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CB Insights - AI 100: The most promising artificial intelligence startups of 2025 - April 2025 logo

CB Insights - AI 100: The most promising artificial intelligence startups of 2025 - April 2025

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The most promising artificial intelligence startups of 2025

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Type
Open Source
Company
CB Insights
Visit Website GitHub (38 stars)

About CB Insights - AI 100: The most promising artificial intelligence startups of 2025 - April 2025

The CB Insights AI 100 is an annual research report that identifies the most promising early-stage artificial intelligence startups. It leverages CB Insights' proprietary datasets, including deal activity, industry partnerships, team strength, investor strength, patent activity, and Mosaic Scores, to select 100 winners from a cohort of over 17,000 companies. The report categorizes winners by core offering and highlights key trends such as AI agents dominating the conversation, ML security becoming table stakes, AI observability and governance as critical gaps, the rise of physical AI, and the explosion of vertical applications. It also includes exclusive interviews with software buyers and analyst briefings. The full list is available for free download with details on product focus, investors, key people, funding, and Mosaic scores.

Key Features

Annual list curated from 17K+ companies using proprietary Mosaic Scores
Covers AI agents, ML security, observability, physical AI, and vertical applications
Includes detailed data on each winner: product focus, investors, key people, funding
Based on deal activity, partnerships, team strength, patent activity, and analyst briefings
Free download of complete AI 100 list with full company profiles

Pros & Cons

Pros
  • Rigorous selection methodology using multiple proprietary datasets
  • Covers both horizontal and vertical AI applications
  • Includes exclusive buyer interviews and analyst briefings
  • Free download with detailed company data
  • Highlights actionable trends like AI agents and security
Cons
  • Download requires submitting personal contact information (email gated)
  • Report is a static snapshot as of April 2025 and may not reflect later developments
  • Focuses on early-stage companies, excluding later-stage AI leaders
  • Provides high-level overview rather than deep analysis per company

Best For

Identifying investment opportunities in early-stage AI startupsBenchmarking AI companies against peers in specific categoriesStaying informed on key AI trends and emerging technologiesMarket research for corporate strategy and competitive analysisTracking the AI startup ecosystem for partnership or acquisition scouting

FAQ

How are the AI 100 winners selected?
CB Insights uses proprietary datasets including deal activity, industry partnerships, team strength, investor strength, patent activity, and Mosaic Scores to select 100 winners from over 17,000 companies. They also analyze exclusive interviews with software buyers and analyst briefings.
What trends are featured in the 2025 AI 100?
Key trends include AI agents dominating the conversation, ML security becoming table stakes, AI observability and governance as critical gaps, the rise of physical AI (e.g., industrial humanoids), and the explosion of vertical applications.
Is the AI 100 report free to access?
Yes, the complete AI 100 list is available for free download after submitting your first name, last name, email, company name, job title, and phone number.
What information is included for each company on the list?
The report includes product focus, investors, key people, funding amounts, and Mosaic scores for each of the 100 winners.