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The Top 100 GenAI Products, Ranked and Explained
@ a16z
03/26/25
Takeaways
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a16z Cast
03/26/25
@ a16z
Consumer activity typically lags behind research developments by six to twelve months, indicating that we are still in the early stages of AI adoption.
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a16z Cast
03/26/25
@ a16z
Midjourney and Character AI were released before ChatGPT, creating early niche communities of adopters that contributed to the rise of AI awareness leading up to ChatGPT's popularity.
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a16z Cast
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@ a16z
Snapchat's My AI bot, which reached 150 million users, provided many younger consumers their first real interaction with a large language model (LLM).
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a16z Cast
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@ a16z
The Balenciaga Pope image in spring 2023 was a cultural moment that made many realize the potential of AI-generated images.
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a16z Cast
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The BBL Drizzy song, released in spring 2024, marked a significant moment in AI music, going viral and shifting perceptions about AI's role in music creation.
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The KO Christmas ad, generated largely by AI, showcased how creative AI can penetrate enterprise consciousness and influence marketing strategies.
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DeepSeek's launch challenged the belief that horizontal AI models couldn't achieve mass consumer scale quickly, demonstrating rapid growth and user adoption.
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a16z Cast
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@ a16z
DeepSeek's reasoning model was released for free at scale, contrasting with other models that required paid subscriptions, which contributed to its rapid adoption.
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a16z Cast
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AI is increasingly capable of handling transactional interactions, often exhibiting more patience and nuance than humans, which challenges previous assumptions about AI's limitations.
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a16z Cast
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@ a16z
The emergence of newcomers in the AI space, including 17 new companies in the latest GenAI 100 report, indicates a dynamic and evolving landscape rather than stagnation.
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a16z Cast
03/26/25
@ a16z
AI video models are finally starting to work effectively, with new entrants like Hyo, Clling, and OpenAI's Sora making significant strides in the market.
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Vibe coding products like Cursor and Bolt are emerging, allowing users to create applications from text prompts, although they have yet to reach mainstream adoption.
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The trend of AI decreasing the cost of creation is enabling more people to experiment with their ideas, indicating a growing untapped market for coding and app development.
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The concept of DIY or personal software is gaining traction, as it becomes economically viable to design software for individual needs, reflecting a shift in software development.
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a16z Cast
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Disposable software is becoming more common, allowing users to create temporary applications for fleeting purposes, similar to how Sunno and Yo enabled quick song creation.
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Anish Acharya
03/26/25
@ a16z
The Brink list highlights five companies that nearly made the GenAI 100 list, reflecting the rapid changes in the consumer AI landscape.
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Anish Acharya
03/26/25
@ a16z
Products like Runway, Otter, and UMAX have been edged out of the top ranks by newer entrants like Deepseek, showcasing the fast-paced evolution of the market.
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Anish Acharya
03/26/25
@ a16z
I expected to see more style transfer applications for scalable video, but the focus has shifted towards text-to-video technologies instead.
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Anish Acharya
03/26/25
@ a16z
There are fewer consumer voice products on the list than anticipated, indicating a lag in their development and adoption.
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Anish Acharya
03/26/25
@ a16z
The rise of vibe coding products like Bolt and Cursors demonstrates their rapid adoption among developers, with nearly all YC companies now utilizing these tools.
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Anish Acharya
03/26/25
@ a16z
The presence of companion products in the top ranks, especially those catering to NSFW content, highlights their popularity and the traffic they generate.
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Anish Acharya
03/26/25
@ a16z
Despite the emergence of new products, there is significant consistency in the top ranks over the past four iterations of the GenAI 100 list.
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Anish Acharya
03/26/25
@ a16z
The traffic to ChatGPT was flat for a year, primarily driven by students, but has recently doubled due to new model releases that unlocked new use cases.
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Anish Acharya
03/26/25
@ a16z
DeepSeek launched at the end of January and quickly rose to number two on the list, achieving significant user engagement in a short time frame, and it could have ranked number two if it had five more days, showing a narrow gap between it and ChatGPT, which was a surprising outcome.
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@ a16z
The retention rates for Deepseek are slightly below ChatGPT, with 7% of users returning after 30 days for Deepseek compared to 9% for ChatGPT.
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In markets where ChatGPT is restricted, Deepseek has a structural advantage, as users have no alternative but to use Deepseek.
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Chinese video models are less copyright sensitive in their training data, making them more realistic and effective in generating content.
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Korea is emerging as a leader in AI tools, effectively aggregating various models to enhance their combined utility.
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Video models are becoming more opinionated, allowing users to specify camera angles and shot types, similar to the choices made by human cinematographers.
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@ a16z
The app ideogram is unique for its text generation capabilities, providing a level of specificity that is hard to find elsewhere.
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Mobile applications are thriving in the AI space, particularly those that allow users to edit and splice video on the go, as they cater to the convenience of mobile usage.
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There is a significant difference between apps that generate high traffic and those that generate revenue, with only 40% overlap between the two lists of top apps.
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Apps with smaller user bases tend to generate more revenue per user, indicating that niche applications can be financially successful even with fewer users.
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a16z Cast
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@ a16z
Plant identification apps can generate significant revenue from a small user base, as they cater to a specific audience willing to pay for their utility.
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a16z Cast
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@ a16z
Consumer product success often hinges on addressing specific pain points or creating unique experiences, rather than solely relying on advanced technology.
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a16z Cast
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@ a16z
In consumer AI, it's crucial to let data guide product development, focusing on what truly meets user needs rather than just following trends.