Artificial Intelligence startups in Southern California
The region's largest single cluster by company count — AI and machine learning threaded through nearly every other industry here, from defense to biotech to entertainment.
Companies

Platform matching families with pediatric occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech specialists, with AI billing automation. Serves LA, Orange County, and San Diego.


AI-native digital forensics and incident-response platform automating breach recovery for MSSPs, MSPs, and enterprises.

Series C$124.0MAI-guided robotic metal forming for automotive, aerospace, and defense manufacturing.

AI platform that generates code-compliant architectural, structural, and MEP construction documents from sketches, CAD files, or plain-language descriptions.

AI-powered operations app for real estate agents, covering comps, note-taking, and pipeline tracking.

AI platform unifying availability, pricing, and customer behavior data to help aftermarket auto-parts businesses optimize inventory and pricing.

Develops and operates AI-ready, build-to-suit, high-density data centers across North America and EMEA.

AI-powered digital curriculum platform helping K-12 schools fill teacher vacancies and improve graduation rates.
AI and human transformation partner for healthcare operations, serving providers and payers.

Smack Technologies is a frontier AI lab for national security that delivers decision dominance through proprietary, domain-specific models grounded in the physics of war and expert human priors.
FriskAI is a runtime observability and security platform for AI agents in production. It records structured traces of an agent's tool calls; arguments; outputs and timing; builds behavioural baselines
EdVisorly is a Los Angeles-based company founded in 2019 by Manny Smith.
Savi Security makes a consumer scam-protection app for iOS and Android that screens voicemail; monitors calls in real time and flags text spam; alongside a free scam-checking tool called Scamwise. It
Manifold Security provides runtime security for AI agents running on endpoints; monitoring what autonomous agents call and access rather than treating them as ordinary software.
Nominal is an AI-native B2B finance platform founded in 2022; offering a “shadow ledger” that automates accounting workflows; like consolidation; lease accounting; and close processes; to help mid-mar
Artera is a Santa Barbara agentic-healthcare company; founded in 2015; that provides AI-powered patient communications and care-navigation software for healthcare providers.
GammaTime is a short drama streaming app; distributing serialised vertical-video series through its mobile apps on a subscription basis.
Honey Health automates healthcare back-office work with AI; handling medical record requests; clinical operations and administrative fulfilment for providers.
Wolf Games builds AI-generated daily games that publishers and brands embed in their own sites: murder mysteries and puzzles generated from a customer's trending articles; refreshed every day; with st
Dialogue AI runs a customer research platform where AI moderates interviews and surveys at scale; conducting the conversations itself and then synthesising the qualitative material into structured fin
Planyear builds AI software for employee benefits consultants; automating the analysis and comparison of benefit plan documents and quotes.
Salt AI sells Salt OS; an AI workflow orchestration platform for regulated industries; life sciences; financial services; energy and government; that runs inside a customer's own infrastructure and is
Quilter uses physics-driven AI to automate printed circuit board layout; generating and validating board designs without manual routing.
PINC Technologies develops nonlinear photonics on a thin-film lithium niobate platform; targeting sensing; quantum and AI infrastructure applications.
Valence is a leadership and team-performance platform that uses AI coaching and continuous peer review to help enterprises improve how teams work together.
Divergent designs; prints and assembles complex metal structures on what it calls the Divergent Adaptive Production System (DAPS); an end-to-end line that runs from AI-driven generative design through
Sleep.ai; part of SleepScore Labs; provides B2B sleep intelligence solutions through APIs that power digital health; wellness; and consumer products. Originally founded in the Netherlands and later ac
FieldAI develops “Field Foundation Models;” physics-first AI that enables robots to operate autonomously in complex; real-world environments without GPS or maps. Serving industries like construction;
Rwazi is a Los Angeles-based B2B startup that delivers real-time; zero-party consumer data and insights to global brands. Leveraging AI and local networks; it helps companies track product usage; mark
2wai is a Los Angeles–based startup (founded 2024) building HoloAvatars: AI-powered conversational digital avatars that run entirely on users' devices.
Chronicle Studios is a B2B entertainment company using AI to develop and launch original franchises. Founded by industry veterans; it partners with creators to produce and market animated content; lev
AndrenaM builds AI-driven autonomous maritime systems for defense; founded by ex-SpaceX engineers.
Anduril builds AI platforms to protect troops; fight wildfires; perform search & rescue missions; and provide border surveillance. It was founded in 2017 and is located in Irvine; California.
Advanced AI video surveillance platform for municipalities and enterprises. AWS GovCloud certified; FedRAMP ready; and SOC 2 Type II compliant. Secure; scalable; and intelligent monitoring solutions.
Cheehoo is an AI-driven animation technology company revolutionizing 3D content creation. Founded by industry veterans; it offers tools that integrate with Maya and Unreal Engine; accelerating animati
Dosen is an AI-powered employee alignment platform founded in 2020 by Ronan Wall; Cian McCarthy and Victor Burke.
AI-driven tools provider for jewelers; designers; brands and retailers.
Uthana operates as a 3D character animation studio that uses generative AI.
Epirus builds Leonidas; a high-power microwave directed-energy system that disables drones with electromagnetic pulses rather than missiles; including while on the move. The company pitches it as a co
Zest AI is an AI lending technology company that leverages machine learning technology to enhance credit underwriting processes.
Lomond Therapeutics creates pharmacological platforms that target escape mutations.
Terray Therapeutics is a Los Angeles-based biotechnology company that combines ultra-high throughput experimentation; generative AI; biology; medicinal chemistry; automation; and nanotechnology to exp
Horizon Surgical Systems develops AI-driven; imaging-guided surgical robotics for microsurgery.
FluidLogic designs and manufactures active hydration systems and accessories to promote healthier living.
Sahara AI is a decentralized AI network that enables freely and securely deploy autonomous AI with high-performance; privacy-first network.
Wethos AI sells a decision-intelligence platform that adds human context to enterprise decision-making. It profiles individual leaders and teams across behavioural dimensions the company labels Ideas;
HeyGen is a Los Angeles-based company founded in 2020 by Joshua Xu.
Plai /plā/ (verb) : To engage in artificial intelligence for the purpose of enjoyment and recreation.
Zuum is an Irvine; California-based logistics company focusing on managing freight through AI technology.
Performa Labs; Inc. is an Irvine; California-based company founded in 2019.
An artificial intelligence company offering a call tracking and conversational analytics for marketers.
Genies builds AI-driven avatars and digital characters; letting creators and brands define a character's appearance; personality and backstory and then deploy it across games; fan experiences and soci
Theta Lake is a video classification startup dedicated to addressing the challenges organizations face in managing increasing video content and communication.
Snappt is a Los Angeles rental-fraud prevention software company founded in 2019 by Daniel Berlind and Noah Goldman. Its AI-powered Applicant Trust Platform combines document analysis; identity; incom
A biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of next-generation therapeutics.
Kneron develops and provides edge AI-based integrated software and hardware for a variety of industries.
MosaicML is a San Francisco-based company offering a generative AI platform for enterprises to build their own AI systems.
Canvas built the first robotic drywall finishing system; a San Francisco construction-robotics company founded in 2017 whose 1200CX platform sprays and sands interior drywall to Level 4 and Level 5 fi
Embodied; Inc. is a robotics and AI company creating companion robots for human-centric care and wellness.
involve.ai is leading the Customer Intelligence Movement to empower companies with transformational growth