A new benchmark for AI investment: Swift Ventures unveils system to separate talk from action

Swift Ventures launched new Artificial Intelligence Company Index Today, the first systematic scoring system was created to identify public companies that are making real investments in artificial intelligence technology, rather than just talking about it on earnings calls.

The venture capital firm developed the index by fine-tuning a large language model to analyze thousands of revenue records, recruiting data and research contributions. The analysis shows that while companies mentioned artificial intelligence more than 16,000 times on earnings calls last quarter, only a small number of companies have made significant investments in the technology.

“Everyone sees that the world is changing — artificial intelligence is changing the world, but most people don’t have a way to share in the benefits,” Swift Ventures co-founder Brett Wilson said in an exclusive interview with VentureBeat. “They can’t be like me as a venture. Investors invest in private companies that way, and it’s not easy to find real AI companies other than buying Nvidia or the Big Seven. “

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The index currently tracks about 90 companies and uses three main indicators: AI research investment and open source contributions, AI talent density, and revenue generated from AI operations.

Companies that meet the criteria for inclusion in the index have shown excellent market performance. The index has experienced an annual growth rate of 37% over the past three years, which is significantly higher than the 12% growth rate of the Nasdaq Index and 19% growth rate of the S&P in the same period. %, significantly higher than the 12% growth rate of the Nasdaq Index and 19% growth rate of the S&P during the same period.

Perhaps most striking is the study of the correlation between investment and profitability. “When we look at companies that are regularly contributing to AI research and open source models, you see that’s reflected in their profitability,” Wilson noted. “The average gross profit for these companies is about twice that of the average tech company — —55% and 25% respectively.

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The index reveals a serious talent gap in the public market. Despite widespread claims about AI adoption, only about 200 public companies keep more than 1% of their employees in AI-specific roles, according to Swift’s analysis. As this metric becomes increasingly important U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics The demand for artificial intelligence engineers is expected to reach unprecedented levels.

“You can’t just talk about artificial intelligence and become an artificial intelligence company,” Wilson emphasized. “It’s about investing in AI talent, infrastructure and research and contributing to the community.”

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The index found several under-the-radar companies making significant AI investments, including Dosimitideveloping medical writing applications powered by artificial intelligence, and Leidosfocusing on defense-oriented autonomous systems. Wilson said these companies are “growing more than 50% annually,” indicating that the AI ​​transformation will transcend established technology leaders.

Swift Ventures plans to make the index available for free and update it quarterly, and consider launching an ETF in early 2025 if there is investor interest. The company’s approach represents a significant shift from existing artificial intelligence investing tools, focusing on programmatic scoring rather than individual stock picking.

“We don’t want to look like Kathy Woodtool where someone picks certain stocks,” Wilson explained. “The intention is to use some kind of programmatic criteria to select companies and let the system do it.”

The index’s launch comes at a critical time for artificial intelligence investing, as it is difficult for public market investors to distinguish between the companies that are building artificial intelligence. Meaningful investments in artificial intelligence and those who simply adopt the term artificial intelligence. It has also emerged with the emergence of private AI companies, e.g. data block, Artificial intelligence scale and Anthropic selection Gearing up for potential public offerings in the coming years suggests the landscape of artificial intelligence companies could change dramatically.

This new approach has the potential to become a standard benchmark for evaluating AI investments, potentially affecting how companies allocate resources to AI development and how investors measure AI capabilities in the public market.

For business leaders, the index provides a clear measure of what constitutes true AI investment. As Wilson points out, “Real AI investment means that you have superior AI talent, you are investing in AI research, you are contributing to the community, and your income is fundamentally affected by these AI The impact of investment.”