Now that the hype behind AI is receding, tech CEOs face intensifying pressure to deliver innovation while managing rising levels of enterprise risk.
According to Gartner, enterprise buyers are prioritizing secure, scalable operations that protect data integrity, ensure regulatory compliance, and deliver measurable outcomes. As AI adoption accelerates, so does the focus on trust, security, and resilience.
By 2026, early-stage tech startups led by CEOs who prioritize obtaining industry-standard compliance certifications early will experience a 30% higher client win rate and a 20% higher success rate in fundraising.
Startups continue to emerge that bring fresh approaches to accelerating digital transformation, expanding what’s possible with AI and analytics, breaking down silos, enhancing security, improving data observability, introducing new types of databases, maintaining data at the edge, advancing Web3, and more.
Here are 30 startups DBTA thinks are worth watching in 2025.
Alkira (www.alkira.com)—a leader in Network Infrastructure on Demand that can unify any environment, site, and user via an enterprise network built entirely in the cloud
App Orchid (www.apporchid.com)—democratizes AI-powered Decision Intelligence with the App Orchid platform that enables a powerful, predictive data fabric that can integrate diverse multi-model data sources as well as embed advanced AI in everyday processes and strategic decisions across the enterprise
Articul8 (www.articul8.ai)—offers a full-stack GenAI platform that revolutionizes how enterprises harness their data and expertise to build expert-level generative AI applications for their mission-critical challenges
Auxia (www.auxia.io)—provides an Agentic Marketing Platform that enables marketing and product teams at large enterprises to leverage all their first-party data to seamlessly orchestrate 1:1, adaptive, hyper-personalized customer journeys
ControlTheory (www.controltheory.com)—is dedicated to transforming observability through the power of controllability, cutting costs while turbocharging outcomes
ControlMonkey (https://controlmonkey.io)—is on a mission to empower cloud teams everywhere with a breakthrough platform that solves out-of-control cloud complexity and increasing demands for quality and speed
Cosmo Tech (https://cosmotech.com)—a global pioneer in the modeling of complex systems and an expert in combining core advanced simulation with other AI techniques for enterprise decision-making and business performance optimization
Cycode (https://cycode.com)—a leading Application Security Posture Management (ASPM) company providing peace of mind to its customers with its complete ASPM platform that delivers safe code, faster
DeepL (www.deepl.com)—designed with enterprise security in mind, companies around the world leverage DeepL’s AI solutions that are specifically tuned for language to transform business communications, expand markets, and improve productivity
DeepSeek (www.deepseek.com)—a Chinese artificial intelligence company that develops large language models, rivaling other organizations such as OpenAI and Anthropic, among others
DryRun Security (www.dryrun.security)—finds the needle in the haystack of code changes so application security (AppSec) teams spot unknown risks before they start
Hakimo (www.hakimo.ai)—provides state-of-the-art, AI-driven, human-in-the-loop security software solutions that work with existing security hardware to enhance real-time threat detection, optimize resources, and proactively deter security breaches
Heeler Security (www.heeler.com)—an application security startup dedicated to developing innovative solutions that help organizations protect their applications from evolving threats
Hona (www.hona.com)—a leading software solution for law firms, dedicated to revolutionizing client communication by automating updates, data collection, and communication processes
Hydrolix (https://hydrolix.io)—with a unique combination of stream processing, decoupled storage, high-density compression, and indexed search, Hydrolix's platform delivers real-time query performance at terabyte scale while dramatically reducing the cost to store and use log data