Once the stuff of imagination and sci-fi novels, artificial intelligence has gone from a hypothesis about machines’ potential capabilities to an essential tech function that powers everything from our businesses to our cars. The functional possibilities of AI have taken leaps and bounds over the past decade, and no place is a bigger hotbed for such development than Silicon Valley. Home to AI giants like Nvidia and Google, the Bay Area is fostering tremendous talent and innovation when it comes to what deep machine learning can do. These Silicon Valley AI companies demonstrate how much can be accomplished when humans and machines work side by side.
Top AI Startups in Silicon Valley
- Moveworks
- Tempus
- Voyage
- Metromile
- Conversica
- DataVisor
- IdentityMind
- Cruise
- Plus.ai
Founded: 2019
Location: Berkeley
What they’re about: Redflag AI uses AI to power its SaaS products, which analyze web content in pursuit of piracy, fraud, copyright infringement and security threats. The software is designed to protect and maintain brand assets for clients in the media, entertainment, brand and retail industries. Redflag’s AI searches more than 20 social media platforms in real time to find and report pirated materials and fraudulent content.
Founded: 2016
Location: Mountain View
What they’re about: Moveworks is a cloud-based AI platform that helps to automate enterprise-level IT support tickets. The platform combines machine learning, Natural Language Understanding (NLU) and deep integrations to understand and resolve common IT issues. The Moveworks chatbot can instantly resolve minor questions, can suggest materials that might help to resolve a question and even follows up with employees. Slack, Medallia, Autodesk, Belkin and Stitch Fix all use the Moveworks platform to efficiently resolve their IT tickets.
Founded: 2015
Location: Redwood City
What they’re about: Tempus is a technology and medicine company that is using AI to help medical professionals with precision medicine. The company’s AI is being used to pull information from the Tempus-owned collection of molecular and clinical data (the largest collection in the world). The insights the AI finds give doctors better insights into personalized treatment plans (for diseases like cancer), and help researchers to speed up drug discovery.
Founded: 2017
Location: Palo Alto
What they’re about: Voyage develops self-driving car technology and services. The company uses AI, computer vision and data science to allow their technology to predict behavior and map optimal routes, so passengers can get to where they’re going safely. Voyage has started their autonomous vehicle testing in retirement communities, where retirees can hitch a ride without having to wait for humans to drive them around.
Founded: 2013
Location: San Francisco
What they’re about: Competing in the exploding self-driving car market, Cruise is developing vehicles that will be able to autonomously navigate complicated routes and keep up to date with safety concerns. In addition to their self-driving predictive technology, Cruise’s electric vehicles produce zero emissions, and the company has plans to organize an on-demand ride hailing service made up of electric cars. They plan to utilize their AI powered green tech to solve the problems of congestion and pollution in San Francisco.
Founded: 2009
Location: San Francisco
What they’re about: Grammarly is a digital editing assistant that checks both spelling and grammar in real time, while providing educational tools to help users improve their writing skills. A product of advanced machine learning and deep learning, Grammarly’s advanced natural language processing (NLP) technology spell checks and offers insights into grammar suggestions. The company currently has plans to create technology that can pick up on tone and suggest corrections based on a user’s writing objectives.
Founded: 2010
Location: San Francisco
What they’re about: Quid is a deep learning software program geared toward enterprises looking to build their digital presence through consumer-driven data. The platform organizes data about consumer interactions, news and forums into visual graphs to help businesses identify market opportunities and anticipate future objectives. Quid helps businesses utilize trend analysis and brand perception to connect with their customers, and currently counts Ford Motors, Toyota and Audi among their clients.
Founded: 2010
Location: San Francisco
What they’re about: Gong.io is a sales intelligence platform designed to improve consumer relations through revenue intelligence, an AI-driven process of data gathering designed to improve a business’s customer-facing strategies. In addition to providing consumer insight features, the creators behind Gong.io also host a podcast called “Reveal: the Revenue Intelligence Podcast”, geared toward helping enterprise operators understand the value of revenue intelligence as a marketing tool.
Founded: 2011
Location: San Francisco
What they’re about: Metromile utilizes deep learning technology to help car owners unlock the best pay-per-mile car insurance rates. The Metromile app allows users to access insight into their car’s lifespan and file claims from their smartphone. As a more affordable alternative insurance plan for car owners who seldom drive, Metromile was featured on Forbes’ Fintech 50 list for 2018.
Founded: 2012
Location: San Francisco
What they’re about: Founded to drive customer engagement and to strengthen customer relationships, Leanplum is a digital marketing platform that allows enterprises to organize multi-channel campaigns in one interface. By focusing on growth in customer retention, revenue and conversions, Leanplum helps brands like Tinder and NBC build their brand loyalty and improve their customer experience.
Founded: 2008
Location: San Francisco
What they’re about: Samasource is an AI training and validation model that supports learning development in industries from biomedicine to consumer internet. Their social business model is built around the motto that “talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not,” employing tech professionals from underserved communities in order to fight poverty. They count 25% of the Fortune 500 among their clients, working with companies such as Ford and Walmart.
Founded: 2013
Location: San Francisco
What they’re about: Fictiv is an online manufacturing platform that allows users to digitally design prototypes and parts. Devised around an on-demand model, Fictiv offers 3D printing, CNC Machining, injection molding and urethane casting. Described as “the Airbnb of manufacturing” by Forbes Magazine, Fictiv partners with manufacturing facilities in the Bay Area and China to develop parts and prototypes for product designers.
Founded: 2007
Location: Foster City
What they’re about: Conversica is a sales AI platform that specializes in developing virtual assistants for businesses. By integrating natural language processing and generation with deep learning capabilities, Conversica’s AI can help enterprises engage with potential consumers and retain those customers. Headquartered in the Bay Area with bases in the UK and Chile, Conversica is a Fast 100 company focused on humanizing virtual business assistants.
Founded: 2013
Location: Foster City
What they’re about: DataVisor is a financial data security and threat prevention AI platform. The company utilizes unsupervised machine learning to pick up on threat concerns and potential attacks before they happen. DataVisor aims to provide businesses with accurate fraud prevention tools that require little training or setup to perform.
Founded: 2013
Location: Palo Alto
What they’re about: IdentityMind is an online risk management and financial security platform, working with enterprises to ensure customer protection from money laundering and fraud. The company assists businesses with security screenings and helps to reduce the potential for onboarding fraud. Partnering with data companies like Experian and Acuant, IdentityMind works with clients in banking, fintech and MSB.
Founded: 2013
Location: San Ramon
What they’re about: App Orchid Inc. is an app developer that works with businesses in the insurance, healthcare, utilities and energy industries. Utilizing deep machine learning and natural language processing, App Orchid integrates employee preferences and knowledge with AI to create predictive apps. The company currently counts IBM and Cloudera among its partners.
Founded: 2016
Location: Cupertino
What they’re about: Plus.ai is a self-driving truck company that seeks to automate the large-scale transportation industry. Founded by a group of Stanford students, Plus.ai tackles the problems of safety and maneuverability in semi trucks through LiDAR and radar units for spatial imaging. By reducing shipping time and fuel consumption, the company hopes to create a transportation model that leaves less of a carbon footprint.
