most funding of the companies covered–$704M.

AI has transformed the way many people work, creating new opportunities at all levels of the economy. Despite AI’s ubiquity today, its ability to fulfill its potential remains uncertain, clouded by policy choices now taking shape.

Visual Capitalist and ACT | The App Association joined forces to demystify AI’s economic impact in this three-part Decoding the AI Economy series. In the series, we unpack the key players, diverse markets, and history of AI investments in the United States and Europe.

For part one, we discover the movers and shakers in the world of AI and find out how much investment the 25 AI companies to watch have received.

Companies on the Rise

Much of the discourse around AI has focused on the threat of monopolization.

Tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and OpenAI are thought to be driving the market, creating competition problems for smaller companies or those specializing purely in AI.

But that simply isn’t true.

Forbes compiled a list of the 25 AI startups, by type of technology, with the most promise and how much investment they have received through 2024:

Name	AI Sector	Investment (Up to 2024)
LangChain	AI Development & Tools	$35M
Baseten	AI Development & Tools	$60M
Replicate	AI Development & Tools	$60M
Unstructured	AI Development & Tools	$65M
Perplexity	Productivity	$102M
Sana	Productivity	$82M
Codeium	Productivity	$93M
Harvey	Productivity	$106M
DeepL	Productivity	$100M
Sierra	Productivity	$110M
Hebbia	Productivity	$30M
Tome	Productivity	$81M
Photoroom	Creativity	$64M
Leonardo.Ai	Creativity	$31M
ElevenLabs	Creativity	$101M
Pika	Creativity	$55M
Rosebud.Ai	Creativity	$10M
Midjourney	Creativity	$0M
Weaviate	Machine Learning & Data	$68M
Cleanlab	Machine Learning & Data	$30M
Kumo	Machine Learning & Data	$37M
Waabi	Other	$84M
Tractian	Other	$65M
Vannevar Labs	Other	$87M
Cradle	Other	$33M

These investments show that AI competition is thriving and small players can compete among larger, more established players. The AI sector is both dynamic and competitive, with fast-moving startups spearheading the most novel methods and applications.

Unpacking the Key Players

Businesses of all shapes and sizes leverage AI today and deserve a regulatory environment where innovation by the brightest creative minds in the field is rewarded. While big tech may be capturing headlines, small and medium-sized AI businesses are building innovative, novel AI-driven solutions to everyday problems.

Are you interested in learning more about the impact of AI?

ACT | The App Association just released its comprehensive whitepaper examining how premature or overbroad antitrust action could jeopardize AI innovation and outlining a policy approach better aligned with the realities of emerging technology.

Read the Whitepaper