We then identified the top 50 AI-native application layer companies – similar to our Top 100 Gen AI Consumer Apps, but built around spend data versus web traffic data.
Unlike infrastructure providers, which reflect the capabilities startups are enabling (compute, models, developer tools), these companies show where AI is actually being applied in products and workflows and that distinction matters: this ranking gives us a real-time signal of what early stage startups are “buying” in AI.
According to Microsoft, an "active Copilot user" is one who "performed an intentional action for an AI-powered capability in Copilot within Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat (work), Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, or Loop."
It makes sense to track Copilot use – those licenses aren't cheap – but benchmarking adoption may be seen by some as a step too far for something still struggling to prove its worth, especially with the risk of turning it into a leaderboard game.
Meet Sana. Think of it as your team's new hire that can break down entire projects, handle multi-step workflows, and take action across all your applications to deliver finished work. With Sana’s AI platform, your powerful agents can: Search Drive, Slack, and Confluence simultaneously for that pricing doc Pull context from your CRM, emails, and meeting notes for client call prep Build board decks from your live data with charts and citations included Gather updates, write summaries, handle next steps, and keep tools in sync Don't just use AI for search and chat. Build agents that think, act, and deliver like your best people.