Industry Agnostic Trends
Q1 marked a shocking start for VC fundraising in 2023, witnessing a 53% decline in global funding, from $162 billion in Q1 of 2022 to $76 billion. This notable decrease has persisted over the past several quarters. Yet, despite this tremendous roadblock to funding, a select few remarkable startups managed to overcome these odds, securing substantial investments in their 2023 and early 2024 series funding rounds. These startups have not only captured our attention but have also garnered global intrigue as they continue to disrupt their respective industries with innovative products, services, and solutions.
Each of the startups in our “hottest of 2024” list has set themselves apart in their respective industries as trendsetters. Guided by strong, like-minded visionaries and accomplished leaders, these companies are driving their innovations forward, redefining modern technology as we know it.
Notably, we are seeing a trend in successful startups integrating AI in novel, useful ways across different industries. Slowly but surely, artificial intelligence is starting to fill in the gaps of inefficiency in administrative tasks and initial research. Harvey.ai is making waves as the first artificial intelligence model providing legal professionals with reliable assistance in 2024. Abnormal Security is pioneering a new form of defensive AI to counter malicious AI and cyber attacks, also serving as one of the first proactive AI platforms in cybersecurity innovations.
This trend suggests a potential shift in the overall demand for upskilling in 2024. In contrast to the last year which necessitated professionals to broaden their skill sets by learning additional company-integral skills, artificial intelligence is reshaping the job landscape in such a way that this practice will become less prominent. This shift suggests that upskilling may diminish in entry level, administrative, and research based positions, pivoting this necessity towards experienced professionals to navigate the evolving changes in their industries as a result of the transformative impact of AI.
As new trends emerge in 2024, we are keeping a close eye on these companies as they continue to innovate and contribute to their respective industries.
The AI Space in 2024
2023 was hailed as the “The Year Of AI,” marking the moment when generative AI became mainstream, standing alongside the likes of transformative technologies like the lightbulb, the internet, the computer and the smartphone. It is abundantly clear that artificial intelligence will continue to have a profound impact on every sector and industry as companies discover new ways to integrate its capabilities to leverage a competitive advantage.
While many investors were quick to invest in AI companies in the past year, some speculate that 2024 will be the year of an AI slowdown, questioning whether the boom in 2023 was anything more than hype. Regardless of the trajectory this year takes, these companies illustrate that we haven’t even come close to finding all of the useful ways AI can be integrated into our lives.
With groundbreaking applications spanning law, healthcare, marketing, and media creation, even in the face of an AI slowdown, there will be no shortage of impact that AI continues to exert across a growing number of industries.
This list of AI companies includes those that we anticipate to see updates and new creations from over the next year.
OpenAI
CEO: Sam Altman
Founded: 2015
OpenAI is globally recognized as the leading company in artificial intelligence. ChapGPT, Dall-E, and OpenAI API are among the most advanced and trusted AI platforms currently available. The organization is revered as a giant in both artificial intelligence and machine learning.
OpenAI was initially established as a strictly nonprofit organization with the primary objective of developing an artificial intelligence platform for the betterment of humanity. In 2019, it underwent a structural shift to “capped profit company,” leading to their strategic partnership with Microsoft shortly after. The current ability of AI is incredible: overnight, it became the hottest trend, companies searching for ways to integrate this new system into their company structures and offerings.
OpenAI’s story is a testament to innovation and resilience. In the midst of a potential AI slowdown, we are confident that the startup’s president and cofounder, Greg Brockman, and CEO Sam Altman will bring OpenAI to unprecedented heights. As we anticipate the ChatGPT-5, we eagerly await the possibilities within the wondrous world of artificial intelligence.
CEO and Founder: Oleg Rogynskyy
Founded: 2016
Under the leadership of Oleg Rogynskyy, People.ai leverages its patented AI to automate consumer relationship management functions, including documenting consumer activity, engagement, and contracts. Additionally, the platform provides actionable insights empowering marketers to make informed adjustments to their campaign and brand strategies.
With backing from some of Silicon Valley’s top investment firms such as Andreeson Horowitz, Lightspeed Ventures and Y Combinator, it is no surprise that People.ai has secured its place on The Inc. 5000’s list of the fastest growing private companies for the second year in a row. Additionally, it has been recognized by the Forbes AI 50 list and the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 list, both highlighting the company’s remarkable, fast-paced growth. According to a People.ai press release, the startup has been evaluated to have grown by 613% from 2019 to 2022.
People.ai boasts clients widely accepted as industry giants, including Verizon, IBM Red Hat, Snowflake, and Zoom. Notably, Microsoft selected People.ai as an integration partner to deliver AI-driven insights into Microsoft Sales Copilot. This strategic collaboration will make generative AI-driven insights available right inside the Microsoft productivity tools sellers are already using.
Harvey
CEO: Gabriel Pereyra
Founded: 2022
Harvey is an artificial intelligence platform built for the exclusive use of legal professionals to efficiently manage administrative legal tasks and responsibilities, thereby streamlining the legal work process. The startup places a strong emphasis on ensuring complete user privacy, preventing the abuse of sensitive information.
Led by former Meta AI researcher Gabriel Pereyra and ex-O'Melveny & Myers lawyer Winston Weinberg, supported by prestigious investors such as Sequoia and OpenAI’s startup fund, Harvey.ai has become the subject of unprecedented interest as it aims to revolutionize legal practices.
Following an $80 million Series B funding round, Harvey.ai underwent a significant reevaluation. According to Bloomberg Law, the company’s valuation surged from $150 million in April to a remarkable $715M post-funding round. As Harvey continues to develop its platform with its achieved investment, the company might just reach a $1 billion evaluation before the end of the year.
Tavus
Founders: Hassaan Raza, Quinn Favret
Founded: 2020
“Tavus is the only video personalization platform with the power to take what you record once and automatically transform it into countless AI-generated videos, customized with unique voice variables to each customer to inspire loyalty and repeat conversions long after you hit send.” This startup has successfully cracked imitative AI, creating hyper-personalized videos that look and sound like you based on a single sample.
Targeted particularly towards sales and marketing teams, the platform uses its patented AI to generate endless content for consumers.
Synthesia
CEO: Victor Riparbelli
Synthesia has established itself as the go-to platform for generating videos using artificial intelligence. The platform utilizes AI to transform plain text into polished presentations without the use of any studio equipment. Having raised $90 million in Series C funding in June 2023, Synthesia serves over 35% of Fortune 100 companies, focused on providing them with generative avatars to aid their product marketing and consumer support.
Although the company does not disclose its revenue metrics, having produced over 12 million videos to date and growing its consumers by 456% year over year, the company has finally reached an evaluation of $1 billion. As Synthesia continues to enhance its features and lifelike avatars, we the AI and Adtech communities expect to see continued growth from Synthesia this year.
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