ElevenLabs surged to a $3 billion valuation in just 2.5 years. Cursor, the AI-powered coding assistant, grew to over $100 million in annual recurring revenue in 3. Bolt—which lets users prompt, run, edit, and deploy full-stack web and mobile apps—hit $20 million in annual recurring revenue in just 2 months.

AI companies are rewriting the rules of growth. At Stripe, which powers 78% of the Forbes AI 50, we dug into the data to better understand how these AI companies are racing ahead. In a new report, Indexing the AI economy, we share what we’ve learned from an analysis of the top 100 AI companies on Stripe:

1. AI startups are hitting important revenue milestones much faster than previous generations of tech startups, including SaaS startups.
2. AI companies are expanding internationally right from the start, quickly becoming global businesses.
3. New business models and monetization strategies are emerging, driving accelerated revenue growth and adoption.

In this post, we’ll share a preview of our data on revenue milestones and adoption. For the global picture, and a glimpse into the future of AI monetization, please download the full report.

AI growth is rapid and accelerating

The top 100 AI companies on Stripe achieved annualized revenues of $1 million in a median period of just 11.5 months—about 4 months ahead of the fastest-growing SaaS companies at the height of the subscription boom.

And AI company growth is accelerating: the data shows younger AI companies (founded 2020–2023) have reached major revenue milestones about three times faster than those founded before 2020.

This revenue growth reflects surging demand, and it suggests an opportunity for other types of businesses. For example, Intercom, a customer support platform founded in 2011, was quick to monetize the new AI boom when ChatGPT launched in December 2022. In just three months, Intercom rolled out the first of a new generation of AI agents that leveraged the new technology.

We’ve seen the accelerating adoption and monetization of AI create a powerful cycle of investment, innovation, and global expansion. Download Indexing the AI Economy to understand the metrics behind the AI headlines.