The AI Engine Is All Revved Up: The 2025 CRN AI 100

Artificial intelligence has been at the forefront of the industry for several years now. The companies on our AI 100 list are pouring their dollars and R&D efforts into the technology, providing next-generation AI offerings from AI agents and LLMs to the infrastructure to enable AI solutions.

Artificial intelligence has been at the forefront of the entire tech industry for several years now as the biggest IT companies and hottest startups are pouring R&D into the technology.

Of the thousands of AI providers across the globe, the companies on our 2025 AI 100 list are leading the way by offering next-generation AI offerings—from AI agents and large language models (LLMs) to accelerators and the infrastructure to enable AI solutions for customers.

Industry giants such as Nvidia and Microsoft have shifted their entire business over the past few years to better align with the demand for AI, while startups like CoreWeave and Wiz have taken the market by storm with their innovation and new offerings.

CRN’ s list breaks down the 100 AI companies this year that every solution provider needs to know about in five major categories: cloud computing, cybersecurity, data center and edge computing, data and analytics, and software.

AI For Cloud

Cloud computing is a key part of the AI revolution. These companies are providing not only AI offerings, but a path for customers to become AI-enabled, as the cloud is a popular delivery option for AI and generative AI at scale.

From cloud GPUs that accelerate AI workflows and the cloud infrastructure that houses AI solutions to LLM providers and agentic technology, the top cloud AI providers are becoming more important that ever before.

Among the companies on the cloud list are Amazon Web Services, Broadcom, CoreWeave, Google Cloud, H2O.ai, Oracle, Microsoft and Snowflake.

AI For Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity and AI go hand in hand in 2025 as vendors work to make customers as safe and secure as possible.

While a slew of security providers have made GenAI and other AI-powered capabilities core to their product strategies, the vendors on the list stand out with differentiated offerings that bring automation and simplification across areas such as security operations, cloud security, email protection and network security.

Among the companies on the cybersecurity list are Cloudflare, CrowdStrike, Darktrace, Orca Security, Palo Alto Networks, SenintelOne, Wiz and Zscaler.

AI For Data Center And Edge Computing

The amount of AI innovation being baked into chips, servers, storage, management and edge offerings is at an all-time high.

Global spending on AI-supporting technologies is expected to surpass $749 billion by 2028, and 67 percent of the projected $227 billion AI spending in 2025 will come from enterprises embedding AI capabilities into their core business operations, according to IT market research firm IDC. This makes data center, PC and edge providers crucial to many businesses’ AI strategy.

Among the companies on the data center and edge list are AMD, Cisco Systems, Cohesity, Dell Technologies, F5, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Lenovo, Intel and Nvidia.

AI For Data And Analytics

Data is the fuel for the AI rocket ship that is taking off in 2025.

Data management providers are helping organizations collect, integrate, prepare and manage data for AI and GenAI applications and the models that power them. Meanwhile, data analytics software companies are building AI capabilities into their offerings at a rapid rate—such as AI agents and natural language querying functionality—which make complex data analysis possible for everyday users.

Among the companies on the data and analytics list are Alteryx, Couchbase, Databricks, DotData, Informatica, Qlik and ThoughtSpot.

AI For Software

Global spending on software is expected to surpass $1.2 trillion this year, according to research firm Gartner, as AI is providing a jolt to the software industry in 2025.

AI software companies are working on more integration for improved insight and analysis as customers are demanding evidence of a return on their AI investments.

Among the companies on the software list are Adobe, ConnectWise, DataRobot, Intermedia, LogicMonitor, Moovila, ServiceNow and Thread AI.

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