MEET THE 2026
100 WOMEN
IN AI HONOREES
2026 honorees BY CATEGORY
About
100 Women in AI celebrates the women driving our world forward at the dawn of a new technological age. From foundational contributors to present-day powerhouses, this platform celebrates women working across research, infrastructure, product, entrepreneurship, investment, and beyond.
Created by Flybridge and XFactor Ventures, the campaign began with a simple observation: while men often dominate the spotlight, women have long been at the heart of AI’s development, leading its future. From dynamic research to pivotal companies, from infrastructure to ethics and policy, these 100-ish honorees are at the helm of the breakthroughs shaping how the world engages with AI.
They are not just a part of the story; they are the authors of what comes next.
TRENDS & INSIGHTS
TRAILBLAZERS & TRANSFORMERS
methodology
Scoring & Ranking
The 100 Women in AI honoree list was created through a rigorous human-centered evaluation process, blending publicly available data with qualitative insight. The goal was to highlight women whose technical accomplishments, leadership, and societal impact are shaping the future of artificial intelligence.
We gathered nominations from across the tech ecosystem and received additional submissions through trusted partners and venture investors. Where necessary, supplemental research was conducted to support additional nominations in areas where submissions did not surface the full representation of a category. All nominees were reviewed for relevance to the field of AI and aligned with the campaign's mission to recognize innovation, leadership, and inclusion.
Each nominee was scored across six dimensions, each on a scale of 1–10:
Dimension Definition
Seniority Level of leadership and career stage
Pedigree Academic background, companies worked at, and training
Accomplishments Awards, milestones, products built, or research impact
Impact Measurable change on users, industries, or communities
Influence Visibility, thought leadership, and platform
Innovation Novelty of work, patents, research, or product uniqueness
For each finalist, we conducted independent research to assess:
- Career Milestones
- Technical Contributions
- Public Recognition
- Leadership Roles
- Company Traction (e.g. revenue, funding, user base)
For researchers, citations were used; for investors, exits and holdings were assessed; and for technologists, patents and the scale of adoption were considered relevant assessment inputs.
A composite score was calculated for each nominee using a weighted formula that placed greater emphasis on Impact and Influence, to highlight honorees truly shaping how AI is adopted, understood, and built.
The final ranked list reflects:
- Technical excellence
- Social and industry impact
- Leadership and visibility
- Representation across regions, disciplines, and company stages