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Andreessen Horowitz has released its first a16z AI Spending Report, offering a detailed look at which AI-native companies startups are actually paying for. Produced in partnership with fintech platform Mercury, the report uses real transaction data to rank the top 50 AI application layer tools by startup spending.
The a16z AI Spending Report highlights how startups are still experimenting with a wide range of AI products. Rather than consolidating around a few dominant platforms, companies are investing in copilots, productivity tools, and niche applications.
Unsurprisingly, OpenAI led the ranking, with Anthropic in second place. Vibe-coding platforms also scored well, with Replit ranking third, Cursor sixth, and Lovable eighteenth. Enterprise-focused developer tools such as Cognition also made the list.
a16z partners Olivia Moore and Seema Amble noted that most startups are still using AI tools as copilots to support employees, rather than adopting full end-to-end autonomous agents. “There’s a proliferation of tools,” Amble said. “We have not yet seen consolidation into one or two leaders in each category.”
The a16z AI Spending Report also shows startups adopting consumer-first tools such as Canva, Midjourney, and CapCut for enterprise use. This blurring of consumer and business applications suggests that startups are integrating familiar personal apps into workplace workflows.
Horizontal AI tools represented about 60% of the spending, while vertical software solutions for sales, recruiting, and customer service accounted for the rest. Legal-focused startups like Crosby Legal are also beginning to disrupt traditional service firms by using AI for contract review and research.
Moore added that as AI capabilities improve, the shift from copilots to agent-based workflows will accelerate, potentially changing how startups structure their teams.
The report underlines how quickly the AI landscape is changing. As Moore put it, “Legacy now means what was launched twelve months ago.” For startups and investors, the a16z AI Spending Report offers a snapshot of where money is flowing today and a preview of what could dominate tomorrow.
Check out the report HERE