The biggest AI companies you should know

Fri, Jun 27, 2025, 9:54 AM 8 min read

AI continues to be the hottest trend in tech, and it doesn't appear to be going away anytime soon. Microsoft (MSFT), Google (GOOG, GOOGL), Meta (META), and Amazon (AMZN) continue to debut new AI-powered software capabilities while leaders from other AI firms split off to form their own startups.

But the furious pace of change also makes it difficult to keep track of the various players in the AI space. With that in mind, we're breaking down what you need to know about the biggest names in AI and what they do.

From OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) to Perplexity (PEAI.PVT), these are the AI companies you should be following.

Microsoft-backed OpenAI helped put generative AI technology on the map. The company's ChatGPT bot, released in late 2022, quickly became one of the most downloaded apps in the world. Since then, the company has launched its own search engine, 4o image generator, a video generator, and a file uploader that allows you to ask the bot to summarize the content of your documents, as well as access to specialized first- and third-party GPT bots.

Microsoft uses OpenAI's various large language models (LLM) in its Copilot and other services. Apple (AAPL) also offers access to ChatGPT as part of its Apple Intelligence and Visual Intelligence services.

But there's drama behind the scenes. OpenAI is working to restructure its business into a public benefit corporation overseen by its nonprofit arm, which will allow it to raise more capital. To do that, it needs Microsoft's sign-off, but the two sides are at loggerheads over the details of the plan and what it means for each company.

In the meantime, both OpenAI and Microsoft are reportedly working on products that will compete with each other's existing offerings. Microsoft offers its own AI models, and OpenAI is developing a productivity service, according to The Information.

Still, the pairing has been lucrative for both tech firms. During its most recent quarterly earnings call, Microsoft said AI revenue was above expectations and contributed 16 percentage points of growth for the company’s Azure cloud business. OpenAI, meanwhile, saw its annualized revenue run rate balloon to $10 billion as of June, according to Reuters. That's up from $5.5 billion in Dec. 2024.

OpenAI offers a limited free version of its ChatGPT bot, as well as ChatGPT Plus, which costs $20 per month, and enterprise versions of the app.

Google's Gemini offers search functionality using the company's Gemini 2.5 family of AI models. You can choose between using Gemini Flash for quick searches or Gemini Pro, which is meant for deep research and coding.