Efficiency
Experience
Intelligence
By Mariapaula Gonzalez for Inc.
The original article is posted here.
A dynamic cohort of female founders is pushing the AI industry forward in unexpected ways.
Artificial intelligence has no shortage of hype, but behind many of the industry’s breakthroughs are founders quietly building the next generation of companies. And increasingly, some of those founders are women.
Despite receiving a fraction of venture capital funding compared with their male counterparts, female entrepreneurs are launching startups that are reshaping how AI is applied across several industries—from health care and digital fashion to creative tools, enterprise software, and science. Many are tackling problems traditional tech players would have overlooked, while building companies that prioritize real-world impact alongside rapid growth.
The result is a growing cohort of female leaders pushing the AI industry forward in unexpected ways. Some, like May Habib from enterprise AI software platform Writer, are pioneering new models and infrastructure to automate workflow. Others, like Julie Bornstein from AI-shopping agent Daydream, are reimagining how businesses and everyday users interact with artificial intelligence.
These are the notable entrepreneurs featured on this year’s Inc. Female Founders 500 list:
Karla Congson from Agentiiv
Toronto, Canada
For achieving 10-fold revenue growth and growing the agentic AI company’s client base from three to 20 enterprises.
Bianca Anghelina from Aily Labs
New York, New York
For growing the AI software company to more than 350 employees in five global offices.
Caoimhe Murphy from Anam
New York, New York
For expanding the technology company with the launch of two proprietary AI video agent models and growing revenue 10-fold.
Jaime Lien from Archetype AI
Palo Alto, California
For leading the development and launch of a foundational model of a physical AI agent and raising $35 million.
Mariana Matus Garcia and Newsha Ghaeli from Biobot Analytics
Cambridge, Massachusetts
For creating and initiating the U.S.’s biggest wastewater monitoring program to identify infectious diseases and hazardous substances.
Deepika Bodapati from Commure (Athelas)
Mountain View, California
For offering AI solutions to manage clinical workflows for more than 500,000 clinicians worldwide and quickly reaching a $1.5 billion valuation post-pandemic.
Sabrina Palme from Corrity Inc. (Palqee)
New York, New York
For launching a product that simplifies AI performance evaluation for financial services companies.
Anna Anisin from Data Science Salon
Miami, Florida
For expanding the data science community to 200,000-plus AI/ML professionals, and securing new partnerships with Google, Oracle, AWS, and Princeton.
Julie Bornstein from Daydream
Hillsborough, California
For leading the team that developed an AI-powered shopping agent that provides personalized styling advice.
Faranak Kamangar from DermGPT
Redwood City, California
For expanding the generative AI firm’s impact on dermatology education beyond software to live conferences, webinars, and a podcast.
Daria Shapovalova and Natalia Modenova from DressX
Los Angeles, California
For improving and expanding the digital fashion brand’s AI products, boosting the accuracy and efficiency of virtual try-on and styling.
Minna Song from EliseAI
New York, New York
For raising $250 million in Series E funding to advance AI automation in health care and housing.
Ahryun Moon from GoodTime.io
Covina, California
For expanding the AI company’s services beyond schedule automation to become a hiring orchestration platform.
Charlotte Dales and Sarah Bernard from Inclusively
Richmond, Virginia
For guiding the company in its transition from hiring platform to AI-powered workplace analytics company.
Hema Raghavan from Kumo
Mountain View, California
For achieving growth for the AI model company through product innovation, partner expansion, and developer engagement with hands-on workshops, hackathons, and more.
Molly Gibson from Lila Sciences
Cambridge, Massachusetts
For expanding the scientific superintelligence platform’s AI and engineering teams and raising $550 million from Nvidia and other partners.
Rema Matevosyan Near Space Labs
Brooklyn, New York
For guiding the AI-backed near-space monitoring company toward significant growth by securing $20 million in Series B funding.
Lindsey Chrismon from Oply
Nashville, Tennesse
For securing Series A funding and developing partnerships with home inspection companies, growing customer count by 342 percent year-over-year.
Evie Wang from Retell AI
San Marcos, California
For growing annual recurring revenue for the AI voice platform from $8 million to $36 million in eight months with 21 employees.
Jennifer Smith from Scribe
San Francisco, California
For reaching five million users of the workflow AI platform and securing $75 million in Series C funding.
Jaclyn Rice Nelson from Tribe AI
New York, New York
For guiding high-performing companies through the adoption of AI platforms.
Nini Hamrick from Vannevar Labs
Palo Alto, California
For supporting more than 125 national security missions, including the uncovering of adversarial surveillance.
May Habib from Writer
San Francisco, California
For developing and launching an end-to-end agent platform for enterprises, resulting in 333 percent ROI for clients.
