Breaking through in the startup scene has continued to be an uphill battle for entrepreneurs in 2024, with the number of business failures in the US spiking by 58% in the first quarter of the year. However, this doesn’t mean that a select few haven’t defied the odds.
Looking at the successes of 2024, it’s clear that AI startups will continue to receive the lion’s share of funding, as the technology continues to disrupt core industries and provide investors with lucrative returns.
The intersection of AI and other technologies – like blockchain – is also paving the way for other success stories, spurred on by President-Elect Donald Trump’s recent endorsement of the decentralized technology. Rising stars can be found across all major industries though, from ecommerce to healthcare – we round up some with huge potential for 2025.
7 Startups To Watch in 2025
The startups climate is as diverse as ever in 2024. Take a look at which innovative ideas are cutting through the noise.
1. CuspAI
It wouldn’t be a ‘startups to watch’ round-up without including a generative AI-focused entry, would it? While AI platforms are a dime a dozen these days, Cusp AI is an innovative startup that has developed an AI search engine with a twist.
CuspAI’s main service functions like a search engine for materials – users can input the properties they want materials to have, and the platform will generate the chemical composition needed to achieve it. According to Cusp’s team, its tech will be able to help produce new materials needed for climate technologies, specifically within carbon capture.
CuspAI cofounders Prof Max Welling and Dr Chad Edwards. Source: CuspAI
Despite only being founded in 2024, this innovative product has already received a fair amount of fanfare. Most notably, the startup has already raised $30 million in funding to assist it in its mission to champion AI-designed materials to fight climate change.
“In the same way that search engines enabled the internet, we believe we’re on the cusp of a world in which you can search the very, very large space of new materials and molecules to discover new materials that have exactly the desired properties. We think we’re entering the ‘materials-on-demand’ era,” – Co-founder and CEO of CuspAI Chad Edwards
CuspAI is turning the heads of some pretty names in tech too, including Google Deepmind operators Mehdi Ghissassi and Dorothy Chou who participated as angel investors. So, as AI-powered search engines continue to grow in popularity, we’re happy to see environmentally-focused tools like CuspAI share some of the spotlight.
2. Suno
As AI mania continues to take over most industries, Suno AI has emerged as one of the biggest success stories of 2024.
The innovative AI-powered music creation platform – which was created by Anthropic – gives users a way to generate complete songs from simple text prompts or audio inputs. Despite only being launched in December 2023, the startup has already been profiled by Rolling Stone and Bloomberg and has grown its social media following by 200% throughout the first half of the year.
Suno AI lets you create songs with simple prompts or audio clips. Source: Suno AI
Following the success of a $125 million funding round in May, the startup also launched an Android version of its mobile app, helping to make its services accessible to a wide user base.
While the startup has attracted its fair share of critics, its burgeoning user numbers suggest that the platform is wildly popular with the public. So, whether or not AI music is your jam, one thing is for certain – Suno is going to continue disrupting the music industry in 2025.
3. PolyGone
The rise of microplastics is one of the biggest environmental crises we’re facing in 2024, with around 358 trillion microplastic particles currently floating on the surface of our world’s oceans. Fortunately, New Jersey-based startup PolyGone is committed to doing something about it.
PolyGone develops natural micoplaster filter technology, and has created a product called the ‘Plastic Hunter’ which captures microplastic debris through biometric root filters that mimic the structure of aquatic plants.
Members of the PolyGone team in Atlantis City, New Jersey. Source: PolyGone
The product is the world’s first portable microplastic collection device, marking a major breakthrough in the field of sustainability. Data from the filter can also give users insights into the levels of microplastic pollution across various settings, making it easier for us to monitor contamination in rural and urban waterways.
Speaking on why the startup is geared towards tackling microplastics, co-founder Yidian Lu explains “Well, there are two factors that make them very alarming. They’re in lakes, rivers, oceans, they’re everywhere. And once they are leached into the environment, it’s almost impossible to collect them again.”
With the microplastic crisis only worsening year after year, we’re hoping that PolyGone will continue making waves into 2025.
4. Amae Health
Amae Health is a psychiatry-led integrated care provider based in Los Angeles, California. The startup provides specialty care for people with severe mental illness (SMI) and uses a data-driven approach to deliver more effective, and personalized, treatments to patients.
The clinic also uses an integrated approach by tying physical care to serious mental illness treatment – and investors are taking note.
Amae Health’s welcoming community center and clinic in Lon Angeles. Source: Amae Health
Despite only opening in 2022, 2024 has been a huge year for Amae Health. In April the startup closed a $15 million series A round to fuel plans for its growth. Founders Sonia Garcia and Stas Sokolin aim to use the money to open clinics in New York City, North Carolina, Ohio, Houston, and Texas.
Amae Health picked up a further $6 million from the non-profit healthcare system Cedars-Sinai in December, which builds on a two-year partnership between the organizations. This partnership includes an electronic health record integration to improve patient recommendations and foster better collaboration between the two.
With the US healthcare system consistently providing to have gaps in mental health care, despite growing case numbers, we’re excited to see new Amae Health clinics popping up across the country in 2025.
5. Gloss Genius
GlossGenius is a salon and spa software platform designed to help beauty and wellness professionals manage their operations. From helping users manage reservations and booking to streamlining payments and customer relations processes, the software provides a one-stop-shop to beauty and wellness businesses of all sizes.
GlossGenius helps salon and spa owners manage their operations. Source: GlossGenius
Having been founded by Danielle Cohen-Shohet in 2016, the startup has already got a few successful years under its barber belt, but it’s been going from strength to strength in 2024. After a number of successful funding rounds in 2023, GlossGenius secured a total funding of $72.2 million this year, which it intends to use to boost its growth even further.
The platform continues to be a trusted asset for wellness and beauty professionals across the US, so we’re excited to watch it shine in 2025 and beyond.
6. MagicSchool
While high school teachers aren’t always the bearers of cutting-edge technology, smart solutions like AI have the power to improve learning outcomes in dynamic ways – a fact that MagicSchool is acutely aware of.
MagicSchool is a website and Google Chrome extension that gives educators access to a toolkit of AI features to help them teach more effectively. Founded by Adeel Khan in Boulder, Colorado, the generative AI platform aims to revolutionize education for K-12 students, by offering over 60+ AI tools to educators.
Magic School gives burned-out teachers access to over 160 time-saving AI features. Source: Magic School
At a time when high school teachers are forced to work 53-hour weeks on average, the company also aims to reduce cases of teacher burnout by lifting some of the load. Despite only being launched in 2023, the startup has already raised over $20.3 million to develop its services even further.
With its dynamic suite of AI tools being used to improve the education of an estimated 1 million students across the US, we’re excited to see the startup work more of its magic in 2025 and beyond.
7. Chainlink Labs
We couldn’t mention the fastest-growing startups of 2024 without including a blockchain entry.
Chainlink Labs is the primary developer of Chainlink – a decentralized computing platform that connects blockchains to off-chain data and computing resources. By pioneering how blockchains connect with the ‘real world’ in a reliable way, Chainlink helps to power verifiable applications for sectors like global trade, gaming, banking, and more.
Chainlink labs blockchain bootcamp. Source: Chainlink Labs
Having been founded in 2014, by serial entrepreneur and software engineer Sergey Nazarov and Steve Ellis, Chainlink Labs isn’t an early-stage startup. However, 2024 has been a huge year for the software services company. Not only were they named one of the Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2024, they also expanded their services and integrated them into “hybrid smart contracts” and partnered with new companies like Microsoft, DigiFT, and SBI Digital Markets.
With blockchain technology only expected to surge more in the coming years – especially after Donald Trump comes into office – we’re excited to follow the next steps of Chainlink Labs.
