The AI Index
The Risers

AI-native leaderboard · week of 2026-08-24

Composite velocity score — headcount growth (80%) and funding activity (20%). Normalized within the cohort weekly.

Risers cohort · combined headcount

Total employees across all 50 risers, tracked 3 years
3-year change
+189.4%
cohort expansion
Aggregate headcount
37.6k
from 13.0k
Growing >+5% MoM
10 / 50
in this week
The AI Index