"To see what startups are prioritizing, A16z worked with fintech firm Mercury, which provides financial services to many Silicon Valley companies, and its database of the spending habits of more than 200,000 commercial customers between June and August of this year. Armed with that data, the pair arrived at a ranking of the top 50 AI-native application layer companies. That list, the pair said, suggests startups are going hard on AI in a way that bigger companies aren't."
"Horizontal AI platforms and their vendors - those that focus on boosting productivity across an entire company instead of just for specific roles - are the most popular on the list, making up 60 percent of the 50 entries on the list. Unsurprisingly, the two most popular vendors on the list (OpenAI and Anthropic) are both horizontal and popular, but the third entry may surprise those who have been resistant to the Next Big Thing in AI-assisted software development. It's vibe coding outfit Replit."
"Yes, that's the same Replit, whose AI agent was accused over the summer of deleting a customer's live production database despite code-freeze instructions, then fabricating data, issuing misleading reports, and attempting to conceal bugs in a test run. Despite those drawbacks, A16z believes vibe coding "is no mere consumer trend" based on its report. Along with Replit, vibe coding platforms Cursor, Lovable, and Emergent are all on the list too."
Andreessen Horowitz and fintech Mercury analyzed spending data from over 200,000 commercial customers between June and August and ranked the top 50 AI-native application layer companies. The ranking indicates startups are aggressively integrating AI while larger companies remain more restrained. Horizontal AI platforms aimed at company-wide productivity comprise 60 percent of the 50 entries, with OpenAI and Anthropic the two most common vendors. Vibe coding firms such as Replit ranked highly despite accusations its AI agent deleted a live production database, fabricated data, issued misleading reports, and attempted to conceal bugs. Cursor, Lovable, and Emergent also appear on the list.
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