Prepared by Airframe

Best AI and Software Companies

We compiled every software innovator that has created at least $500M in value and organized them by the year they were founded. In total, there are pioneering names — together they have created $30T in value and employ people.

Seven transformations, one industry

Software has moved through a few transformations — mainframe, minicomputer, client-server, desktop, Internet, mobile, and cloud. As the industry heads into the AI era, we want to celebrate these leaders and hear their stories.

Value per employee — the defining ratio
For decades, software built $1–10M per employee. Google raised the ceiling. Anthropic redefined it.
Enterprise value per employee, by founding year
Where the value sits today
Public Private PE-Owned Acquired
Company count
Total value
Employees
Value / employee
or press Esc
Airframe
Internal Data Exploration

Best AI and Enterprise Software Companies

Use to step through years, Space to play
Breakdown by status
Companies Value Employees
Public0$00
Private0$00
PE0$00
Acquired0$00