The Forbes AI 50: Documenting AI Progress and Creating Opportunities for B2B Ecosystems

Keith Flippin , Accelerating Ecosystems Associates

On April 11, the Forbes 6th annual AI 50 was released in partnership with Sequoia and Meritech Capital, which recognizes the most promising privately held artificial intelligence companies. The article describes the year-over-year juggernaut of Gen AI adoption from last year’s 5th release of this report and the emergence of a new tech economy dedicated to helping businesses develop and deploy AI-powered apps. It lists the funding valuations of the top 50 and what each platform does.??

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Some key findings:?

The Number of AI companies is dramatically growing with significant investment.?

• Forbes received over 1900 submissions in 2024 more than twice the number they received in 2023?
• The AI 50 raised over $34.7 billion in funding. Nearly 1/3 came from Microsoft’s $10 billion (about $31 per person in the US) investment in Open AI. Investors are betting big that GenAI adoption should continue to result in billions of revenues from a technology that is now proving it can deliver impactful results?

AI is global?

• Thirty-nine companies are headquartered in the US, while 11 companies are headquartered in the UK (2), Canada (2), France (2), Germany (1), Sweden (1), Australia (1), Netherlands (2)?

AI leaders are inclusive but could be more so?

• The count of woman CEOs and co-founders remained the same as in 2023?

AI companies go across industries and address specific verticals??

• Industry vertical-specific companies include pharma, defense, medical and industrial?
• These Top 11 categories represent 97% of the valuation:? AI model developer; Database/Analytics; Defense-related; AI model tools; AI app development tools; Autonomous robot; Video/voice gaming; Customer service; Drug discovery; Enterprise search; and Image Creation/Editing

Major companies are buying?

• Leading LLM companies have signed on with major global companies and governments?

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Implications for ecosystem managers??

AI is real.???

For 2024, Accelerating Ecosystem Associates predicts that ecosystems provide additional opportunities for AI monetization. By identifying the major players through lists like the Forbes AI 50 and members of AI consortiums, partnerships will be able to accelerate technology development and non-technical workflow reinvention by identifying and working with industry leaders.?

• Partners can more confidently collaborate to create innovative technologies and develop complex workflows using each partner’s expertise. Initial AI adoptions will focus on internal automation of operational support capabilities that benefit partners and customers
• They will be able to augment AI skill gaps and bring the expertise necessary to properly embrace new business models?

AEA (Accelerating Ecosystems Associates) will continue to monitor the evolution of the AI market and B2B AI ecosystem evolution. For more insights, contact us at [email protected].

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