It was once believed that AI was the exclusive domain of large corporations with substantial budgets. Today, however, the landscape has changed: technology is more accessible, as are the opportunities for startups. Small teams and even individual developers are creating products that directly influence how we work, learn, and make decisions.

This is not merely a perception. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, employees who incorporate AI into their daily tasks save, on average, 5.4% of their time and exhibit 33% greater productivity. These results are achievable through both in-house developments by companies and the adoption of third-party solutions, including those from ambitious startups.

While giants such as OpenAI already dominate the market, small teams still have considerable room to innovate. Below are two examples of teams that have found their growth opportunities and redefined traditional approaches.

Vibe Coding for Developers: Anysphere and Cursor

What should you do if you want to rapidly release products, but have only a couple of developers on the team? How can development be accelerated without sacrificing quality? In 2022, four graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology sought to answer these questions. They founded the startup Anysphere Inc. and launched Cursor, a product now regarded as one of the most promising in the AI development world.
Cursor is an AI assistant integrated directly into Visual Studio Code. It interprets natural language instructions and converts them into executable code. Its key features include:

• Code generation from text-based requests;
• Intelligent autocompletion and code modification predictions;
• Comprehensive analysis and navigation of the entire codebase;
• Smart rewrites, enabling bulk code updates.

This "magic" is powered by large language models (LLM), enabling even small teams to code more efficiently, accurately, and with fewer resources.

From Idea to Billions

Since its inception in 2023, Anysphere has secured $8 million from the OpenAI Startup Fund, followed by $60 million in Series A funding from Andreessen Horowitz, and an additional $105 million in Series B from Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz. The company's market valuation has reached $2.5 billion, and it is now in talks for a new funding round with an estimated valuation of $10 billion.

The revenue growth is remarkable, increasing from $1 million in 2023 to $100 million in 2024. According to Y Combinator, 25% of startups in their winter batch are now using AI to write nearly all of their code. This indicates that vibe coding is not just a trend, but a new standard in development.
In this way, a small team of former students has gained global recognition by offering an efficient tool for development. Today, their company is based in the heart of Silicon Valley, and their vibe coding tools are in demand among a quarter of startup projects.

Intelligent Search Over Endless Googling: Perplexity AI

Another noteworthy example is Perplexity AI, a startup that aimed to redefine the concept of information search. Founded in 2022, the initial version was developed in just a few hours, using Bing and GPT-3 as its foundation.

Perplexity operates as an intelligent search chatbot: you pose a question, and the system not only provides an answer but also explains it with references to the sources. It uses several AI models, including GPT, Claude, DeepSeek, Llama, and Gemini. This approach enables it to:
• Understand the core of the query;
• Quickly gather relevant information from reliable sources;
• Present clear and concise responses;
• Save the user’s time and enhance accuracy.

Perplexity is not intimidated by competition from giants like Google, and it is proving successful. What started as a new approach to search and information analysis was developed by four engineers specializing in AI and ML. Notably, one of the founders, Denis Yarats, comes from the CIS region. Today, Perplexity holds a central position in Silicon Valley’s startup ecosystem.

Growth and Investments

In 2024, Perplexity completed four investment rounds, raising the following amounts:
• $73.6 million (Series B, January);
• $63 million (March);
• $250 million (April);
• $500 million (November).

By the end of the year, the company's valuation reached $9 billion, and in 2025, it began discussions for a new funding round, aiming for a valuation of $18 billion. The startup is experiencing rapid growth in both its user base and revenue, while expanding its monetization models through advertising and partnerships.

What Does This Mean for You?

The stories of Cursor and Perplexity demonstrate that creating a successful AI product does not require being a large corporation or developing proprietary neural networks. It is possible to combine existing technologies and tailor them to address specific market needs.
If you wish to explore this path:

1. Evaluate user needs — identify a focused yet significant problem.
2. Consider which existing tools can be integrated to solve this problem.
3. Develop an MVP and test the idea with real users.
4. Join acceleration programs at IT Park Uzbekistan and register on the Startup Base platform — where investors and mentors can learn about you.

AI Startups: A Prime Focus for Investors

It is important to note that the IT Park Ventures is actively investing in AI-driven startups, with such projects being among its primary focus areas. Therefore, if you are developing a product in this field, your chances of securing funding are higher than ever.
If you aspire to explore this further, we recommend reviewing our article on AI technologies and potential directions for startups — it's a great starting point for an idea that could succeed.