Best Artificial Intelligence Companies in San Diego, United States
The 69 best Artificial Intelligence companies in San Diego, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Shield AI.
Our analysis of 101 Artificial Intelligence companies
$80.5b in tracked funding; 99% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2025.
Ranked: Best Artificial Intelligence companies in San Diego
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Employees | Founder | Tech stack | Web popularity | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shield AI 🦄 Developer of AI-powered platforms and software for defense applications 93Funding top 9%Product top 18%Talent top 22%Moat top 26% All 12 signals ▾Fundingtop 9% Producttop 18% Talenttop 22% Moattop 26% Markettop 28% Growthtop 29% AItop 30% Innovationtop 32% Techtop 33% Newstop 36% Partnerstop 43% Globaltop 48% Funding: Raised $930M across 16 rounds · 16 rounds over 11 yrs (1.5/yr) Product: 4 distinct product lines · Company stage: Series G rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 93/100 | $930M | 2 mo ago | 364 | Brandon Tseng Co-Founder | WordPressApple iCloud MailMySQL+24 | Top 1M | — | 1 partnership |
| 2 | TuSimple AI-powered provider of self-driving solutions for trucks | $648M | 46 mo ago | 787 | Cheng Lu CEO | — | — | 1,273 patents Autonomous vehicle perception, routing, control, and health monitoring systems | — |
| 3 | Unconventional AI 🦄 Developer of computer systems optimizing energy efficiency for artificial intelligence 69Funding top 22%Talent top 28%Moat top 32%Market top 44% All 7 signals ▾Fundingtop 22% Talenttop 28% Moattop 32% Markettop 44% AItop 45% Techbottom 46% Globalbottom 33% Funding: Raised $475M across 1 rounds · 1 rounds over 1 yrs (1.0/yr) Talent: 3 named leaders on record · 3 C-suite/founder profiles curated rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 69/100 | $475M | 6 mo ago | — | Sara Achour Co-Founder | WordPressApple iCloud MailMySQL+18 | Top 5M | — | 1 launch · 1 award |
| 4 | Kneron 🦄 Developer of edge artificial intelligence solutions including SoCs and AI models | $226M | 32 mo ago | 38 38 → 92 (+142%) | Frank Chang Co-Founder | Cart FunctionalitynopCommerceSentry+14 | Top 5M | 77 patents Edge AI inference accelerators using compute-in-memory and residue number systems | 1 partnership |
| 5 | Netradyne 🦄 AI-powered fleet safety camera system 89Patents top 15%Innovation top 17%Funding top 21%AI top 22% All 13 signals ▾Patentstop 15% Innovationtop 17% Fundingtop 21% AItop 22% Moattop 22% Techtop 24% Producttop 26% Markettop 30% Talenttop 37% Newstop 41% Globaltop 44% Growthtop 48% Customersbottom 25% Patents: 205 patents matched (strict assignee match) · 140 filings since 2022 vs 65 in 2017-21 Innovation: 205 patents (top 11% of patent-holders) · 140 filings since 2022 vs 65 in 2017-21 rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 89/100 | $218M | 17 mo ago | 245 | David Julian Co-Founder & CTO | WebflowSentryApple iCloud Mail+31 | Top 100k | 205 patents Patents concentrated in computing, sensing & instrumentation | 2 partnerships |
| 6 | Iambic Therapeutics Provider of AI-driven drug discovery platform for the treatment of cancer 60Funding top 15%AI top 26%Moat top 31%Talent top 38% All 9 signals ▾Fundingtop 15% AItop 26% Moattop 31% Talenttop 38% Growthtop 45% Marketbottom 43% Newsbottom 43% Techbottom 40% Globalbottom 39% Funding: Raised $206M across 5 rounds · 5 rounds over 5 yrs (1.0/yr) AI: Classified as an AI company · Product described with: ai driven, ai-driven rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 60/100 | $206M | 2 mo ago | 50 | Fred Manby Co-Founder & CTO | WebflowApple iCloud MailMicrosoft 365+13 | Top 5M | — | — |
| 7 | Brain Corp Developer of an autonomy platform for robotic and AI applications | $193M | 28 mo ago | 242 242 → 304 (+26%) | Eugene Izhikevich Co-Founder & Chairman | Webflow EcommerceWebflowApple iCloud Mail+21 | Top 5M | 576 patents Autonomous robot navigation, mapping, sensor calibration, and feature detection for indoor/outdoor environments | 1 internship · 1 partnership · 1 award |
| 8 | Gretel Technologies Provider of solutions for data anonymization | $66M | 56 mo ago | 19 | — | WebflowApple iCloud MailGoogle Workspace+22 | Top 5M | 3 patents Contact management software platforms for business communication and data handling | — |
| 9 | Accel Robotics Provider of AI-based automated checkout solutions for offline retailers | $35M | 80 mo ago | 2 | Brandon Maseda Co-Founder & CEO | — | — | 47 patents AI-driven visual inventory and smart-shelf sensing for automated retail store management | — |
| 10 | Nervana Systems Online retailer offering diverse products, from electronics to fashion and groceries | $25M | 131 mo ago | 48 | — | Microsoft ASP.NETAmazon ALBAmazon Web Services+13 | Top 5M | — | — |
| 11 | DB CyberTech AI-based predictive data loss prevention solution provider | $22M | 138 mo ago | 10 | — | — | — | 3 patents Network traffic analysis and structured data extraction for cybersecurity monitoring | — |
| 12 | Model Medicines Developer of AI-based drug discovery platform | $20M | 7 mo ago | 26 | Daniel Haders II Chief Executive Officer | Framer SitesReactCloudflare+13 | Top 50M | 7 patents Antiviral therapeutics targeting DNA/RNA viruses, including SARS‑CoV‑2, using pipendoxifene. | — |
| 13 | Verse.ai Customer engagement platform for businesses to connect with customers through AI powered texting | $16M | 98 mo ago | 68 | David Tal Co-Founder & CEO | Cart FunctionalityWordPressMySQL+29 | Top 5M | — | — |
| 14 | Yembo Provider of AI-powered virtual survey and inspection solutions for industries | $13M | 62 mo ago | 57 | Zach Rattner Co-Founder & CTO | HubSpot CMS HubApple iCloud MailGoogle Workspace+23 | Top 5M | 65 patents Real-time 3D digital twin creation and privacy-preserving visual data processing | — |
| 15 | COMMA Tech-enabled platform offering semi-autonomous driving solutions | $8M | 98 mo ago | 24 | — | Node.jsFirebaseSvelteKit+16 | Top 1M | — | — |
| 16 | Emotient Facial expression recognition and analysis | $8M | 147 mo ago | 25 | Gwen Littlewort Co-Founder | — | — | 49 patents Patents concentrated in computing, sensing & instrumentation | — |
| 17 | Personal AI Developer of AI-based personal digital AI | $8M | 6 mo ago | 14 | Kristie Sibal Co-Founder | WebflowApple iCloud MailGoogle Workspace+18 | Top 5M | 5 patents Secure cryptographic key management and encrypted data transmission protocols | 1 partnership |
| 18 | RapidFire Platform for scaling of deep learning models | $4M | 27 mo ago | — | Arun Kumar Cofounder and CTO | — | — | — | 1 internship |
| 19 | MemComputing Reinventing computing with innovative solutions for complex problems and AI | $3M | 7 mo ago | 9 | Massimiliano Di Ventra Co-Founder | WordPress Block EditorElementorWordPress+23 | Top 50M | 19 patents Patents concentrated in computing, sensing & instrumentation | — |
| 20 | A-Life Medical Is a provider of computer-assisted coding products and services for the healthcare industry. | $3M | 204 mo ago | 19 | Stephen Hemsley CEO | — | — | — | — |
| 21 | EyePop.ai Provider of a self-service platform for training custom AI vision models | $3M | 15 mo ago | 5 | Torsten Schulz Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer | WebflowAmazon Web ServicesMixpanel+24 | Top 10M | — | 7 launchs |
| 22 | Harvest AI AI based data loss prevention using UBA | $2M | 86 mo ago | 11 | — | — | — | 144 patents Greaseless bushings and quick‑change mounting hardware for agricultural row equipment | — |
| 23 | HumansFirst Flexible web hosting and website creation services for all your needs | $900K | 114 mo ago | — | Gregory Gorhner Co-Founder | — | — | — | — |
| 24 | Animantis Next-gen computer vision for single-cell analysis, enabling better treatments | $550K | 89 mo ago | 3 | Ryan Kerwin Co-Founder/Chief Technology Officer | — | — | 5 patents Diagnostic tools for measuring immune system activity and therapy effectiveness | — |
| 25 | Oloren AI Provider of AI-based molecular property prediction platform for drug discovery | $300K | 49 mo ago | 10 | — | — | — | — | — |
Top 12 Artificial Intelligence companies in San Diego
#1
Series G · San Diego, California · founded 2015 · 364 employees$930.2Mraised▾
Developer of AI-powered platforms and software for defense applications. The company provides solutions for mission autonomy, surveillance, and object detection. Its offerings include autonomous pilot software, command and control toolkits, and autonomy development platforms. It also manufactures unmanned aircraft for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions.
- Mar 2026Series G$2B
- Feb 2025Series F$591.8M
- Dec 2023Series F$100M
- Dec 2023Venture Debt$200M
#2
Series C · San Diego, California · founded 2019 · 50 employees$206.2Mraised▾
Provider of AI-driven drug discovery platform for the treatment of cancer. It offers an AI driven discovery platform and has discovered two candidates known as IAM-H1, a highly selective and brain penetrant inhibitor of HER2 and its oncogenic mutants, and IAM-C1 a potential first-in-class selective dual CDK2/4 inhibitor to address unmet needs in terms of therapeutic window and treatment resistance in cell cycle driven cancers.
- Apr 2026Series C$27.8M
- Nov 2025Series C$100M
- Apr 2024Series B$50M
- Oct 2023Series B$103.2M
#3
Seed · San Diego, California · founded 2025$475Mraised▾
Developer of computer systems optimizing energy efficiency for artificial intelligence. The company focuses on rethinking computer foundations to manage the optimization. It combines solutions in artificial intelligence systems, analog circuits, computing theory, and neuroscience. The company aims to bring biology-scale efficiency to artificial intelligence.
- Dec 2025Seed$475M
#4
Series D · San Diego, California · founded 2015 · 245 employees$217.7Mraised▾
AI-powered fleet safety camera system. It uses computer vision and edge computing to monitor driver behavior and reduce accidents in real-time. It combines multi-camera hardware with proprietary AI analyzing driving time to detect drowsiness, tailgating, distractions, and reward safe driving via DriverStars.
- Jan 2025Series D$90M
- Sep 2022Conventional Debt$65M
- Jul 2021Series C$150M
- Nov 2019Series B$20.2M
#5
Series A · San Diego, California · founded 2019 · 26 employees$19.8Mraised▾
Developer of AI-based drug discovery platform. The company focuses on therapeutics for gastric disorders, neurological disorders, weight disorders, and infectious diseases. Also, uses the collection of drug development data, a drug and disease agnostic discovery platform along with AI to develop drugs.
- Oct 2025Series A$3.3M
- Sep 2024Series A$14.8M
- Dec 2023Series A$950K
- Apr 2022Series A$489K
#6
Series A · San Diego, California · founded 2020 · 14 employees$7.8Mraised▾
Developer of AI-based personal digital AI. It uploads and trains personal AI on all historical memories, knowledge, and experiences in order to create utility and value from data.
- Dec 2025Series A$14.1M
- Sep 2024Seed—
- Nov 2022Seed$7.8M
#7
Series A · San Diego, California · founded 2016 · 9 employees$3Mraised▾
Reinventing computing with innovative solutions for complex problems and AI. They are redefining what's possible in the computing landscape. They offer products and resources designed to break bottlenecks and solve complex problems faster. Their core focus is on developing real technology, particularly in the realm of Artificial Intelligence. They are committed to sustainability, designing chips that run cool and consume ultra-low energy, delivering peak performance efficiently. They cater to clients seeking to make better business decisions faster. Their team comprises physicists, entrepreneurs, developers, and inventors who embrace challenging the status quo. They provide innovative solutions, pushing the boundaries of computing and AI technology.
- Nov 2025Series A$4.4M
- Jul 2020Seed—
- Jun 2019Seed—
#8
Series D · San Diego, California · founded 2009 · 242 employees$193.3Mraised▾
Developer of an autonomy platform for robotic and AI applications. The platform empowers organizations to automate and infuse intelligence into core operations. It provides solutions for automated inventory management, floor care, and remote site management. The company offers robotic and AI solutions for smarter, more productive operations across various industries.
- Feb 2024Series D$32.1M
- Apr 2020Series D$36.2M
- Jul 2017Series C$114M
- Sep 2012Series B—
#9
Kneron 🦄Series B · San Diego, California · founded 2015 · 38 employees$226Mraised▾
Developer of edge artificial intelligence solutions including SoCs and AI models. The company provides systems on chip, neural processing units, and visual recognition solutions. These solutions are designed for smart vehicles, security devices, smart homes, and edge servers. The company's technology supports mainstream AI frameworks and CNN models.
- Sep 2023Series B$49M
- Aug 2023Series B$14M
- Oct 2022Series B$48M
- Dec 2021Series B$25M
#10
Public · San Diego, California · founded 2015 · 787 employees$648Mraised▾
AI-powered provider of self-driving solutions for trucks. It develops a commercial-ready Level 4 (SAE) fully-autonomous truck driving solution for the logistics sector. Its product portfolio consists of full-stack autonomous driving technology and high-speed long-distance sensing technology. Its self-driving technology encompasses various factors of autonomy such as perception, localization, planning, HD maps, and controls. It offers TU simple connect which is a proprietary autonomous operation monitoring system that monitors trucks in real-time. Also, it uses existing LiDars, Radars, and HD cameras for the perception of vehicles.
- Aug 2022Post IPO$15M
- Feb 2021Series E—
- Jan 2021Series E—
- Nov 2020Series E$350M
#11
Seed · San Diego, California · founded 2023 · 5 employees$2.9Mraised▾
Provider of a self-service platform for training custom AI vision models. The platform enables users to define targets, upload data, train models, deploy solutions to the cloud or edge devices, and iterate for improvement. It offers solutions for industries like roofing, construction, insurance, and agtech, allowing them to detect, count, and measure objects in images and videos. The platform also provides pre-trained vision models and allows users to build custom solutions without machine learning expertise.
- Mar 2025Seed$2.9M
#12
Acquired · San Diego, California · founded 2019 · 19 employees$65.5Mraised▾
Gretel provides solutions for data anonymization. The product offers APIs that integrate with developers existing workflows and tools. It also provides machine learning models that help developers make sense of their data, and to automate joining data with complementary open source datasets and private datasets.
- Oct 2021Series B$50M
- Oct 2020Series A$12M
- Mar 2020Seed$3.5M
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Artificial Intelligence coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
How research on Artificial Intelligence is moving in the United States
A read on the academic research around Artificial Intelligence — which themes are gaining ground, the institutions and researchers driving them, and how the tone is shifting. Based on 5,214 United States-affiliated papers.
- Stanford University181
- Google161
- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga139
- University of California, Berkeley129
- Harvard University111
- Robustness (evolution)12→84
- Inference42→112
- Benchmark (surveying)28→98
- Cognition3→73
- Architecture3→71
- Artificial neural network12→50
- Feature (linguistics)7→40
- Pattern recognition (psychology)18→44
- Random forest1→26
- Generative grammar3→26
- Identification (biology)5→33
- Cognition10→33
- Key (lock)8→29
- Context (archaeology)8→27
- Workflow1→20
Where artificial intelligence is researched across United States
Location clusters by institution affiliation — each city's volume, stance tone, and a quick read on its hot topic, what's advancing, the opening opportunity, and the main concern.
Who's filing artificial intelligence patents in the United States
United States artificial intelligence patent filing is accelerating — 228,639 filings from 8,000 assignees (2016–2025), led by IBM, Google, Microsoft; annual filings 5224→30960.
- IBM23444
- Google13807
- Microsoft13068
- Intel6213
- Qualcomm5449
- Capital One Services3809
- Nvidia3261
- Adobe2835
Common questions
Rohit lives in the feed. He covers what's moving right now — the funding rounds, launches and shifts breaking across the trade press — and ties them back to where the sector is heading.