Top Artificial Intelligence Companies to Watch in 2024

Artificial intelligence makes the world go round today. With so much of our work and everyday life relying on AI, it’s a good idea to stay on top of trends in this technology. To help with that, we’ve put together an artificial intelligence company list so you know who to watch this year.

What Trends Are Defining AI in 2024?

If you want to understand why the companies on this list are worth watching, it helps to know how AI as a category is evolving. How we use AI and what subsets become more popular will shape which businesses drive the market.

One of the biggest artificial intelligence trends for 2024 is generative AI. This category covers AI models that create content, whether that’s words, pictures or even music. Tools like ChatGPT have led to a boom in this market, so experts expect it to be worth a whopping $667 billion by 2030. Even conservative estimates put its future value at over $200 billion.

As companies rely more heavily on AI, models that clean or organize data to make other AI applications more reliable will also become more popular. So will things that make the technology more accessible, like open-source AI tools. Other trends to watch include rising AI legal regulations and an emphasis on transparency over “black box” AI.

List of Artificial Intelligence Companies to Watch

Now that you know what’s shaping the industry this year, look through this artificial intelligence company list to learn what businesses are leading the charge.

1. OpenAI

It’s impossible to talk about artificial intelligence companies today and not mention OpenAI. OpenAI is the team behind ChatGPT, the generative bot that you’ve doubtlessly seen countless think pieces on. The promise of using AI in writing and editing projects has too much potential to ignore, and ChatGPT has proved that AI can be good enough to pass as a human in many cases.

While OpenAI is a relatively small company, the skyrocketing popularity of its products speaks for itself. Despite the recent turmoil with the sudden firing and re-hiring of CEO Sam Altman, OpenAI was still worth over $86 billion in late 2023. It plans to keep innovating, so it’s one to watch out for in 2024.

2. IBM

IBM has been around in the AI business for longer, and it will continue to be a leading player in the field. It offers a suite of AI products under the Watson umbrella to provide other businesses with ready-made and customizable machine learning solutions to meet a variety of needs. As more companies look to capitalize on AI, that variety and accessibility will make IBM all the more popular.

While AI isn’t the only thing IBM does, it has years of experience with the technology under its belt. As such, it’s always one to keep an eye on for AI leadership.

3. Google

Like IBM, Google isn’t strictly an artificial intelligence company, but it makes this list for its extensive use of the technology. Google uses AI to power everything from its search engine to YouTube recommendations to smart home products. Its upcoming conversational AI service, Bard, is effectively an answer to Bing’s recent ChatGPT integration and could revolutionize internet searches as it grows.

Google’s 2024 roadmap focuses heavily on consumer-facing products. The launch of Google’s Gemini in December 2023 — a model more powerful than GPT-4 — is something to keep an eye on. Its innovative AI tools will make it an strong competitor in the coming year.

4. H2O.ai

H2O.ai may be a less familiar name than IBM or Google, but it still deserves attention. The company focuses on streamlining and automating the AI development process. That way, smaller businesses with less experience in the technology can make, train and deploy custom models faster and with fewer errors.

As AI becomes more popular, making it more accessible will drive the technology even further. Companies like H2O.ai that offer that accessibility could become big players in the industry as a result.

5. Nvidia

This entry on the artificial intelligence company list may be a bit of a surprise because it’s most famous as a manufacturer. However, the maker of some of the best graphics cards has much to gain from AI. AI models need a lot of data and computing power, and data centers need fast, reliable computer parts to provide that.

Booming AI demand means a rising need for advanced computer chips, and that’s precisely what Nvidia specializes in. Even if it’s not necessarily an AI company, it’s quickly becoming a key player in the technology. In fact, Meta is reportedly investing billions of dollars into its AI chips.

6. DataRobot

DataRobot may not be a household name like some others on this list, but it’s an important AI business to watch. The company makes software to help build and deploy machine learning models, with services ranging from data preparation to no-code AI apps. These accessible features will become increasingly enticing as more businesses try to make the most of AI.

7. C3.ai

C3.ai offers similar products but focuses on enterprise-level AI applications. The software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider has now partnered with the U.S. Air Force, where it helps develop AI tools for fighter jets. Big contracts like that are a sign that this company is one to watch for groundbreaking developments in AI technology.

8. Meta

You’re already familiar with Meta, the company behind Facebook, but you may not realize it’s a leader in the AI field. Like many social media sites, Facebook and Instagram use AI to promote relevant content, but that’s not the end of Meta’s AI investments.

The social media giant has an entire dedicated AI department that develops everything from COVID-tracking models to conversational chatbots. As ChatGPT has gained notoriety, Meta has recently delved further into generative AI, with plans to implement it into WhatsApp and Messenger. 

Meta has also developed its own large language model called Llama. Its recent rollout of customer-facing AI tools and apparent focus on Nvidia’s AI chips proves it’s planning on making some big moves in 2024. It’s one of the strongest contenders in the AI market currently.

9. Dataiku

Instead of providing ready-made AI apps, Dataiku focuses on making it easier to develop your own AI models. It centers around the idea of “everyday AI,” providing a single platform to create and manage these algorithms to make the process as simple as possible. A lack of experience is a big barrier to AI adoption, and Dataiku has made a name for itself by making the technology more accessible, so it could have a big impact on AI in 2023.

10. Amazon

Here’s an addition to the artificial intelligence company list you’ve definitely heard of — Amazon. As one of tech’s “Big Five,” it should come as no surprise that Amazon plays a prominent role in the AI industry, and that goes beyond Alexa.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is one of the most popular cloud services for businesses, so many AI applications rely on it. Amazon is taking advantage of this, too, continually developing more AI tools to integrate with AWS and help businesses meet their specific AI needs.

11. Microsoft

Microsoft isn’t exclusively an AI company, but it has invested billions into this technology. It calls its Copilot AI your “everyday companion” since it integrates into its most popular consumer services. Microsoft is confident in its products and believes AI will drive $100 billion in earnings by 2024.

During OpenAI’s turbulent period, Microsoft was ready to swoop in and hire the company’s CEO and top data scientists for its own lab — making it a valuable competitor. Its stock briefly jumped in January 2024, temporarily making it one world’s most valuable companies.

12. Anthropic

Anthropic recently received a $4 billion investment from Amazon to fund its generative AI. Its 2024 roadmap involves plans to raise $5 billion, aiming to overtake OpenAI’s market share by 2028. Since it already has a $4.1 billion valuation and has raised a large percentage of its goal already, you can tell it will be a fierce competitor in this niche industry.

13. Cohere

Cohere is a startup with a focus in enterprise AI founded by ex-Google data scientists. It raised hundreds of millions of dollars in 2023, resulting in a $2.2 billion valuation. There are rumors it could receive another $1 billion in funding sometime in 2024. Either way, recent investments from tech giants like Nvidia and Oracle are set to increase its value even more.

14. Hugging Face

This next entry on the artificial intelligence company list is an up-and-coming startup that’s already a strong contender in the AI market. Hugging Face is a consumer-focused brand that helps people build and deploy their own machine learning models. In 2023, it partnered with AWS to make its services available to Amazon customers.

Tech giants like Amazon, Google and Nvidia recently invested hundreds of millions of dollars into Hugging Face. It was worth approximately $4.5 billion in late 2023, so its valuation will likely skyrocket in 2024 as OpenAI’s brief turbulence prompts big players to diversify.

15. Midjourney

We’ll finish off this artificial intelligence company list with a familiar name — Midjourney. This research lab is dedicated to image-centric generative AI. You can use its service to instantaneously create artwork. This AI company is one of the fastest-growing in the industry. In fact, it has roughly 17 million users registered on Discord. It also launched the Niji Journey app exclusively for anime-style art in late 2023, a move that’s sure to grow its niche user base.

Watch This Artificial Intelligence Company List in 2024

This list is not a complete look at artificial intelligence companies, but it represents some of the leaders to watch. As the year unfolds and AI technology grows, keep an eye on these 15 businesses. You’ll likely see some big industry shockwaves and technological innovations come from these names.

Original Publish Date: 3/7/2023 — Updated 1/21/2024