AI technology races across five categories.

As AI vendor race competition heats up, Gartner, Inc., has identified the Companies to Beat in nearly 30 AI technology races across five categories.

“The Company to Beat is determined by a methodology based on, but not limited to, six key criteria that differentiate top vendors in the space: technical capabilities, customer implementations, potential customer base, business model, key partnerships, and the broader surrounding ecosystem,” said Anthony Bradley, Group Vice President at Gartner.

“An assessment is performed by teams of expert analysts who analyze Gartner market data and collaborate to establish Gartner’s opinions. Analysts consider a variety of data and information sources, including, but not limited to, interactions with end-users and vendors, peer review, public data, Gartner proprietary data and analysts’ own explorations on the market,” said Bradley. “As these fast-moving AI Vendor Races evolve, Gartner’s coverage, assessment, insights, and advice on how to compete will evolve in concert, and different vendors can become the Company to Beat.”

GARTNER is a trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. Gartner does not endorse any company, vendor, product or service depicted in its publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's business and technology insights organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this publication, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

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The GenAI models market is projected to grow by 149.8% in 2025, surpassing $14 billion. By 2028, Gartner expects the market to stabilize at 38% annual growth, as GenAI becomes increasingly embedded in applications. Meanwhile, the global market for AI-optimized servers is expected to grow by 90.9% in 2025, and by 2027, nearly all premium computing devices will be AI-enabled.

“Providers must pivot from functional, use-case-oriented AI to approaches that deliver real business outcomes tied to mission-critical initiatives,” Bradley added. “Less than one in five GenAI projects will achieve their desired business value through 2026. To close this gap, product leaders need to integrate targeted business outcomes into product engineering, marketing, and implementation. Those who fail to make this shift will not remain competitive.”

Shifting from Features to Outcomes

Gartner cautionsA providers against relying on functional, use-case-oriented AI, urging a pivot toward business outcome–driven approaches.

“Less than one in five GenAI projects will achieve their desired business value through 2026,” Bradley said. “To close this gap, product leaders must embed business outcomes into product engineering, marketing, and delivery. Providers who fail to evolve in this way will struggle to remain competitive.”

By - Aaradhay Sharma