As the financial services platform for 78% of the Forbes AI 50 – including companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Midjourney, and Cohere – Stripe is well positioned to see how rapidly AI start-ups are turning demand into revenue. To better understand this dynamic, we analysed payment data from the top 100 AI companies on our platform.

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We’ve observed three key trends shaping the rapid growth of the AI economy:

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• AI start-ups are hitting important revenue milestones much faster than previous generations of tech start-ups, including SaaS.
• AI companies are expanding internationally right from the start, quickly becoming global businesses.
• Innovative business models and monetisation strategies are emerging quickly, driving accelerated revenue growth and adoption.

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Behind these trends are innovative start-ups – many already household names, others on their way – that are reshaping entire industries. Healthcare companies such as Abridge, Nabla, and DeepScribe are redefining patient care, while Studeo is transforming how real estate is marketed. Restaurants are using Slang.ai to streamline reservations, architects rely on SketchPro for instant design visualisation, and property managers simplify customer support with HostAI. Harvey, whose AI-powered legal assistant is used by numerous Fortune 500 companies, quadrupled its revenue in 2024 alone.

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The accelerating adoption and monetisation of AI has created a powerful cycle of investment, innovation, and global expansion. In this report, we’ll share insights into how quickly AI businesses are growing and monetising, and we’ll offer a glimpse into the future direction of the AI economy – including the rise of vertical specialisation and agentic commerce.

• Revenue growth is rapid and accelerating
• International from the start
• AI buyers are everywhere
• AI business models cast wide nets
• Payment and pricing: How AI companies are selling
• Agentic commerce
• Start and grow an AI business with Stripe