This year has undoubtedly been the year of generative artificial intelligence (AI) for the tech sector.

It’s a topic continuing to dominate technology news headlines and has thoroughly penetrated the cultural zeitgeist of the planet. Even the United Kingdom’s (UK) King Charles III has voiced concerns about AI. It’s hard to get more mainstream than that.

Generative AI is a type of technology which produces various types of content, including text, imagery, audio and code from the input data it receives. The most widely used of these is ChatGPT which exploded onto the scene in November 2022.

There are clear leaders in the field of generative AI and these titans of the tech industry are battling it out for supremacy in this rapidly expanding field.

Which companies are leading the pack in this $13 billion industry? Here are the 10 biggest generative AI companies in the world as ranked by market capitalization on Dec.11. To qualify for this list the companies must be creating generative AI software or providing components pivotal to its construction.

10 most valuable generative AI companies in the world (and what they do)

10. International Business Machines (IBM), $148.51 billion, USA

IBM, the venerable grandfather of the tech industry, has been around since 1911. They endured some rough years in the 90s but have since recovered and are positioned well to take advantage of the rising demand for AI. Currently, Meta and IBM are headlining a collaboration of more than 50 companies and groups to create an industry body working together on open-source AI. Big Blue, as it is affectionately known, has also announced plans to invest $500 million in generative AI startups catering to business customers.

9. Intuit, $164.01 billion, USA

Fintech innovator Intuit has been making use of machine learning and AI systems to boost services across its popular products like QuickBooks, TurboTax, and MailChimp. On the generative AI front, the Californian firm launched Intuit Assist a chatbot for customers earlier this year and GenOS, an operating system that helps Intuit’s technologists “design, build, and deploy breakthrough generative AI experiences through Intuit Assist.”

8. Alibaba Group, $181.91 billion, China

One of the biggest companies in China, Alibaba is the only organization from outside the US to make the list. The Chinese are aware of America’s early dominance in the field and are taking action. The nation recorded a surge in AI-related patent filings in October and over 40% of global AI patent applications are within its borders.

The Amazon and eBay of China, Alibaba is heavily invested in AI through its cloud computing services, e-commerce activity and financial services affiliate Ant Group.

7. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), $215.1 billion, USA

AMD is a major player in the semiconductor industry. They provide central processing units (CPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs) that pit them against their larger rival, Nvidia. They are the sellers of pickaxes in a gold rush. They provide advanced AI chips which are used in generative AI applications. The company recently announced its new MI300X chip which Microsoft and Meta have already committed to.

6. Adobe, $282.86 billion, USA

Primarily known for its software products like Photoshop, InDesign and Premiere Pro, Adobe is another Silicon Valley firm working for dominance in the generative AI space. In October Adobe unveiled Firefly Image 2, a significant upgrade to their existing AI-powered image generation tool. The improved model delivers higher-quality outputs through enhancements to model architecture, training algorithms, and image generation capabilities. Adobe has been introducing many more generative AI features on its Adobe Sensei platform.

5. Meta Platforms, $823.94 billion, USA

Now we get to the first of the big beasts. Meta’s products serve billions around the world thanks to the prolific uptake of its core platforms Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, like the other tech giants, is now looking at new horizons and taking steps into generative AI. From a chatbot named Llama, AI image generators, and most recently, Audiobox, the world’s leading social media company is investing heavily in the sector.

4. NVIDIA, $1.13 trillion, USA

Like AMD further up this list, Nvidia is a critical supplier of components needed for generative AI software. So important is Nvidia to the industry, the sale of its high-end AI chips to China has been scrutinized heavily by the US Government. Nevertheless, the chipmaker has had a stellar year, tripling its worth and outperforming every other company in the S&P 500. 

3. Amazon, $1.50 trillion, USA

Jeff Bezos wants more. Not content with his e-commerce empire, leading cloud computing service through AWS (Amazon Web Services) and digital media arm, the Amazon Inc CEO has set his sights on AI. The company has two large language models (LLM) on AWS and has recently announced a chatbot for businesses called ‘Q’.

The company has also bet big on OpenAI (more on them soon) competitor Anthropic. It has poured $4 billion of funding into the American start-up founded by former execs from OpenAI, the team behind ChatGPT.

2. Alphabet, 1.66 trillion, USA

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has one of the best-known chatbots in the generative AI space. Bard is arguably second only to ChatGPT in notoriety and recently got a major upgrade with the Gemini model. Alphabet doesn’t stop there. Most generative AI startups are using Google Cloud to develop generative AI applications so the company is well placed to challenge for the number one spot.

1. Microsoft, $2.74 trillion, USA

Wait. Where is OpenAI on this list, they’ve got the most successful chatbot on the planet in ChatGPT?

They’re here. On its own OpenAI’s market cap doesn’t make this list yet, but their backers Microsoft most certainly do with a nearly $3 trillion valuation. OpenAI is known for developing powerful AI models and it continues to improve its GPT products which reportedly have 180.5 million users and get nearly two billion visits a month. Microsoft and OpenAI have the lead for now, but you can be certain competition in the generative AI sector will only intensify.

Featured image: Pixabay

Sam Shedden

Sam Shedden is an experienced journalist and editor with over a decade of experience in online news. A seasoned technology writer and content strategist, he has contributed to many UK regional and national publications.