Fastest-Growing AI and Software Vendors (Who They Are, What to Expect, and How to Manage Costs)

The fastest-growing AI and software vendors - Cursor (650% YoY), Anthropic (425%), and Clay (300%) - are rewriting the rules of software procurement. Tools that entered your stack on a credit card or 30-day trial are renewing as strategic infrastructure, and they're doing it under entirely different economics than the legacy vendors your procurement process was built around. This guide breaks down which vendors are growing fastest across SMB and enterprise, what that growth means at the negotiating table, and how to protect your budget - from capping AI-driven price uplifts (currently running 20–37%) to locking in enterprise pricing before you scale into a vendor's target usage profile.

650%. That's how much Cursor grew in contract count last year - in a single year, across companies that largely didn't have a Cursor line item the year before.

That number should stop you. Not because Cursor is exceptional (though it is), but because of what it represents: a vendor power shift happening faster than most procurement calendars are built to catch. Other AI-native software vendors have grown rapidly as well from Clay to Crossbeam and Glean. These tools your teams may have easily adopted (maybe through a credit card or a 30-day pilot) will renewing as strategic infrastructure to your business.

Crazy, right? That’s a real shift. And you have to understand that the fastest-growing vendors are operating under entirely different economics (than legacy players). Knowing this trend and what it means for how you negotiate and manage costs will be important going forward.

Fastest Growing Vendors (Cursor, Anthropic, Clay, and more) 

Tropic analyzed patterns from over $18 billion in software spend to surface the fastest-growing suppliers by contract count in 2025.

• Cursor grew 650% year-over-year in contract count
• Anthropic grew 425%
• Clay grew 300% 

These tools are becoming core infrastructure. And appearing on the fastest-growing list for both SMB/Growth and Mid-Market/Enterprise companies signals a deeper convergence that goes beyond a “trend.”

What’s notable is that OpenAI is missing from this list. But it’s not because adoption declined, rather the company still ranks in the top six by overall spend. New customer acquisition has slowed, but existing customers are spending more. The land-and-expand motion is working, which, as we'll get to, carries its own negotiation implications.

OpenAI's trajectory also tells you something important about what happens to every hypergrowth vendor: first-mover advantage eventually normalizes. The vendors still on the growth curve - Cursor, Anthropic, Clay - behave very differently at the negotiating table than a vendor that has settled into steady expansion.

AI and Software Buying Trends: SMB/Growth vs. Mid-Market/Enterprise

The data tells you a clear story about where different-sized companies are placing their bets.

• SMB and Growth-stage companies are going all-in on developer-focused AI (Sonar, Cursor, Anthropic) and GTM automation (Clay, Orum). These are tools built to help lean teams punch above their weight - smaller teams using AI to operate at greater scale.
• Mid-Market and Enterprise is a different story. Yes, Cursor and Anthropic top that list too. But the next tier tells the real story: Zscaler, Wiz.io, Qualys, NAVEX, Vanta. These buyers are pairing AI infrastructure with a security buildout. Every new AI tool is a new data access point. The companies scaling AI the fastest are also investing most aggressively in the security layer underneath it.

These trends should make you ask, “what does this tell me about where I should be allocating budget, and in what sequence?"

Negotiation Tips When Dealing With Rapidly Growing Suppliers

At the negotiating table, what you should assume is that Cursor, Anthropic, and Clay are not motivated by your discount request. 

When vendors like that are growing rapidly, your deal is welcome, but not essential. Fast-growing vendors with strong products typically don't need to offer discounting - and Tropic's data supports that. The report is direct: for Cursor, Anthropic, and Clay, focus on locking in current pricing with strong uplift protection rather than chasing discounts you won't get.

The AI tax makes this even more urgent. Based on real-world renewal data across Tropic customers, AI-driven price increases are running anywhere around 20–37% - far exceeding the typical 3–9% annual uplift companies have historically expected from software vendors.

Negotiation DOES work: Tropic's data shows that active, more strategic negotiation reduces these asks by roughly 55% on average, with final uplifts landing around 12% across deals where there was flexibility. But that outcome requires starting conversations several months early before the opt-out date and coming in with a clear strategy - not a discount request made 30 days before renewal.

• For AI-native tools, vendors are increasingly expecting longer commitments - the average contract term for AI-native tools is now 22.4 months. Use that expectation as leverage: if a vendor wants a longer commitment from you, secure strong price protection in return. Our data is specific here - annual uplifts on AI-native tools should be capped at 3–5%.
• For security tools like Wiz.io and Abnormal Security, the dynamic is different but equally time-sensitive. These vendors grow through enterprise land-and-expand: they'll enter at an accessible price point, demonstrate value, and then quote enterprise-tier rates once you've scaled into their target usage. Our data recommends the same move: if you're an early adopter, negotiate for enterprise pricing now, before you scale into their target sweet spot.
• For the "second wave" AI tools like Synthesia, Glean, and others still building market share - there is more room to negotiate. These vendors are still building case studies, and that matters to them. It could be a negotiable asset you may be undervaluing.

A Framework for Managing Fast-Growing Vendors in 2026

Always keep in mind general SaaS negotiation best practices. But there’s certainly nuance for every category and business model. 

Due to their rapid growth, the fastest growing vendors on this list require a different approach than your legacy renewals. Here's how to approach each category, grounded in what Tropic's data actually supports (and how our customers are managing software and AI costs):

For AI-native hypergrowth tools (Cursor, Anthropic, Clay):

• Prioritize contract formalization over discount negotiation
• Lock in current pricing with strong uplift protection - don't chase discounts you won't get
• For AI-native tools specifically, negotiate to cap annual uplifts at 3–5%
• If a vendor is pushing for a longer commitment, use that as leverage to secure better price protection terms
• For consumption-based AI tools, negotiate spend caps and usage alerts as contract terms. Tropic's spend variance data shows these vendors (including Cursor and OpenAI) are among the top drivers of the gap between contracted amounts and actual spend

For security land-and-expand vendors (Wiz.io, Abnormal, Zscaler):

• Negotiate enterprise-tier pricing at the initial deal, before you scale into their target usage profile
• Structure contracts so that expansion pricing is agreed upfront, not revisited at each growth milestone

For second-wave AI tools building market share (Synthesia, Glean):

• Recognize that case studies and reference customers have real value to vendors at this stage - that's a negotiable asset
• More room exists here than with hypergrowth vendors; use competitive alternatives as part of your strategy

For any fast-growing vendor with consumption-based pricing:

• Get credit definitions in writing. One vendor's credit is a single API call; another's is an "agent action" that burns 50. You cannot forecast what you cannot define.
• Set monthly consumption caps with alert thresholds at 80%, 90%, and 100% of committed credits, routed to both Finance and department heads.
• Specify overage rates upfront, not at "market rate" because overages billed at a premium (sometimes 150% of base) are a common trap in credit-based contracts.
• Negotiate an annual credit pool rather than monthly limits where possible as this absorbs seasonal spikes without constant management or over-provisioning.
• Build mid-term review rights. If consumption exceeds 120% of forecast in any quarter, you should have the contractual right to renegotiate and not just accept the bill.

For a deeper guide on navigating consumption-based pricing, see our full breakdown here.

What This All Means for Your Software Budget

The broader picture from our data: your top 10 vendors (usually the legacy/sticky players like Salesforce, Hubspot, Google, Microsoft, etc.) still command nearly 75% of your software budget. That concentration hasn't changed dramatically despite the AI proliferation - in fact, the long tail has actually shrunk slightly as a share of spend from 2024 to 2025, even as the number of AI tools has grown. AI spend is growing within the top 10 as much as outside it, as Microsoft, Google, and Salesforce capture AI budget through bundling and acquisition.

What has changed is which vendors are earning their way into that top tier - and how fast. It’s on finance and procurement teams to recognize that transition early, formalize those vendor relationships on favorable terms, and build proper governance before adoption scales will look smart at the next board review.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which AI and software vendors are growing the fastest in 2025? 

Based on Tropic's analysis of over $18 billion in software spend, the fastest-growing vendors by contract count in 2025 were Cursor (650% YoY), Anthropic (425%), and Clay (300%). But the growth story doesn't stop there. Tools like Glean, Crossbeam, Synthesia, Orum, Sonar, Wiz.io, Abnormal Security, Vanta, and Zscaler are all seeing significant adoption momentum - particularly among mid-market and enterprise buyers pairing AI infrastructure with an aggressive security buildout. These tools are no longer experimental and becoming core infrastructure across both SMB and enterprise companies.

Why are AI vendor price increases so much higher than traditional SaaS? 

AI-driven price increases are running 20–37% at renewal, compared to the 3–9% annual uplift companies have historically seen from software vendors. This gap is driven by AI feature bundling, credit-based pricing model changes, and the strong negotiating position that hypergrowth vendors hold. Active negotiation reduces these asks by roughly 55% on average - but only when started several months before renewal with a clear strategy.

How should I negotiate with fast-growing AI vendors like Cursor or Anthropic? 

Don't lead with a discount request - hypergrowth vendors with strong products rarely need to offer them. Instead, focus on locking in current pricing with strong uplift protection, capping annual price increases at 3–5%, and using any request for a longer commitment as leverage to secure better price protection terms.

What should I negotiate in a consumption-based AI contract? 

Get credit definitions in writing, set monthly consumption caps with alert thresholds at 80%, 90%, and 100%, specify overage rates upfront (not at "market rate"), negotiate an annual credit pool rather than monthly limits, and build in mid-term review rights if consumption exceeds 120% of forecast in any quarter.

What's the difference in negotiating security vendors vs. AI-native tools? 

Security vendors like Wiz.io and Abnormal Security use a land-and-expand model - entering at an accessible price point and quoting enterprise-tier rates once you've scaled into their target usage. The move is to negotiate enterprise pricing at the initial deal, before you reach that threshold. AI-native hypergrowth vendors require a different approach: prioritize contract formalization and price protection over discounting.