Generative AI Startups In 2023
Generative AI startups have emerged as the newest formidable players in the tech world, using natural language processing, machine learning, and other forms of artificial intelligence to generate new, original content for a variety of business use cases.
Larger tech companies like Google and AWS are working hard to build up their generative AI technologies as well, but many of these tech giants are having trouble keeping up with the agile gen AI startups that are willing to take risks to establish their AI niches.
We've created a list of the top 50 generative AI startups to watch today and over the next few years. Some of these companies, like OpenAI, have already proven themselves and turned into multi-billion dollar companies. Others have not yet emerged from early rounds of funding. Regardless of where they individually fall in their stages of development, each of these startups has generated enough buzz to earn a spot on our list to top generative AI startups.
On a related topic: What is Generative AI?
Also read: Top AI Startups
Top 30 Generative AI Startups OpenAIOpenAI is one of the largest AI startups in the world and is certainly the largest in the generative AI space. Along with its prebuilt AI solutions, OpenAI also offers API and application development support for developers who want to use its models as baselines.
Hugging Face is a community forum, similar to GitHub, that focuses solely on AI and ML model development and deployment. Some of the community's main focus areas include text classification, question answering, image classification, translation, summarization, audio classification, and object detection.
Synthesis AI is a cutting-edge synthetic data generation startup that creates computer-vision-driven imagery, videos, and human simulations. Its use cases span across industries and focus on ethical AI development, making it one of the most exciting AI startups on our radar today.
Jasper's core product is designed specifically for business and marketing content generation. Some core areas where Jasper works well include social media, advertising, blog, email, and website content creation.
Cohere offers NLP solutions that are specifically designed to support business operations. With Cohere's conversational AI agent, enterprise users can quickly search for and retrieve all kinds of company information without searching through massive applications and databases.
Anthropic's Claude platform is similar to OpenAI's ChatGPT, with its large language model and content generation focus. First released widely in March 2023, Claude is viewed as a more customizable platform with less propensity for rude or inappropriate responses.
On a related topic: The AI Market: An Overview
Inflection AIFounded by former leaders from LinkedIn and DeepMind in 2022, Inflection AI's mission and goals are still mostly under wraps. However, the company has already received major funding rounds and indicated that it plans to completely transform how humans are able to speak to and communicate with computers.
Glean is a generative AI workplace search company that relies on deep-learning models to understand natural language queries in the context of organizational, departmental, and individual user characteristics. Glean connects to a variety of enterprise apps and platforms, making it easier to set up and maintain access to business information sources.
Stability AI is one of the most successful startups in the generative AI space for image and video generation. Though the company has come under controversy for alleged copyright infringement of artists' work, Stable Diffusion in particular continues to be a popular solution, operating in the background of many other generative AI startups' platforms.
Lightricks first gained notoriety with its social-media-friendly image editing app, Facetune. It has since expanded Facetune and its other apps with cutting-edge AI, making it possible to edit and generate content for videos, photos, and artwork.
Insilico Medicine is a pharmaceutical research and development startup that uses generative AI and machine learning to create more efficient processes across biology, chemistry, and analytics. It's focused on reducing the time and cost of drug development, particularly in areas such as immunology, oncology, central nervous system disorders, and fibrosis.
Synthetaic's platform, RAIC, is primarily designed to analyze and ingest unstructured and unlabeled datasets from videos, satellite imagery, and video and drone footage. The company famously tracked the origin of a Chinese balloon in February 2023.
Gridspace offers solutions for organizations that want to better automate, manage, and analyze contact center and customer interactions. The company offers voice bots and live agent training, making it possible to create a hybrid bot-human agent workforce in healthcare, retail, and other customer-service-driven organizations.
MOSTLY AI's synthetic data generation platform balances data democratization and app development efficiencies with data anonymity and security requirements. The platform has proven especially useful in the banking, insurance, and telecommunications industries.
Latitude.Io is one of the first and foremost providers of AI-generated gaming experiences. With its flagship AI Dungeon, users can enter actions into the game while AI drives the rest of the game narrative forward.
Rephrase.Ai makes it possible for companies and individuals to create custom videos without extensive in-house equipment or experience. Text-to-voice conversion, avatar and template libraries, and campaign analytics combine to create a platform for self-service video production that still has a personal feel to it.
Entos is a company made up of top scientists, biotechnology experts, and machine learning experts who are working to optimize oncology therapeutics with AI. Their pipeline therapeutics release is actively in the works and is expected to launch within the next two years.
Etcembly is a company that is improving T-cell receptor immunotherapies with its machine-learning platform, EMLy. The platform sifts through complex TCR patterns and datasets to discover and identify personalized TCR therapeutic options for patients.
AI21 Labs creates tools that focus heavily on contextual natural language processing for reading and writing. Third-party developers can build on AI21 Labs' language models for their own text-based apps and services with AI21 Studio.
Infinity AI is another top generative AI startup that focuses on synthetic data generation, simplifying the collection and labeling of useful data. Infinity AI's solutions have been used in fitness, smart retail, robotics, and warehouse safety scenarios.
Notion has found much of its success in providing note-taking, task management, and other kinds of daily work management applications. Notion AI was generally released in early 2023, quickly gaining traction as an option for teams that want to summarize notes, create quick lists, and write emails with the help of generative AI.
Character.AI is a company that offers creative ways to develop and chat with user-created characters. Though the tool can simply be used for fun conversations, it can also be used to simulate important conversations like job interviews.
For more information, also see: Top Robotics Startups
PlaskPlask creates technology to make animation easier and more cost-effective. The tool can be used to create animated or hyperrealistic 3D motion videos.
Charisma provides a plug-and-play platform for various entertainment companies and storytellers to create realistic characters and storylines that adjust to player/user inputs. Examples of media created with Charisma include The Kraken Wakes game and the Will Play virtual learning platform.
Synthesia is a generative AI company that focuses on video creation for personal and enterprise use. Users can rely on AI avatars and voices to communicate in training, marketing, and how-to videos in 120 different languages.
Andi is a generative-AI-driven search bot that not only helps users to search for information across the web but also summarizes and further explains that information. Users appreciate Andi's clean interface and lack of ads.
Syntho is another synthetic data generation startup that uses generative AI to create synthetic data twins of actual sensitive data. Syntho's Syntho Engine is often used for realistic product demos, data analytics, and test data generation.
Kaliber focuses on developing AI-powered surgical software for arthroscopic surgery needs. The company also provides solutions to help patients and other members of the surgical team get the information they need more seamlessly.
PatentPal is a tool that is specifically designed with patent law requirements in mind. The tool takes claims that have already been written by the author to generate tonally and factually accurate patent specification drafts.
Podcast.Ai, a subsidiary of Play.Ht, is a weekly podcast that is entirely created with generative AI voices and transcripts. The podcast covers a different topic each week and has even used Steve Jobs recordings and biographical information to record an episode with "him".
For more information, also see: History of AI
20 Emerging Generative AI Players to Watch Revery AIRevery AI, founded in 2020, offers a virtual dressing room and try-on experience.
Bertha.AiBertha.Ai, founded in 2021, is a content generation solution for WordPress users in particular.
BiomatterBiomatter, founded in 2018, uses its Intelligent Architecture platform to design and develop proteins for health and sustainable manufacturing.
Paige AIPaige AI, founded in 2017, uses generative tissue-based AI for optimized cancer diagnostics.
ReplikaReplika, founded in 2016, creates AI companions for AI-generated chats that have a more personal touch.
OsmoOsmo, founded in 2023 as a spinout from Google Research, uses machine learning and has created a map of odor to help computers predict how something smells based on its molecular structure.
TavusTavus, founded in 2020, is a generative AI company that creates new versions of videos users create based on specific viewer qualities and other personalizations.
MidjourneyMidjourney, founded in 2022, offers generative AI for image and artwork creation, though the company has come under fire for using millions of artists' images without prior consent.
Aimi.FmAimi.Fm, founded in 2019, is a generative AI music player that also supports basic music creation functionalities for artists.
Activ SurgicalActiv Surgical, founded in 2017, uses intraoperative surgical intelligence to give surgeons real-time information and better visuals during surgery.
AqemiaAqemia, founded in 2019, uses AI to preclude experimental data and scale drug discovery in the pharmatech space.
You.ComYou.Com, founded in 2020, is a private and secure search engine that summarizes and personalizes results with generative AI.
VeesualVeesual, founded in 2020, uses deep learning and image generation to enable virtual try-on for fashion e-commerce.
TabnineTabnine, founded in 2017, offers generative AI code assistance for software development.
Inworld AIInworld AI, founded in 2021, is a company that uses generative AI and text-to-character prompts to help gaming and media companies make NPC characters more realistic.
New Equilibrium BiosciencesNew Equilibrium, founded in 2019, works with a combination of AI, chemistry, and biophysics to optimize drug discovery for disordered proteins.
AdeptAdept, founded in 2022, is a new OpenAI competitor that relies on AI and natural language commands to create better interfaces between humans and computers in the workplace.
TwainTwain, founded in 2021, is designed to help sales professionals write content that works better for sales outreach.
DiagramDiagram, founded in 2022, is a company that provides product design, prototyping, and other generative AI design features to its customers.
SoundrawSoundraw, founded in 2020, is a generative AI solution for music composition that can be tailored to different genres, instruments, and other musical variables.
Bottom Line: Generative AI StartupsEver since the debut of ChatGPT in November of 2022, generative AI – and artificial intelligence in general – has taken a huge leap forward. Business leaders, consumers and investors have all woken up to the vast potential for generative AI to aid content creators and business staffers in countless tasks, freeing them up to do higher value work.
It's the young companies on this list that will shape the future of AI, which in turn will shape the future of technology and society at large in many and profound ways.
On a related topic: Top Natural Language Processing Companies
A Brief History Of Artificial Intelligence
Multiple factors have driven the development of artificial intelligence (AI) over the years. The ability to swiftly and effectively collect and analyze enormous amounts of data has been made possible by computing technology advancements, which have been a significant contributing factor.
Another factor is the demand for automated systems that can complete activities that are too risky, challenging or time-consuming for humans. Also, there are now more opportunities for AI to solve real-world issues, thanks to the development of the internet and the accessibility of enormous amounts of digital data.
Moreover, societal and cultural issues have influenced AI. For instance, discussions concerning the ethics and the ramifications of AI have arisen in response to worries about job losses and automation.
Concerns have also been raised about the possibility of AI being employed for evil intent, such as malicious cyberattacks or disinformation campaigns. As a result, many researchers and decision-makers are attempting to ensure that AI is created and applied ethically and responsibly.
AI has come a long way since its inception in the mid-20th century. Here's a brief history of artificial intelligence.
Mid-20th centuryThe origins of artificial intelligence may be dated to the middle of the 20th century, when computer scientists started to create algorithms and software that could carry out tasks that ordinarily need human intelligence, like problem-solving, pattern recognition and judgment.
One of the earliest pioneers of AI was Alan Turing, who proposed the concept of a machine that could simulate any human intelligence task, which is now known as the Turing Test.
Related: Top 10 most famous computer programmers of all time
1956 Dartmouth conferenceThe 1956 Dartmouth conference gathered academics from various professions to examine the prospect of constructing robots that can "think." The conference officially introduced the field of artificial intelligence. During this time, rule-based systems and symbolic thinking were the main topics of AI study.
1960s and 1970sIn the 1960s and 1970s, the focus of AI research shifted to developing expert systems designed to mimic the decisions made by human specialists in specific fields. These methods were frequently employed in industries such as engineering, finance and medicine.
1980sHowever, when the drawbacks of rule-based systems became evident in the 1980s, AI research began to focus on machine learning, which is a branch of the discipline that employs statistical methods to let computers learn from data. As a result, neural networks were created and modeled after the human brain's structure and operation.
1990s and 2000sAI research made substantial strides in the 1990s in robotics, computer vision and natural language processing. In the early 2000s, advances in speech recognition, image recognition and natural language processing were made possible by the advent of deep learning — a branch of machine learning that uses deep neural networks.
Modern-day AIVirtual assistants, self-driving cars, medical diagnostics and financial analysis are just a few of the modern-day uses for AI. Artificial intelligence is developing quickly, with researchers looking at novel ideas like reinforcement learning, quantum computing and neuromorphic computing.
Another important trend in modern-day AI is the shift toward more human-like interactions, with voice assistants like Siri and Alexa leading the way. Natural language processing has also made significant progress, enabling machines to understand and respond to human speech with increasing accuracy. ChatGPT — a large language model trained by OpenAI, based on the GPT-3.5 architecture — is an example of the "talk of the town" AI that can understand natural language and generate human-like responses to a wide range of queries and prompts.
Related: Biased, deceptive': Center for AI accuses ChatGPT creator of violating trade laws
The future of AILooking to the future, AI is likely to play an increasingly important role in solving some of the biggest challenges facing society, such as climate change, healthcare and cybersecurity. However, there are concerns about AI's ethical and social implications, particularly as the technology becomes more advanced and autonomous.
Moreover, as AI continues to evolve, it will likely profoundly impact virtually every aspect of our lives, from how we work and communicate, to how we learn and make decisions.
Natural Language Processing
The Natural Language Processing Research Group , established in 1993 , is one of the largest and most successful language processing groups in the UK and has a strong global reputation.
Natural Language Processing (NLP) is an interdisciplinary field that uses computational methods:
To investigate the properties of written human language and to model the cognitive mechanisms underlying the understanding and production of written language (scientific focus)
To develop novel practical applications involving the intelligent processing of written human language by computer (engineering focus)
Research Themes Information AccessBuilding applications to improve access to information in massive text collections, such as the web, newswires and the scientific literature
Language Resources and Architectures for NLPProviding resources - both data and processing resources - for research and development in NLP. Includes platforms for developing and deploying real world language processing applications, most notably GATE, the General Architecture for Text Engineering.
Machine TranslationBuilding applications to translate automatically between human languages, allowing access to the vast amount of information written in foreign languages and easier communication between speakers of different languages.
Human-Computer Dialogue Systems Building systems to allow spoken language interaction with computers or embodied conversational agents, with applications in areas such as keyboard-free access to information, games and entertainment, articifial companions. Detection of Reuse and AnomalyInvestigating techniques for determining when texts or portions of texts have been reused or where portions of text do not fit with surrounding text. These techniques have applications in areas such as plagiarism and authorship detection and in discovery of hidden content.
Foundational TopicsDeveloping applications with human-like capabilities for processing language requires progress in foundational topics in language processing. Areas of interest include: word sense disambiguation, semantics of time and events.
NLP for social mediaSocial Media, Online Disinformation, and Elections: A Quantitative, "Big Data" Perspective.
Biomedical Text ProcessingGATE in Biomedical Text Processing
Core membersAcademic staff
Senior research staff
Research staffHere you can find research publications for the Natural Language Processing Research Group, listed by academic. The head link navigates to the official web page for the relevant academic (with highlighted favourite publications). The remaining links navigate to their DBLP author page, their Google Scholar citations page and optionally a self-maintained publications page.
Academic staff