AI Drives Almost Half Of 2025 Forbes Cloud 100’s $1.1 Trillion Value

AI is a leading indicator in this year’s Forbes Cloud 100

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AI was already in play when I worked at AWS, because the first step toward unlocking its potential was convincing enterprises to move workloads to the cloud. The questions we fielded were around cost savings, scalability, and security. But even then, we were already exploring how AI could enhance what the cloud could do, from automating operations to powering smarter customer experiences. Fast forward to today, and the center of gravity has shifted. It is no longer about whether you are in the cloud. It is about how intelligently your cloud works for you. The 2025 Forbes Cloud 100 shows this clearly.

AI has become the growth engine driving the most valuable and fastest-scaling companies in the world.

The Cloud 100 has long been a snapshot of the most promising and highly valued private cloud companies in the world. The Forbes Cloud 100 is published in partnership with Bessemer Venture Partners and Salesforce Ventures, with Bessemer also releasing the detailed Benchmarks Report analyzing the list’s trends. See below for the Top 10 Cloud providers on that list from Bessemer Venture Partners.

For startups, making the list signals credibility and momentum. For investors, it is a barometer of where the next big wave of enterprise technology is coming from.

In 2025 that wave is unmistakably AI.

Cloud 100 Meets the AI Era

This year’s honorees reflect how quickly AI has shifted from hype to necessity. Two years ago many companies were experimenting with AI features, testing how models might improve workflows or enhance user experiences. Today the companies that have fully embraced AI are outpacing their peers in revenue growth and funding rounds. The shift is no longer about whether AI belongs in the product suite. It is about how deeply AI is embedded into the business model and how clearly that integration drives value.

The numbers prove it. Companies with AI at their core now account for 42 percent of the total valuation of the Cloud 100 cohort, up from just 21 percent in 2024. That doubling of value share in one year highlights just how dramatically investor confidence has shifted toward AI-first companies.

The category-level data reinforces this dominance. According to Bessemer Venture Partners, in 2024, AI companies represented $176 billion in value, or 21 percent of the Cloud 100. In 2025 that number has grown to nearly half of the list’s total $1.1 trillion valuation, cementing AI as the single most valuable category among all tracked sectors.

Investors have taken notice. Valuations are climbing fastest for companies that can prove AI is not just a headline but a core differentiator.

The Cloud 100 list shows that those who move quickly to integrate generative capabilities into operations and customer solutions are now seen as the safest bets for long-term growth.

Generative AI as the Growth Engine

To see this shift in action, look no further than some of this year’s Cloud 100 honorees.

AppsFlyer, a global leader in marketing attribution, has leaned into AI to help customers make sense of a rapidly changing advertising ecosystem. By using generative models to refine customer journeys and optimize spend, AppsFlyer is delivering insights that would be impossible to achieve through human analysis alone. That precision has helped it secure another spot on the Cloud 100 list and keep its valuation strong.

In chatting with Oren Kaniel, CEO and co-founder, he told me that “in this new era of AI‑first marketing, trusted measurement is the foundation for real growth. At AppsFlyer Rocketship, our mission is to bring transparency and precision to attribution, powered by generative intelligence. By enabling marketers to make data‑driven decisions with full trust, we’re laying the groundwork for smarter campaigns and better outcomes,”

MaintainX has used AI to transform how frontline teams handle work orders and maintenance. By embedding generative systems that can auto-populate instructions, predict equipment failures, and streamline reporting, MaintainX has turned a traditional software category into a predictive intelligence platform. The result is not only efficiency for customers but also a clear path for scaling into new industries.

Cohesity, which focuses on data resilience and security, has gone all in on AI-driven recovery. And this marks Cohesity’s sixth consecutive appearance on the list!

In an era where cyber threats are escalating, the ability to use AI to detect anomalies, suggest recovery steps, and automate data protection has become a powerful differentiator. Cohesity shows how AI can turn what was once seen as a cost center into a growth engine.

Sanjay Poonen, CEO and President of Cohesity commented to me, “AI is transforming data resilience from a defensive measure into a competitive advantage. At Cohesity, we see our customers moving from simply protecting information to actively using intelligence to anticipate threats and accelerate recovery. The Cloud 100 recognition affirms that building AI into the fabric of security and data management is not just innovation, it is essential for business growth.”

Workato and Arctic Wolf are also integrating AI at the heart of their platforms. Workato is using AI to automate complex enterprise workflows while Arctic Wolf is applying it to real-time security operations. Both examples highlight that no matter the sector, AI is the lever companies are using to expand capabilities and justify valuations.

Why Investors Are Betting on AI Leaders

The message from the market is clear. Companies that embed AI in a way that produces measurable returns are being rewarded with higher valuations, faster deal cycles, and stronger positions on the Cloud 100 list. Investors are not looking for surface-level AI marketing. They are looking for tangible proof that AI is improving efficiency, unlocking new revenue, or reshaping customer engagement.

One statistic underscores this acceleration. AI-led Cloud 100 companies are reaching $100 million in annual recurring revenue averaging only 5.7 years , a whole year faster than last year and better when compared with 7.8 years for the broader cohort. Faster scaling means faster returns, and that momentum is precisely what investors want.

This trend matters because it points to a broader shift in how defensibility is defined in the cloud era. In the past, companies competed on integrations, scale, or sales execution. Today defensibility is increasingly tied to AI adoption. A startup that can train proprietary models, leverage unique datasets, or deliver personalized insights at scale is more resilient than one that offers a traditional software workflow.

The Risks and the Skeptics For AI

None of this is without risk. Not every AI implementation delivers the promised ROI. Some companies race to market with under-developed features that fail to add value or even create new risks. Hallucinations, regulatory scrutiny, and over-reliance on models can undermine trust.

Skeptics argue that the market is inflating valuations based on assumptions that all AI adoption will pay off. They warn that some Cloud 100 winners could struggle if their AI strategies prove shallow or if the regulatory environment tightens.

These are valid concerns, and executives should weigh them carefully. Yet the counterpoint is that companies without a credible AI strategy are already losing ground.

Standing still may be the biggest risk of all.

AI Lessons for Executives

For executives reading the Cloud 100, the takeaways are instructive.

AI is no longer optional. In my book AI First, Human Always, I found that companies excel who are incorporating AI into their corporate strategy.

It is becoming the minimum expectation in cloud services. To compete, companies need to think beyond adding AI features. They must redesign business models to capitalize on intelligence at the core.

This requires asking fundamental questions. How can proprietary data be used to train models that deliver differentiated insights? How can generative systems enhance user experiences in ways that drive retention? How should sales and marketing teams leverage AI to shorten cycles and personalize outreach?

The companies at the top of the Cloud 100 are already answering these questions with concrete strategies. Their examples show that the winners of tomorrow will not be those who treat AI as a side project. They will be those who rebuild their playbooks around intelligence as the default mode of operation.

The Road Ahead For AI

Looking forward, it is hard to imagine a Cloud 100 list that is not AI First.

By 2026 it is likely that nearly every honoree will describe themselves in terms of AI leadership, not just cloud innovation. The competitive edge will no longer come from whether a company uses AI but from how creatively and responsibly it applies it.

We can also expect to see the next evolution of AI in cloud platforms. AI agents will become more common, operating inside SaaS products to handle workflows, negotiations, and customer service. Tokenized data marketplaces may emerge as a way for companies to share and monetize the datasets that train their models. Hybrid solutions that combine AI with Web3 technologies could redefine trust and provenance in enterprise applications.

The pace of innovation shows no signs of slowing. If anything, the Cloud 100 confirms that AI has shifted from an experimental phase to a market-shaping force. Companies that hesitate will not just fall behind. They may never catch up.

Decentralized AI Enters The Conversation

The Forbes Cloud 100 focuses on SaaS and enterprise cloud companies, but the definition of cloud is already expanding. Companies like Zero Gravity, which positions itself as a decentralized AI infrastructure provider, show where the next frontier lies.

Unlike traditional Cloud 100 honorees that deliver centralized SaaS or data platforms, Zero Gravity (a partner of my company) builds AI on distributed compute networks, blockchain-based governance, and tokenized participation models. In many ways, it represents a Cloud 3.0 approach — where intelligence is no longer confined to hyperscale providers but instead powered by decentralized infrastructure.

In chatting with Michael Heinrich, the Co-Founder and CEO of Zero Gravity (0G) Labs,he told me that “the next generation of AI infrastructure will not be centralized in the hands of a few hyperscalers. At 0G, we believe intelligence should run on decentralized networks where compute, storage, and governance are shared. This will unlock the 90%+ of private data not publicly available on the internet and create significantly better expert models, accelerating AGIThis model not only scales AI more efficiently, it does so with greater transparency, resilience, and cost effectiveness — the qualities enterprises will demand in the years ahead.”

Zero Gravity is not alone. Gensyn is pioneering decentralized compute for AI training, Bittensor incentivizes open-source model development on a blockchain network, and SingularityNET operates a global marketplace for AI agents. Secret Network (a partner of my company) adds the critical privacy layer, enabling confidential AI workloads where sensitive data can be processed securely without being exposed. Together, these projects point to a decentralized AI stack that could rival traditional cloud in the years ahead.

If the Cloud 100 list signals the current state of SaaS leadership, these decentralized AI innovators highlight the next wave of cloud evolution, one where infrastructure is distributed, private, and intelligent by design.

What’s Next For AI Companies?

The 2025 Cloud 100 should serve as a wake-up call for business leaders everywhere. The companies defining cloud leadership this year are those that have already redefined themselves with AI. Generative intelligence is not a passing trend. It is the growth engine powering valuations, shaping investor expectations, and setting the new standard for enterprise software.

The lesson is clear. If AI is not at the heart of your strategy, you risk being left off the list not only figuratively but literally. The Cloud 100 shows us the future of enterprise technology. It is intelligent, generative, and moving faster to AI First than ever before.