Observed Signal · Mar 31, 2026 · Survey · Source: Newcomer · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
VCs Name Top Enterprise AI and Dev Tool Startups
Newcomer and venture firm Wing published the 2026 ET30 VC survey ranking the startups VCs find most promising across funding stages (early, mid, late, giga). Sixty companies made the list. Mintlify, Serval, ElevenLabs, and Anthropic placed first in the early, mid, late, and giga categories respectively; second-place slots included Dust, Granola, Vercel, and Databricks. The survey highlights strong investor interest in AI infrastructure, voice companies, and agent-focused platforms, and shows increasing VC appetite for vertical applications and outcomes-oriented service models. Wing partner Peter Wagner noted a surge in companies building products that assist agent development. The ET30 groups companies by capital raised (early ≤ $35M; mid $35M–$150M; late $150M–$1B; giga > $1B) and serves as a snapshot of current VC sentiment and sectoral trends.
The survey offers a timely snapshot of VC sentiment highlighting accelerating investor interest in AI infrastructure, voice tech and agent platforms — useful directional signal for AdTech/MarTech players but not an industry‑shifting policy or product release.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Newcomer partnered with VC firm Wing to run the ET30 survey of top venture capitalists; 60 companies were listed this year.
- Mintlify, Serval, ElevenLabs, and Anthropic ranked first in the early, mid, late, and giga stage lists respectively.
- Second-place companies across those categories included Dust (agent platform), Granola (voice note-taking), Vercel (frontend platform), and Databricks (infrastructure).
- The ET30 groups companies by funding: early (up to $35M), mid ($35M–$150M), late ($150M–$1B), giga (over $1B).
- Survey findings emphasize investor enthusiasm for AI infrastructure, voice startups, and agent-related platforms, and renewed interest in vertical applications and service‑outcome models.
Connected Companies & Entities
11 Entities mappedOntology Mapping & Concepts
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