New AI investment token: Swift Ventures unveils system to separate speech from action

Swift Ventures has unveiled a new ranking of artificial intelligence companies today, creating the first scoring system to identify public companies that are making real investments in AI technology rather than just talking about how they make money.

The venture capital firm created the index by fine-tuning large language versions to analyze thousands of records of earnings, lending data, and research offerings. The analysis revealed that while companies mentioned AI more than 16,000 times in the calls they received last quarter, only a small fraction are making significant investments in the technology.

“Everybody sees that the world is changing — AI is changing the world, but a lot of people don’t have a way to get involved,” said Brett Wilson, founder of Swift Ventures, in an interview with VentureBeat. “They can’t invest in private companies like I do as a VC, and it’s no easier to find real AI companies than just buying Nvidia or Magnificent Seven.”

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The index currently tracks about 90 companies and uses three primary criteria: investment in AI research and public offerings, abundance of AI talent, and revenue from AI projects.

Companies that meet the criteria for inclusion in the index have demonstrated market performance, with the index showing annual growth of 37% over the past three years, which outpaced the Nasdaq’s 12% and the S&P’s 19% growth over the same period.

Perhaps most interesting is the connection between research and profit. Wilson said, “When we look at companies that regularly contribute to AI research and open source brands, you see it reflected in their profitability. Those companies have a higher profit margin than tech companies that don’t – 55% versus 25%.”

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This list shows the great diversity of talent in the human markets. According to Swift’s analysis, only about 200 companies retain more than 1% of their workforce in AI-specific roles, despite many claims of AI adoption. This metric has become very important as US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that require a lot of AI engineers.

“You can’t just talk about AI and be an AI company,” Wilson said. “It’s about investing in AI technology and infrastructure and research and supporting the community.”

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The list has identified several under-the-radar companies that are making big investments in AI, including Doximitywhich generates AI-powered medical records, and Leidoswhich focuses on autonomous systems with security. The industry is “growing at more than 50% per year,” according to Wilson, reflecting a greater shift in AI than the established technology leaders.

Swift Ventures plans to make the index available for free with quarterly updates and is considering launching an ETF in early 2025 if investor interest is met. The company’s approach represents a major shift from existing AI vehicles, with a focus on strategic management rather than stock picking.

“We don’t want to look like a Kathy Woodcar, while someone else is picking up other stocks,” Wilson explained. “Our goal was to use a corporate selection process, and make that happen.”

The launch of the index comes at a critical time for the AI ​​industry, with market investors struggling to differentiate companies that make it. profitable investment of AI and those that only imitate the words of the AI. It also comes in the form of specialized AI companies such as Databricks, AI dimensions and Anthropic plan for a public offering in the coming years, showing that the AI ​​company landscape could change dramatically.

This new approach has the potential to become a standard for evaluating the performance of AI investments, which could affect how companies allocate resources to AI development and how investors measure the potential of AI in public markets.

For industry leaders, this series provides clear metrics that make real money in AI. As Wilson said, “Real AI marketing means you’re interested in AI people, that you’re doing AI research, that you’re helping the community, and that your revenue is directly related to AI investment.”