This year’s Disruptor 50 list is topped by Anduril in the No. 1 spot, and then Openai shows 50 companies that challenge the status quo and use technology (most often AI) to transform a variety of industries.
What is particularly noteworthy about this year’s list is how representative sectors show trends that are important not only in technology and VCs, but also in politics and society. This is the first time a defense tech company has made it to the top in 13 years on the Discruptor 50 list. The Defense Technology division is not just represented by Andrill as herd safety, Salonic Technology and Shield AI are creating the 2025 list.
Their range and size indicate an upward trend. The four companies have a total value of over $45 billion, raising almost $10 billion from investors. They have geographical diversity – everything is headquartered outside Silicon Valley. And their focus varies. Flock Safety (No. 7 on this year’s list) creates security hardware and software. The Salonic (No. 19) will build an unmanned sea boat. Shield AI (No. 38) is an autonomous drone company.
Beyond companies that focus on building physical methods of defense, there is also Abnormal AI (No. 25), a cybersecurity company that plays an important role in protecting systems from attacks that prey on weak human behavior. Gecko Robotics (No. 30) deploys robots to capture data on the integrity of critical assets, such as aircraft carriers, naval ships, and missile silos.
Growth in this sector is expected to accelerate thanks to a surge in funding. Last week, Anduril announced a new $2.5 billion funding, with a rating of twice the previous funding round. According to Pitchbook, Saronic and Shield AI also closed major fundraising rounds in 2025. For Salonic, it’s $600 million.
Igor Gnedo, Antonina Lepore, Adrianne Paerels
AI Infrastructure Company Scale AI (No. 28) has secured a groundbreaking deal with the Department of Defense Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Bureau last August, improving the US military’s AI capabilities. Scale AI also announced a multi-million dollar new contract with DOD in March, supporting the “Thunderforge,” an initiative to develop AI agents for US military planning and operations, including Anduril.
The surge in funding comes as President Donald Trump proposes increased defense spending, focusing on modernizing military capabilities and opening opportunities beyond the legacy defense sector. The focus is also on dual use technology: Anduril took over MicrosoftAugmented reality headset programmes currently working with the military and announced contracts at the end of May Meta Create VR and AR devices for use by the Army.
In addition to the rise of military technology, the explosion of the capabilities of generating AI is driving the transformation of various sectors from agriculture to law and robotics. All of the list is 17 enterprise high-tech companies, seven fintechs, four healthcare companies, four food/farming, and three transportation and biotechnology each.
An AI-focused investment and higher ratings showcase this year’s Disruptor 50 list in full up and down. The 13th Discruptor 50 class is valued at $798 billion, well over the last year’s total of $436 billion, thanks to Openai’s $300 billion valuation. The total amount raised by companies increased from $70 billion last year to $127 billion.
It is clear that the Generation AI Revolution has changed the startup ecosystem and list with 20 newcomers this year. Only 11 companies on this year’s list were vandals prior to ChatGpt’s launch, but many of the group, including Anduril, Databricks and Canva, were successful due to the Gen AI embrace.
Over two-thirds of the companies on this year’s D50 list (38 companies) say that AI has been “important for business” since last year 34. And 21 of this year’s companies say generative AI is an essential technology that has risen from 13 last year.
This reflects Venture Capital’s growing focus on AI. Around 58% of the global VC dollars invested in the first quarter went to AI and machine learning startups, while in North America 70% of the trading value went to AI and machine learning startups. Additionally, funding numbers continue to rise, raising $73 billion in the first quarter, increasing more than half of last year’s total, primarily due to Openai’s $40 billion round, led by SoftBank.
AI is used in a variety of different use cases, including Law (Harvey), Fighting Crime (Flock Safety), and Doctor’s Office (Abridge and Rad AI). However, the sector with most companies on this year’s Disruptor 50 list is Enterprise AI with 17 companies (up from 14 last year). These are collected from Databricks, which help businesses mine data, to help customers build custom AI apps and custom search tools.
Design Platform Canva is increasingly investing in artificial intelligence, with AI being the center of its toolkit. With CHATGPT’s partnership with humanity (No. 4 on this year’s list), and the acquisition of several AI-powered companies over the past year, CEO Melanie Perkins is set to reveal a $32 billion company next year. “We have been using generation AI for many years to continually invest in this area, including magical recommendations,” Perkins said. “You can embed that magic when you’re writing a document or presentation, and you can have Canva AI…it was an extension of that first promise, so that we can continue to empower our customers, design, and get the latest technology.”
According to Perkins, Canva has three approaches to AI. They say they have a platform that is accessible to integrate the best products available, investing deeply in the areas they need to bring expertise to their customers, and the latest AI products and other apps have come into Canva and have a platform that the community can access.
She is optimistic about the possibility that AI could be a democratization force for Canva’s 220 million customers around the world. “As a human world, I think it’s very important to use AI to really lift everyone who lives here and help everyone meet the basic human needs,” she said. “And I think there’s a great opportunity to dream more about what we want with technology accelerating. I think there’s a great opportunity to rethink what we’re doing and ensure that it’s meeting our needs.”
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