Fortune Debuts Power List of 50 AI Innovators

Fortune editors name the companies leading the way in the AI boom

An essential guide to the companies every executive needs to know in the sector attracting one out of every four startup investment dollars

Inaugural Fortune 50 AI Innovators includes established players: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, Meta, and Nvidia; and array of emerging players:  Adept, Runway, Pinecone, Exscientia, and ARC

Representatives of Fortune 50 AI Innovators are attending Fortune's Brainstorm AI conference in San Francisco, Dec 11-12 with founding partner Accenture

NEW YORK, Nov. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Fortune debuted its inaugural Fortune 50 AI Innovators power list, the essential guide to the companies that are creating this future-defining technology, and a sector now attracting one out of every four startup investment dollars.

The last few days in the world of AI have proven that readers and investors need to follow the space very closely. "It's a tangled mess out there when it comes to predictions about AI's impact," notes Lee Clifford, Fortune's investing and finance editor. "Will AI create a world where no job is needed? By 2029, will computers have achieved human-level intelligence? Where will the OpenAI drama end up?"

Predictions, ideas, and execution around the technology are all over the map, Clifford notes. "But one thing we know for sure about this sector, which is still in its infancy: Investors and companies large and small are taking it seriously," she writes. Fortune notes that Microsoft—itself a major player via its OpenAI investment and partnership—recently found that for every $1 invested in AI, companies are reaping $3.50 in return. And according to Crunchbase, one in four dollars invested in American startups have gone to AI companies this year; already 200 AI unicorns (defined as startups with value more than $1 billion) have been created.

But Fortune's editors tamp down the AI hype machine: "As anyone who has lived through a hype cycle about the next huge thing knows, even the hottest sector mints far more miserable failures than stunning successes." For the inaugural Fortune 50 AI Innovators list, Fortune canvassed VCs, industry analysts, and our own formidable staff of AI experts to identify companies that are at the cutting edge. "One thing we know for sure," Clifford notes, "The work these companies are doing won't just shape the future of AI, it will shape the world we all live in."

In the Fortune 50 AI list there are plenty of Davids, such as Adept, Runway, Pinecone, Exscientia, and ARC, to name a few. And no shortage of Goliaths, such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, Meta, and Nvidia. What they have in common: "The work these companies are doing now will play a large part in determining not just how AI evolves, but how our world does," says Clifford.

For a complete look at the Fortune 50 AI companies, go to fortune.com.

Many on that list will be speaking at or attending the Fortune Brainstorm AI 2023 in San Francisco, December 11-12. This is the third year of Fortune's high-profile and news-making conference on AI.

Curated by Fortune's editors, this year's annual conference for executives, academics, and policymakers will feature confirmed speakers including Vinod Khosla, founder and CEO of Khosla Ventures; Reid Hoffman, co-founder of Inflection AI and partner at Greylock Partners; Sal Khan, founder and CEO of Khan Academy; Clara Shih, CEO, Salesforce AI; Matthew Prince, CEO of Cloudflare; Jim Steyer, CEO of CommonSense Media; Paul Daugherty, chief technology and innovation officer, Accenture; Jim Cathey, chief commercial officer, Qualcomm; Lidia Fonseca, chief digital and technology officer, Pfizer; Sravana Karnati, chief technology officer, Walmart International; Anastasis Germanidis, co-founder and CTO, Runway; Mike Abbott, executive vice president, software, GM; Sissie Hsiao, general manager for Google Assistant and Bard, Google; Ali Ghodsi, CEO and founder of Databricks; Sayan Chakraborty, co-president of Workday, and more.

This year's program is presented in association with Fortune Brainstorm AI conference founding partner Accenture, and will feature intimate one-on-one conversations, engaging panel discussions, and lively roundtable sessions–all designed to address how AI is changing the ways we do business. Fortune Brainstorm AI 2023 is also presented with partners AARP, Amgen, Check Point, Felicis, Hanshow, Salesforce, and Workday.

For more information on Fortune Brainstorm AI 2023 and the complete agenda please go here.

About Fortune 
Fortune upholds a legacy of award-winning writing and trusted reporting for executives who want to make business better. Independently owned, with a global perspective and digital agility, Fortune tells the stories of a new generation of innovators, builders, and risk takers. Online and in print, Fortune measures corporate performance through rigorous benchmarks, and holds companies accountable. Fortune creates communities by convening true thought leaders and iconoclasts – those who shape industry, commerce and society – through powerful and prestigious lists, events and conferences, such as the iconic Fortune 500, the CEO Initiative and Most Powerful Women. For more information, visit fortune.com.

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SOURCE Fortune Media (USA) Corporation