We’re Living Through the Dawn of Superintelligence
Not long ago, we were all collectively blown away when GPT-3 showed us it could write a mediocre blog post. Today, agents can search the web, use tools, trigger code deployments, and make real decisions in the real world. The leap between those two endpoints didn’t take a decade. It took two years.
AI superintelligence isn’t a science fiction milestone waiting in the distance; it’s happening in real time. We’re watching it emerge, update by update, release by release. The foundational models are getting smarter. The agentic frameworks are getting more capable. The ecosystem around them is maturing at light speed. And the pace isn’t slowing down - it’s accelerating.
As a society, we tend to underestimate exponential change. At the risk of dating myself, I still remember the screech of dial-up. The iPhone is barely a teenager. A decade ago, Ironman’s AI assistant JARVIS felt like the outer edge of imagination - today it feels trivial. What once looked magical now feels pedestrian.
That’s the thing about paradigm shifts: they sneak up, then reshape everything. It won’t be long before AI is deeply embedded in every part of our lives. Not in vague, behind-the-scenes ways, but viscerally present. Personal AI agents that manage your schedule, navigate your errands, and handle your inbox. Autonomous cars that take your kids to school. Enterprise agents that run customer support, write code, and run simulations. A real shift in how humans interact with the world - and with each other.
And that’s just the visible surface. Beneath it lies something even more profound: the moment when AI systems begin to make novel scientific discoveries. When they push the boundaries of chemistry, physics, biology, and medicine - generating breakthroughs not by crunching data faster, but by thinking differently. That’s the threshold of superintelligence. And it’s not 50 years away. It might not even be 5.
The Model Layer Is Leading The Charge - The App Layer Is Just Getting Started
The core models powering this shift - GPT-4, Claude, Gemini, and others - are being built by a handful of companies investing tens of billions in R&D annually. These model providers are already unlocking tremendous value, and they’ll continue to be among the largest beneficiaries of this new computing paradigm. They’re building the infrastructure layer of the 21st century.
But history shows us that platform companies don’t win alone.
The internet didn’t reach ubiquity through TCP/IP. It needed Amazon, Google, and Facebook to make it feel real to users. Similarly, mobile wasn’t just about iOS and Android - it was about Instagram, Uber, and WhatsApp. Today, the model layer is the enabler - but the full arc of value creation will depend on the apps, tools, and systems that make AI tangible in our everyday lives.
That’s where the next wave of transformative companies will emerge.
From vertical AI agents that reimagine how specific industries operate, to orchestration layers that make agentic workflows safe and reliable, to entirely new categories we haven’t yet imagined - the application layer is wide open. Some of these companies will be built by incumbents who move fast. Others will be net new challengers, born native to this paradigm. In both cases, the opportunity is immense.
We’re in the early innings of a build cycle that will stretch across the next decade and beyond. It will impact every workflow, every sector, every human interaction. And if history is any guide, this is where new giants are born.
Founders in the AI Era: Move Fast, Think Bigger
In moments of foundational change, the winning mindset isn’t “optimize” - it’s “reimagine.”
This era rewards founders who are willing to think in paradigms, not features. The ones who understand that technology adoption can feel slow until, suddenly, it isn’t. The ones who recognize that what looks like the future today can be table stakes tomorrow.
As such, building today demands moving faster than ever before. We’re seeing an influx of founders who think this way - and they’re already reshaping how sectors like healthcare, education, legal, finance, and logistics operate. This mindset shift is the real unlock. The technology is moving fast - but the most exciting part is the level of ambition we’re seeing from today’s founders.
This Is the Moment
There are only a few times in life when you get to live through a revolution. For many of us, this is our third: first the internet, then mobile, now AI Superintelligence. But this one is different in scope and speed.
That’s why we’re curating the AI Disruptors 60 list, which recognizes early-stage companies exemplifying this mindset. They’re not just “applying AI” - they’re using it to rewrite assumptions, redesign workflows, and deliver real value.
If you’re building in this space - whether infrastructure, application, or something in between - now is the time to reimagine the future. And if you’re watching from the sidelines, it’s time to lean in.
Because this isn’t just another wave. It’s the beginning of a new era.
