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Forbes

The Next Frontier In AI: The Application Layer Is Creating Tomorrow's Unicorns

This year's Next Billion-Dollar Startups tells a story of evolution: not just in valuation potential, but in how startups are getting there. Compared to prior years, today's companies are marked by sharper capital efficiency, an increased reliance on automation and the emergence of powerful niche-focused AI applications. Startups that once needed massive capital infusions to scale are now getting further – faster – with fewer dollars. Thanks to widely available foundation models, lower compute costs and no-code tools, many of the companies highlighted on this year's list operate with lean teams and tight balance sheets while still scaling at unicorn velocity. This trend is one of many factors contributing to the rise of 'solopreneurs,' made possible by AI's ability to multiply individual output. At the same time, the AI boom is branching out from core infrastructure into specialized tools and vertical solutions. While prior years' lists included model builders and data infrastructure startups, this year's standouts are building at the AI application layer, creating tools that businesses and consumers use every day, from content creation to back-office automation. Everyday AI tools are spreading to new corners of the economy, from architecture to healthcare to space. These tool developers are proving that AI doesn't just win in broad categories – it also thrives on the margins, where the needs are specific and the moats are deep. Content Generation: Building the AI-First Creative Stack Many of the startups on this year's list are democratizing access to powerful AI tools, making content creation easier, faster and more accessible. Where original and creative content has historically required significant investments of time, money and skill, these tools enable individuals without those resources to easily access and develop unique content with the touch of a button. Agentio Agentio is using AI to streamline and enhance ad creation by automating time-consuming tasks like research, ideation, drafting and distribution. The platform acts like a creative partner, helping marketers and content teams generate high-quality, on-brand content at scale while reducing the manual work necessary to build a thriving content business. By combining intelligent agents with real-time data, the platform helps creators maintain a consistent voice, respond to market trends, and tailor content. The company is supported by heavyweight investors, including Craft and Benchmark, which led a $12 million financing in November 2024. Gamma Gamma is rethinking presentation software. Its AI-powered platform helps users generate sleek, modern slide decks, documents and webpages in seconds, positioning itself as a next-gen PowerPoint. With the ability to translate raw ideas into professional content, it could be a critical tool for professionals, creators and educators. In May 2024, Gamma raised a $12 million Series A led by Accel to continue expanding its operations and to accelerate its development efforts. Krea Krea is an AI design assistant built for creatives. By combining diffusion-based image generation with real-time controls, it lets users iterate on visuals with precision, whether they're producing mood boards, illustrations or social content. Fueled by a $47 million Series B with backing from Bain Capital Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz to further its efforts to become a next-generation alternative to traditional design tools. StackBlitz StackBlitz is reinventing the developer environment by making it instant, browser-based and AI-integrated. Its platform lets developers build full applications in seconds, with AI-powered autocomplete and bug detection. StackBlitz boasts an impressive roster of customers including Meta, Intel, Shopify and Salesforce, and earlier this year it raised $105 million at a $700 million valuation in a deal led by Emergence Capital and GV. Automating the Back Office and Beyond Across industries, agentic AI is changing how work gets done. These startups are building systems that use intelligent agents to handle high-friction, high-volume tasks, freeing up employees for higher-level problem-solving. Browserbase Browserbase is harnessing autonomous software agents that operate directly within real browsers, mimicking human interaction to automate complex workflows like QA testing, data entry, and web navigation. These agents are able to adapt to dynamic websites, intelligently handling tasks that typically break traditional scripts or APIs. In June 2025, Browserbase raised $40 million in a Series B round led by Notable Capital and with support from CRV and Kleiner Perkins. The company intends to use the cash to further develop its platform, which is positioning itself as a foundational layer for resilient, general-purpose automation across the web. Reflection AI Reflection AI is taking aim at one of the tech industry's most ambitious goals: building autonomous software-writing systems. Founded by former Google DeepMind researchers, the company is developing agentic AI tools that can understand and act within complex software environments with minimal human oversight. Its multi-agent system retrieves insights not just from code but also from emails, Slack messages, documentation, and project notes, while a central reasoning agent synthesizes those findings into coherent responses to developer queries. The company has raised $130 million from Sequoia, CRV, SV Angel and others to train its next generation of autonomous agents. The company believes its approach could turn today's code assistants into fully capable engineering partners. Rogo Patagonia vests and 2am spreadsheets begone – Rogo is your modern-day finance bro. Its AI financial research tool lets analysts query startup data like they would in a chat interface, automating report generation, earnings analysis and data visualization with minimal human input. In May, the startup announced a $50 million Series B led by Thrive Capital to enhance its AI models and expand its engineering team. Rox Rox is betting on agentic AI to reinvent how sales teams work. At the heart of its platform is a coordinated network of always-on AI agents assigned to individual accounts and sales reps. These agents synthesize data from CRMs, spreadsheets, emails, calendars and public sources, then work in the background to monitor accounts, surface insights, draft sales outreach, and compile personalized meeting briefs. Backed by $50 million raised in November 2024 from Sequoia, GV and General Catalyst, Rox is evolving CRMs into proactive, intelligent collaborators that augment human sellers rather than replace them. Tapping Niche Markets: AI Goes Deep, Not Just Broad The most compelling AI startups aren't necessarily chasing the biggest markets. In fact, as we've seen this year, they're often winning in specialized sectors where AI can create step-change improvements in places others overlooked. Assort Health Assort automates patient intake and triage using AI agents that manage everything from scheduling to insurance verification. The result: lower costs for providers and faster service for patients. Earlier this year, the startup raised $26 million in a Series A co-led by First Round Capital and Chemistry to continue improving access to care by eliminating pain points and inefficiencies that plague healthcare organizations during the patient intake process. Basis New York-based startup Basis is carving out a blue-ocean niche in accounting by offering an AI-powered 'junior accounts' agent specifically tailored to bookkeeping firms. Integrating with eponymous platforms like QuickBooks, the tool autonomously enters transactions, verifies data accuracy and performs routine checks, freeing accountants to focus on higher-value work. With the labor force in traditional accounting shrinking, the company is positioning itself as a timely solution to a pressing talent gap. The company raised $34 million in December 2024, with contributions from notable investors including Khosla Ventures and BoxGroup, alongside industry leaders like Jack Altman, OpenAI directors, and Google AI leaders underscoring confidence in its focused automation play. Collate Collate is leveraging AI to streamline the complex processes inherent in life sciences product development. Founded by former Y Combinator partner Surbhi Sarna, the company offers an AI-powered platform designed to automate the creation and management of regulatory paperwork for diagnostic, medical device and pharmaceutical companies from initial concept through approval and market launch. By automating document generation, review and compliance checks, the technology frees teams to focus on innovation rather than administrative tasks. The company raised $30 million in January 2025 from a slate of marquee investors including First Round Capital, Conviction Partners, Redpoint and Y Combinator. Motif Motif brings generative AI to architecture, engineering and construction. Its platform helps teams create design concepts, floor plans and 3D renderings in minutes, replacing labor-intensive early-stage design work. A standout feature is its AI rendering tool, which allows users to transform ideas, sketches and models into rendered images with a single click. In January 2025, the startup raised $46 million in funding, led by CapitalG and Redpoint. As AI continues to embed itself more deeply into every aspect of the economy and daily life, this year's Next Billion-Dollar Startups are not just riding the wave – they're reshaping the way we work, create and build. Whether by supercharging individuals or transforming specialized industries, these founders illustrate that the future of AI is not just broad – it's also agile, focused and built to last.