Australian AI Startup Surpasses Canva in Global Spend Report

In recent years, Canva has made significant strides in the generative AI sector, establishing itself as one of Australia's successful startups. However, another Australian AI startup is gaining more global customer spending attention.

Last week, Andreessen Horowitz released its 'AI Apps 50: Where Startups Spend on AI' list. Lorikeet, an Australian AI company specializing in customer service automation, ranked eighth globally in startup AI spending, surpassing Canva, which was ranked 17th.

The report, created in collaboration with fintech firm Mercury, uses real banking transaction data from over 200,000 startups to illustrate where companies are allocating their AI budgets. Unlike most rankings based on web traffic or venture funding, this one captures actual spending, providing an intriguing insight into which AI tools startups are investing in.

The report highlights that spending across the AI landscape is fragmenting rather than consolidating. Startups are opting for a diverse mix of specialized tools instead of relying on one or two dominant players. According to a16z partners Seema Amble and Olivia Moore, companies are still choosing their own AI software, indicating that the market hasn't settled on clear winners yet.

Lorikeet's position places it ahead of several high-profile global names, including Perplexity (#12), Lovable (#18), Midjourney (#28), Grammarly (#32), Otter.ai (#41), and CapCut (#44). It also positions Lorikeet ahead of Canva, which has been publicly pivoting to AI tools since 2023 as it prepares for an IPO.

Founded in 2023, Lorikeet uses generative AI to automate customer interactions, training on a company's chat logs, tone of voice, and documentation to provide on-brand responses at scale. The company falls into the 'vertical' AI category identified in the report, meaning tools designed to augment or replace specific business functions.