AI is one of the most transformative and disruptive technologies of our time, growing from a relatively niche field pursued by a small number of researchers and tech giants into a multi-billion dollar industry, attracting investment and talent from across the globe.

As the potential of AI continues to capture the imagination of entrepreneurs, investors and businesses globally, a new breed of companies has emerged, dedicated to pushing the boundaries of this technology. Here, we explore the Top 10 AI Companies by market cap – as of 15 May 2024 – which are helping shape the future of artificial intelligence.

10: Dynatrace

CEO: Rick M. McConnell

Headquarters: Waltham, Massachusetts

Market cap: US$13.74bn

Dynatrace is a leading software intelligence company that specialises in application performance management (APM), AI for operations (AIOps) and cloud infrastructure monitoring. Founded in 2005, Dynatrace offers a robust platform leveraging AI and machine learning to deliver precise insights into application performance, user behaviour and infrastructure health. Its AI engine, Davis, automatically detects anomalies, pinpoints root causes, and provides actionable insights, enabling organisations to proactively address issues before they impact end users. Dynatrace supports dynamic, hybrid, multi-cloud environments, ensuring seamless digital experiences and optimising resource utilisation for businesses worldwide.

9: Mobileye

CEO: Jerusalem, Israel

Headquarters: Amnon Shashua

Market cap: US$22.57bn

A global leader in the development of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving technologies, Mobileye was founded in 1999 and specialises in computer vision, machine learning and data analysis to enhance vehicle safety and enable autonomous driving.

Its cutting-edge EyeQ chip processes vast amounts of visual data in real time, facilitating features such as collision avoidance, lane keeping and adaptive cruise control. Mobileye’s Road Experience Management (REM) system creates highly accurate maps for autonomous vehicles, ensuring precise navigation. Acquired by Intel in 2017, Mobileye went public again in 2022.

8: Palantir

CEO: Alex Karp

Headquarters: Denver, Colorado

Market cap: US$46.63bn

Founded by Peter Thiel, Nathan Gettings, Joe Lonsdale, Stephen Cohen and Alex Karp in 2003, Palantir is known for its data integration and analytics platforms, providing solutions to government agencies, financial institutions and commercial enterprises.

Palantir’s AI capabilities are embedded within its platforms, Palantir Foundry and Palantir Gotham, leveraging machine learning and AI to process and analyse large datasets, offering insights for decision-making and operational optimisation. Palantir’s AI-driven tools enable predictive analytics, anomaly detection and real-time intelligence, helping organisations solve complex problems across various sectors.

7: IBM

CEO: Arvind Krishna

Headquarters: Armonk, New York

Market cap: US$153.92bn

IBM has an extensive history of bringing together technology and services to help its clients solve business problems. Founded in 1911, today the company is known for its work in AI, cloud computing and quantum computing.

IBM offers AI solutions to help build the future of business today. These solutions include IBM watsonx, its data and AI platform with a set of AI assistants, the deep scientific expertise of IBM Research and its teams of expert consultants who help enterprises scale responsible AI.

6: Adobe

CEO: Shantanu Narayen

Headquarters: San Jose, California

Market cap: US$216.43bn

Adobe is a global leader in digital media and marketing solutions, renowned for its flagship products for content creation, design and publishing. Embracing artificial intelligence, Adobe’s Sensei AI framework enhances its Creative Cloud, Document Cloud and Experience Cloud platforms. Sensei powers a range of features from automated photo editing through Firefly generative AI to predictive analytics and personalised content delivery, boosting productivity and creativity. Adobe’s AI innovations facilitate tasks ranging from complex image manipulations to intelligent customer experiences, solidifying its position at the forefront of digital transformation.

5: Tesla

CEO: Elon Musk

Headquarters: Austin, Texas

Market cap: US$566.24bn

Tesla develops and deploys autonomy at scale in vehicles, robots and more, with a belief that an approach based on advanced AI for vision and planning is the only way to achieve a general solution for full self-driving, bi-pedal robotics and beyond.

Tesla’s AI-driven Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) systems aim to revolutionise transportation as part of its mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy, while it also aims to create a general-purpose, bi-pedal, autonomous humanoid robot capable of performing unsafe, repetitive or boring tasks.

4: Meta Platforms

CEO: Mark Zuckerberg

Headquarters: Menlo Park, California

Market cap: US$1.187tn

Meta Platforms, formerly known as Facebook, is renowned for its social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Today, Meta leverages AI to enhance user experiences, improve content moderation and drive its advertising algorithms.

Recently, Meta has ventured into the world of generative AI, developing open source advanced models like LLaMA (Large Language Model Meta AI) as part of an ambition to democratise the technology. The company has also developed its own AI chips as it aims to drive its AI workloads.

3: Alphabet

CEO: Sundar Pichai

Headquarters: Mountain View, California

Market cap: US$2.1tn

Founded in 2015 as part of a corporate restructuring of Google, Alphabet oversees a diverse portfolio of businesses, with a strong emphasis on technology and innovation. Alphabet’s AI offerings are extensive, spearheaded by Google Cloud and Google DeepMind. These include advanced machine learning models like BERT and the cutting-edge generative AI model, Gemini. Alphabet’s AI is integrated across its services, enhancing search algorithms, enabling Google Assistant and providing powerful tools through Google Cloud’s extensive AI products.

2: Nvidia

CEO: Jensen Huang

Headquarters: Santa Clara, California

Market cap: US$2.283tn

Founded in 1993, Nvidia’s invention of the graphics processing unit (GPU) in 1999 sparked the growth of the PC gaming market, redefining computer graphics and igniting the era of modern AI.

The company experienced huge AI and generative AI breakthroughs in 2023, with CEO and Founder Jensen Huang announcing it expected to become the world’s first trillion-dollar semiconductor stock. Today the company’s work in AI and digital twins is transforming the world’s largest industries, with services from Alibaba, Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Snap, Spotify, Tencent and 40,000 other companies built and run on Nvidia AI technologies such as H100 – the chip that OpenAI used to train GPT-4.

Its latest Blackwell architecture, meanwhile, enables organisations everywhere to build and run real-time generative AI on trillion-parameter large language models at up to 25x less cost and energy consumption than its predecessor.

1: Microsoft

CEO: Satya Nadella

Headquarters: Redmond, Washington

Market cap: US$3.096tn

Holding a major stake in ChatGPT creator OpenAI, Microsoft’s investments in generative AI (Gen AI) have helped it reach new highs, providing it with the momentum to Apple as the most valuable company in the United States earlier this year.

Formerly known largely for its Windows operating system and Azure cloud platform, the company has fully embraced the Gen AI revolution in recent years: integrating the technology into its consumer and enterprise offerings.

“Microsoft Copilot and Copilot stack are orchestrating a new era of AI transformation, driving better business outcomes across every role and industry,” Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s Chairman and CEO, said recently, underscoring the company’s heavy investments in AI and cloud services.

It recently announced the launch of a new department – Microsoft AI, announcing former DeepMind and Inflection cofounder Mustafa Suleyman as its new CEO, and has pledged to invest billions in cloud infrastructure and AI skills from Asia to Europe.