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The Hottest AI Startups of 2026

A live ranking of the fastest-growing private AI companies past ~$100M ARR. Every row is sourced, dated, and re-verified weekly — and scored on the SR Momentum Score, a 0–100 composite of funding momentum, hiring velocity, backer quality, corroboration and heat.

Pulled from the $100M ARR Breakout Club (SR30, Class of 2026). Excludes saturated frontier labs (OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI) and non-AI breakouts.

Companies
11
Combined disclosed ARR
$2.9B+
Combined raised
$14B
Refreshed
Weekly
  1. 1

    Perplexity

    🇺🇸 · AI answer engine.Reported
    ARR $450M
    Valuation $23B
    Raised $1.7B
    Team 200
    Mom.
    84
    /100
  2. 2

    Lovable

    🇸🇪 · AI app builder.Reported
    ARR $500M
    Valuation $6.6B
    Raised $545M
    Team 250
    Mom.
    83
    /100
  3. 3

    Mercor

    🇺🇸 · AI training-data & expert talent marketplace.Estimated
    ARR —
    Valuation $10B
    Raised $492M
    Team 350
    Mom.
    82
    /100
  4. 4

    Mistral AI

    🇫🇷 · Open-weight frontier AI models.Reported
    ARR $400M
    Valuation $20B
    Raised $6.5B
    Team 880
    Mom.
    82
    /100
  5. 5

    Harvey

    🇺🇸 · Legal AI for elite law firms.Verified
    ARR $300M
    Valuation $11B
    Raised $1.3B
    Team 460
    Mom.
    80
    /100
  6. 6

    Sierra

    🇺🇸 · Conversational AI agents for enterprise.Reported
    ARR $200M
    Valuation $16B
    Raised $1.5B
    Team 500
    Mom.
    78
    /100
  7. 7

    Replit

    🇺🇸 · AI-native coding & agents.Estimated
    ARR $525M
    Valuation $9B
    Raised $922M
    Team 282
    Mom.
    76
    /100
  8. 8

    Granola

    🇬🇧 · AI meeting notes.Reported
    ARR —
    Valuation $1.5B
    Raised $192M
    Team 116
    Mom.
    76
    /100
  9. 9

    Clay

    🇺🇸 · GTM data & outbound automation.Reported
    ARR $100M
    Valuation $3.1B
    Raised $204M
    Team 300
    Mom.
    73
    /100
  10. 10

    Synthesia

    🇬🇧 · Enterprise AI video.Reported
    ARR $150M
    Valuation $4B
    Raised $537M
    Team 600
    Mom.
    70
    /100
  11. 11

    Freepik (Magnific)

    🇪🇸 · Design assets & AI creative tools (rebranded Magnific Apr 2026).Reported
    ARR $230M
    Valuation —
    Raised $0
    Team 1,436
    Mom.
    65
    /100

Why this list is different

AI startup funding news, by company

Latest rounds in the cohort, newest first.

See the full ranking, including non-AI breakouts, on the $100M ARR Breakout Club leaderboard →