Summary:
Artificial intelligence startups dominated the 2023 Enterprise Tech 30 survey.
Top early stage startup: Browserbase.
Mid stage leader: Clay, with several notable competitors.
ET30 list expanded to 60 promising startups across various stages.
Venture capitalists emphasize the importance of generative AI in early stages.
The Latest Buzz in Enterprise Startups
Now we know exactly which startups venture capitalists are secretly salivating over. Artificial intelligence startups dominated this year in Wing’s annual Enterprise Tech 30 venture capitalist survey. This list showcases the tech industry’s top up-and-coming enterprise startups selected by the ultimate insiders.
Top Early Stage Startups
The headless browser startup Browserbase took the coveted top spot on the early stage list, followed by:
- Modal Labs (AI infrastructure)
- CrewAI (multi-agent platform)
- Lovable (text-based coding tool)
- LlamaIndex (open source orchestration framework)
This year, agents, coding tools, AI infrastructure plays, and generative AI-native applications have caught investors’ interest. Many of these companies are generating revenue quickly with lean teams.
Mid and Late Stage Standouts
On the mid stage list, Clay (AI go-to-market startup) topped the rankings, alongside:
- Decagon (agentic customer service)
- Granola (voice-to-text)
- Mercor (recruiting)
- LangChain (AI software framework)
Despite raised funding levels, standout companies like Cursor topped the late stage list, showcasing their competitive edge.
Insights from Venture Capitalists
The ET30 list, now expanded to 60 promising startups across various stages, is compiled by asking top venture capitalists to rank the 10 startups they see as the most promising. To ensure fairness, the voting limits how many votes can come from a VC’s own portfolio.
The AI Surge
The early stage list is particularly dominated by generative AI companies. Peter Wagner, Wing's founding partner, notes, “The canary in the coal mine is obviously the early stage. This is a pretty good spotlight as to where things are going.”
Podcast Feature
Interestingly, the rise of Browserbase surprised even industry insiders. CEO Paul Klein shared insights on the Newcomer Podcast, explaining how the company facilitates AI agents' engagement with the web.
Industry Overview
Among the 60 companies:
- 21 are building applications
- 14 are creating AI models or tools
- 8 are in cybersecurity
- 6 in business intelligence or data integration
- 5 in developer tools
- 3 in fintech
- 3 in defense or aerospace
Comments