AI is everywhere, so it seems. Just about every enterprise is using it in various ways to increase efficiency, accuracy and research, and the technology itself is approachable enough for anyone to explore new uses to improve their work. For the last eight years, Forbes has honored companies making great strides in developing the AI ecosystem with the AI 50 list. Our 2026 AI 50 launched today and features private companies spanning the AI universe. It includes behemoths that use AI to do almost everything, like OpenAI, and much smaller, newer companies with specific functions, like drug designing firm Chai Discovery, founded in 2024 by two former OpenAI staffers.

For the first time, we also published a companion list: the AI 50 Brink List. This list highlights the most promising startups that have completed Seed and Series A funding rounds. These companies, which are an average of 24 months old, are newer than their peers on the main list—but their ambition, inspiration and capacity to change the way AI is used is the same.

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Amazon is increasing its competition in the satellite internet space, now dominated by Starlink—a challenge from one of the few companies that can keep up with Elon Musk in spending. This week, Amazon announced it was buying satellite firm Globalstar for $11.57 billion. This acquisition, expected to close in 2027, will enable Amazon Leo's commercial satellite business to provide direct-to-device cellular service without antennas or cellular towers.

Starlink, which launched in 2019 and has more than 10,000 satellites in its constellation, has a big head start in this business. Amazon Leo is working to catch up, though, with more than 200 satellites in its constellation today. The Globalstar acquisition adds more satellites—plus significant expertise—to Amazon Leo, which is scheduled to officially launch to consumers later this year. According to TechCrunch, Amazon Leo is slated to have 3,200 satellites in orbit by the time the service becomes widely available. But even with fewer satellites, PCWorld reports Amazon is........

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