This week / Lists / AI workforce
Updated November 13, 2026
AI workforce startups to watch, week of November 9, 2026
Companies selling agents positioned as digital workers or teammates that own a role or a workflow end to end (sales, support, engineering, operations).
This week's top 3: Factory (score 95); Sierra (score 81, headcount +45.4% in 3 months); Cognition (score 76, headcount +73.9% in 3 months).
| # | Company | Momentum | Headcount | Headcount 3m | Web visits 3m | Last round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Factory Autonomous coding agents ('Droids') that take on software engineering tasks across the development lifecycle. | 95 | n/a | n/a | n/a | Funding Round (Sep 2026) |
| 2 | Sierra Conversational AI agents for customer experience, priced on resolved outcomes. | 81 | 893 | +45.4% | +43.1% | Series E, $950M (May 2026) |
| 3 | Cognition Maker of Devin, an autonomous AI software engineer, and owner of the Windsurf editor. | 76 | 513 | +73.9% | +1.9% | Series E, $2B (Sep 2026) |
| 4 | Artisan AI employees for outbound sales, starting with an AI business development rep called Ava. | 62 | 259 | +54.2% | +67.3% | Series A, $25M (Apr 2025) |
| 5 | Basis AI agents for accounting firms that carry out bookkeeping and close work. | 62 | 149 | +21.1% | +41.4% | Series B, $100M (Feb 2026) |
| 6 | InstaLILY Vertical AI teammates for industrial distribution, field service and other operational workflows. | 61 | 144 | +20% | +66.1% | Series B, $60M (Jul 2026) |
| 7 | Decagon AI agents that resolve customer support conversations across chat, email and voice. | 60 | 503 | +12.3% | -10.3% | Series D, $250M (Jan 2026) |
| 8 | Twin Paris-based builder of autonomous agents that automate tasks in web apps. | 57 | 26 | +8.3% | +528% | Seed, $10M (Jan 2026) |
| 9 | Nooks AI sales assistant platform for prospecting, dialing and research by sales teams. | 56 | 416 | +4% | +9.1% | Funding Round, $500M (Nov 2026) |
| 10 | HappyRobot AI workers for logistics and operations that handle calls, emails and messages with carriers and customers. | 49 | 202 | +47.4% | -25.3% | Series C, $150M (Aug 2026) |
| 11 | Gumloop No-code platform for building AI-powered automations and agents for business teams. | 47 | 50 | 0% | +39.5% | Series B (Mar 2026) |
| 12 | Qurrent Delivers autonomous digital workforces that run operational processes for enterprises. | 43 | 44 | +4.8% | -81.9% | Series A, $15M (Mar 2026) |
| 13 | Reload Team chat workspace where humans and AI agents share memory, channels, tasks and approvals. | 41 | 2 | 0% | n/a | Pre Seed, $2.3M (Feb 2026) |
| 14 | 11x Sells AI 'digital workers' for go-to-market, led by an AI sales development rep. | 38 | 85 | 0% | +4.4% | Series B, $50M (Nov 2024) |
| 15 | Ema Universal AI employee platform with prebuilt agent personas for enterprise roles. | 38 | n/a | n/a | n/a | Seed (Mar 2024) |
| 16 | Unify Go-to-market platform that uses AI agents to find intent signals and run outbound. | 37 | 150 | +7.1% | -23.1% | Series B, $40M (Jul 2025) |
| 17 | Lindy AI assistants that handle inbox, meetings, calendar and repetitive workflows for professionals and teams. | 31 | 55 | +3.8% | +2.1% | Series B (Jan 2023) |
Scores compare each company with all 89 tracked companies, not only this list. Read the methodology, see past weeks, or open a company for every number and its source.