This April 9-11 the ability for AI to make the leap from promises to real delivery was highlighted at the Google Cloud Next conference in Las Vegas.
The case study in question came from Mattel, where Google’s BigQuery AI tool was used to analyze customer sentiment to understand why a Barbie Dreamhouse product line was getting negative reviews.
Using AI, the toy giant was able to pinpoint an issue with the elevator door and rapidly adjust the production line to get an amended product on the shelves in rapid time.
This example offered tangible evidence of how AI is making a difference and finally moving beyond the borders of the tech world to enhance a traditional industry in a positive way.
Further, this comes at a time when the pressure is on for AI to prove its value. The investment spree that followed the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT has been increasingly called into question after DeepSeek reportedly built a faster, cheaper model, and investors have been getting cold feet as the market turmoil of Trump’s tariffs bleeds into the AI sector.
However, there is a bright spot on the horizon. While GenAI and the moves from tech giants have a tendency to dominate the conversation, these represent just a portion of what’s taking shape across the entire global AI industry.
Now that AI has sufficiently captured our attention and imagination, the time has come to move on from lofty ideas and instead focus on getting the tech to provide a real ROI.
If we look a little more closely under the surface we can find numerous examples of innovators using AI to address specific needs for their target users that showcase the multitude of ways this technology is already driving value and delivering results.
Here’s a look into 10 AI innovators to watch in 2025.
Industry: AI Agents
AI agents were one of the main focus points at the Google Cloud Next event, highlighted as one of the key AI enablers for business and enterprise users. The incredible potential of these autonomous intelligent assistants means the AI agent market will grow at a 45% CAGR over the next five years.
Ruban Phukan has over two decades of pioneering work in AI, and Machine Learning. He’s driven by a mission for problem-solution-fit in the enterprise and consumer world.
This has led him to Silicon Valley startup GoodGist, which is democratizing access to AI Agents to help businesses of all shapes and sizes unlock smarter business operations and streamline workflows with the power of intelligent agents.
Industry: Education
By 2023, 18 percent of K–12 teachers were already reported to be using AI for teaching. This adoption is only set to grow in the years ahead as AI grows more helpful and sophisticated, meaning its uses can go far beyond that of a teaching aid alone.
Charlie Sander is the CEO of ManagedMethods, a software company from Boulder, Colorado that offers K-12 cybersecurity and student safety monitoring products. Most recently, he’s led the creation of a suite of AI-powered tools and content filters to help keep students safe.
Using keywords and artificial intelligence, its Classroom Manager can detect potential safety risks in online browsing, social media, gaming sites, and anywhere on the web to protect children from exposure to self-harm and cyberbullying. This is an ideal example of how the targeted application of AI can deliver huge impact and benefits for a specific user base.
Industry: AI Factories
2025 is set to be the year of the AI Factory as global tech giant Nvidia outlined plans to support these ecosystem drivers at scale during this year’s GTC conference, in a move expected to accelerate time-to-value for AI initiatives across the board.
SQream is an AI and ML startup that offers a unique way for companies to drive growth with GPU-accelerated data processing. In particular, it enables companies to unlock revenue opportunities with faster, deeper insights.
The company recently appointed Liam Galin as its new CEO, who brings over two decades of experience as the head of startups and global publicly-traded powerhouses, to spearhead SQream 2.0’s era, positioning the company as the ultimate AI Factory enabler.
Industry: Logistics
Data highlighted by MIT Sloan found that transportation trucks in the US are 30% empty on average. By using AI and algorithmically designing the optimal route for the truck driver, startup Transmetrics has been able to reduce the empty miles to between 10% and 15%.
Asparuh Koev has worked in the transport and logistics sector for more than two decades. Over the years he has established several companies, including Sciant, an engineering services company later acquired by VMWare. He co-founded Transmetrics in 2013 and, as CEO, he combines IT and domain expertise to grow a company that is bringing truly cutting-edge technologies to the sector.
In 2025, the company’s tech leverages the power of predictive analytics, AI and machine learning to optimize logistics planning and reduce the environmental impact of transportation through efficient fleet management.
Industry: Language Learning
Noble laureate Geoffrey Hinton recently forecast that AI-powered tutors are set to overtake private tutors in both performance and accessibility. The co-founder and CEO of Buddy AI, Ivan Crewkov is an expert of voice-first products, responsible for building one of the world’s first smart speakers and a voice-assistant app for smart homes through Cubic.ai, later acquired to form the base of Yandex Station.
Now, Crewkov is helping children worldwide hone their English skills through Buddy.AI, a voice-based virtual tutor. The company helps children around the world access a functional, affordable and accessible AI teacher for the English language. The app leverages the latest voice recognition and AI technology to give children 1:1 speaking practice for a fraction of the cost of a live tutor, helping children sound out new words and more.
The company recently closed a €10.2 million seed funding round to bring its solution to more under-12 English language learners.
Industry: Digital Transformation
According to an International Data Corporation (IDC) report, 53 percent of organizations have enterprise-wide digital transformation strategies and AI is set to make the journey more efficient.
Phillip Petrescu is a pioneer in digital consulting with a refreshingly open approach to embracing new technologies and seeing how they can help us adapt and adjust as the future of work evolves. He is the Global Head of Innovation and Design at Ness Digital Engineering.
Ness is a digital services transformation company that is spearheading how software services are delivered across the globe. Much of this work is encapsulated within an emerging term called ‘Intelligent Engineering,’ an approach that looks to increase velocity by eliminating waste, and that leverages the power of data, AI and intelligence to improve engineering productivity. The company is led by Ranjit Tinaikar, who earlier co-founded McKinsey’s digital practice.
Industry: Communication
Since GenAI hit the market, organizations have looked to leverage the tool for tasks like email generation. However, rising consumer frustration with the use of AI in company communications suggests that more nuanced AI tools are needed for this use case.
Rajat Mishra is the Founder and CEO of Prezent, the only AI-powered platform that combines audience empathy, business understanding, and beautiful design for enterprise organizations. Based on his own journey and the struggles of executives around him, Mishra founded the company to offer a way for organizations to improve business communication.
Prezent’s all-in-one platform has earned widespread adoption in business communication – particularly in the biopharma and telecom industries. After raising a further $20 million, the company is taking its mission further with Astrid, an AI tool that uses contextual intelligence to create content that understands nuance and is tailored for every audience.
Industry: Maintenance
The predictive maintenance market is projected to experience significant growth, increasing from $10.6 billion to $47.8 billion by 2029.
Fracttal is a company operating in asset maintenance in a mission to build a remote, sustainable, safe, and efficient world. CEO Chris Struve is leading this charge with a 100% cloud-based and mobile platform equipped with machine learning and IoT capabilities to help companies manage every aspect of maintenance operations, including equipment, maintenance schedules, spare parts and costs.
Fracttal’s work building a niche yet highly usable solution for asset management has seen the company recently recognized as part of the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Programme in its very first edition in Spain.
Industry: Venture Capital
At the close of 2024, just over half of all venture capital worldwide went to AI-focused companies at 50.8%. This is a trend expected to continue in 2025. Sumedh Nadendla is the investment lead at Pacific Alliance Ventures, the US investment arm of the Shinsegae Group. Here, he formulated operational and investment strategies for multi-billion dollar alternative investments.
Sumedh is deeply passionate about technology, especially in the realms of operating systems, compilers, networking, AI/ML and databases. This can be noted in the strategic investments he has been involved with.
Pacific Alliance Ventures was announced as an investor in the $38 million Series B funding round for Butlr, an MIT Media Lab spinout with a patented combination of body heat sensing technology and machine learning in the form of sensors that magnetically mount to the wall or ceiling and provide insight into how a building’s interior space is used for working and living.
Industry: Apps
The global live chat software market is projected to grow from $1.14 billion in 2025 to $2.09 billion by 2033. Nate MacLeitch has pioneered an approach that adds AI to real-time business communications through his position as CEO of Quickblox.
The company’s cloud-based platform allows businesses to create real-time communication apps through pre-configured infrastructure and front-end app projects. In 2020, they introduced Q-Consultation, a private video-calling app with virtual meeting rooms and instant messaging. In 2023, QuickBlox unveiled Q-Consultation Lite, a streamlined version of the original, providing pre-built chat apps complete with user interfaces. Now, the company is forging ahead with a suite of cutting-edge AI-enhanced communication tools and integrations.
Industry: Manufacturing
Nearly 60% of manufacturers identified an inability to attract and retain employees as their top challenge in 2024. AI offers a way to boost productivity and do more with less to address this skills gap in an immediate manner.
Decision Resources works with American manufacturers to implement innovative software tools and build strategies that will fuel growth. Its CEO Bill Titus began working for the company way back in 1977 while he was still in high school. Yet even from the early days, Bill played an integral role in the modernization of the enterprise.
As head of the company, he oversees commitment to delivering immense value to clients, including the development of generative AI products that provide the best of what enterprise resource planning and AI can offer.
