AI Applied: Covering AI News, Interviews and Tools - ChatGPT, Midjourney, Gemini, OpenAI, Anthropic Which AI Tools are Startups Paying For?
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Oct 22, 2025 The hosts dive into the A16Z AI Application Spending Report, revealing which AI tools startups are investing in. They highlight surprising favorites like Replit and Freepik, noting their roles in productivity and asset provision. Features like Fixer.ai's email automation and Lorrikeet's AI support in fintech are explored. Glean's unexpected spending rank raises questions, while insights into knowledge management with Notion and Delve are shared. The discussion wraps up with practical advice on choosing relevant AI tools for personal use.
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Transaction Data Reveals Real Tool Use
- A16Z/Mercury data uses actual startup bank transactions to reveal which AI tools startups pay for.
- This transaction-based metric gives a more literal picture of usage than web-traffic estimates.
Builders Pay For Platforms That Build Products
- Some surprising high-rankers were developer platforms like Replit, not only model providers.
- Startups pay for tools that enable building functioning products, not just flashy front-end AI UIs.
AI Spending Spans Practical Tooling
- The spending list mixes classic SaaS services (like stock image providers) with newer AI-native offerings.
- Startups spend on practical tools (images, audio, coding assistants) across many categories.