NYC AI & Machine Learning Startups Hiring in 2026 — 30 Fast-Growing Companies

New York City has quietly become one of the top AI hiring markets in the world. While San Francisco gets the headlines, NYC is where enterprise AI, fintech AI, healthtech AI, and media AI are exploding — and the companies below are all actively expanding their teams right now.

Whether you're a machine learning engineer, data scientist, AI product manager, or software engineer looking to work on frontier technology, this list is your starting point.

Why NYC AI Hiring Is Surging in 2026

New York's AI boom is driven by a few structural advantages San Francisco doesn't have: access to the world's largest financial institutions, the biggest media companies, a deep healthcare ecosystem, and enterprise clients in every vertical. AI startups here aren't just building models — they're deploying them at scale into trillion-dollar industries.

The result: NYC AI startups raised billions in 2024 and 2025, and are now aggressively hiring to build out their teams.

Here are 30 of the fastest-growing companies you should know about.

The List

1. Hebbia

What they do: AI-powered analysis platform for finance and legal. Their flagship product, Matrix, lets analysts query millions of documents the way you'd query a database. Who they're hiring: ML Engineers, Software Engineers, AI Researchers Why it's hot: Backed by top-tier VCs and trusted by major financial institutions. One of the most talked-about enterprise AI companies in NYC right now.

2. EliseAI

What they do: Conversational AI for property management and healthcare. Their platform handles leasing inquiries, maintenance requests, and patient outreach at scale. Who they're hiring: Machine Learning Engineers, Backend Engineers, Product Managers Why it's hot: One of the few AI companies with deep vertical integration in two massive markets — real estate and healthcare.

3. Dataminr

What they do: Real-time AI platform that detects breaking events and high-impact information from public data before it hits the news. Who they're hiring: Data Scientists, ML Engineers, Software Engineers Why it's hot: Used by major newsrooms, Fortune 500 companies, and government agencies. One of NYC's most established AI scaleups.

4. AlphaSense

What they do: AI-powered market intelligence platform used by analysts and executives at top financial firms to research companies, industries, and trends. Who they're hiring: ML Engineers, NLP Engineers, Software Engineers, Product Managers Why it's hot: Consistently ranked among the top enterprise AI tools for finance. Strong growth trajectory heading into 2026.

5. Celonis

What they do: Process mining and AI platform that helps enterprises optimize how their business operates. Clients include PepsiCo, Uber, Johnson & Johnson, and Cisco. Who they're hiring: Data Scientists, AI Engineers, Solutions Engineers Why it's hot: Global scale, enterprise customer base, and serious AI/ML depth built into the core product.

6. Augury

What they do: AI and machine learning for industrial machine health monitoring. Their sensors and software predict equipment failures before they happen. Who they're hiring: ML Engineers, Data Scientists, IoT Engineers Why it's hot: Industrial AI is one of the fastest-growing segments. Augury is a category leader with strong enterprise traction.

7. Socure

What they do: AI-driven identity verification and fraud prevention. Their platform is used by banks, fintechs, and government agencies to verify identities in real time. Who they're hiring: ML Engineers, Data Scientists, Backend Engineers Why it's hot: Identity fraud is a massive problem and Socure's AI approach is winning market share fast.

8. Kustomer

What they do: AI-powered customer service CRM. Their platform uses AI to automate and personalize customer support across channels. Who they're hiring: AI Engineers, Software Engineers, Product Managers Why it's hot: Customer service AI is one of the highest-ROI applications of LLMs. Kustomer is well-positioned in a huge market.

9. HyperScience

What they do: AI automation for document processing and back-office workflows. They replace manual data entry and low-skill tasks with intelligent AI agents. Who they're hiring: ML Engineers, Software Engineers, Solutions Architects Why it's hot: Enterprises are spending aggressively on automation. HyperScience has a proven product in a massive TAM.

10. Rollstack

What they do: AI that automatically generates and updates slide decks and documents from business data. Backed by Insight Partners and Y Combinator. Who they're hiring: Software Engineers, ML Engineers, Product Designers Why it's hot: YC-backed, strong customer traction with public companies like SoFi and Zillow, and a genuinely painful problem being solved.

11. CellType

What they do: Agentic drug discovery company. Their AI agents run the full drug discovery pipeline on biological foundation models co-developed with Google DeepMind. Who they're hiring: ML Researchers, Computational Biologists, Software Engineers Why it's hot: Already working with top-10 pharma companies and has validated a new cancer treatment signal. Cutting-edge biotech AI.

12. Clearview AI

What they do: Facial recognition and computer vision platform primarily used by law enforcement agencies. Who they're hiring: ML Engineers, Computer Vision Engineers, Software Engineers Why it's hot: Controversial but technically sophisticated. One of the most well-known computer vision companies in the world.

13. Alkymi

What they do: AI platform for extracting and processing data from unstructured documents in financial services. Who they're hiring: ML Engineers, Data Engineers, Product Managers Why it's hot: Financial document processing is a huge pain point at banks and asset managers. Alkymi is purpose-built for this.

14. Tastewise

What they do: Food intelligence platform using generative AI to analyze billions of data points from menus, social media, and grocery data — helping food and beverage brands spot trends early. Who they're hiring: Data Scientists, ML Engineers, Software Engineers Why it's hot: Unique data moat in the food industry. Generative AI layer on top of a rich proprietary dataset.

15. Superblocks

What they do: Platform for engineering teams to build enterprise-grade internal tools, featuring an AI agent (Clark AI) that speeds up application development. Who they're hiring: Software Engineers, ML Engineers, Product Managers Why it's hot: Developer tooling is a hot category. Superblocks serves everyone from startups to Fortune 500 companies.

16. Qloo

What they do: Machine learning platform for cultural intelligence and taste prediction. Helps brands understand and predict consumer preferences across entertainment, travel, food, and more. Who they're hiring: ML Engineers, Data Scientists, Backend Engineers Why it's hot: Unique application of ML with a strong data moat built on cultural taste signals.

17. Tildei

What they do: AI agents that help brands engage customers across multiple channels — offering recommendations, collecting reviews, and supporting growth. Who they're hiring: AI Engineers, Software Engineers, Growth Roles Why it's hot: Agentic AI for marketing is an emerging category with massive commercial potential.

18. Remesh

What they do: AI platform for gathering real-time collective insights from large groups of people. Used for market research, policy testing, and organizational feedback. Who they're hiring: ML Engineers, Data Scientists, Product Managers Why it's hot: AI-powered qualitative research is replacing traditional focus groups. Remesh is a category pioneer.

19. Maywood

What they do: AI platform that automates deal execution for investment banks — generating pitch decks, financial models, and diligence responses automatically. YC-backed. Who they're hiring: Software Engineers, ML Engineers, Finance Domain Experts Why it's hot: Banking workflows are notoriously manual and expensive. Maywood is early in a very large market.

20. Symphony

What they do: AI voice simulations for enterprise employee training. Their platform lets companies create realistic practice scenarios for sales, claims, and customer-facing teams. Who they're hiring: ML Engineers, Audio/Speech AI Engineers, Software Engineers Why it's hot: Already live with two of the top three auto insurers in North America. Proven ROI in a large market.

21. Raycaster

What they do: AI document workspace for regulated industries — think Cursor for life sciences teams managing FDA submissions and compliance documents. Who they're hiring: Software Engineers, ML Engineers, Regulatory Domain Experts Why it's hot: Regulated industries are severely underserved by AI tools. Raycaster has a defensible niche with high switching costs.

22. FINNY

What they do: AI operating system for independent financial advisors, starting with growth and client acquisition tools. Who they're hiring: Software Engineers, ML Engineers, Product Managers Why it's hot: The independent RIA market is massive and technology-starved. FINNY is going after a clear underserved segment.

23. Matcha

What they do: AI-powered clinical talent hiring platform. Helps hospitals find qualified candidates at a fraction of the time and cost of traditional recruiting. Who they're hiring: Software Engineers, ML Engineers, Recruiting Operations Why it's hot: Healthcare hiring is chronically broken. Matcha applies AI matching to fix a problem with real urgency.

24. Owkin

What they do: AI for medical research and drug discovery, with a focus on using federated learning to work with sensitive patient data across hospital networks. Who they're hiring: ML Researchers, Data Scientists, Software Engineers, Bioinformaticians Why it's hot: Federated learning for healthcare is a technically sophisticated approach with strong IP. Backed by serious investors.

25. Vortexify AI

What they do: Platform for building AI workflows for supply chain operations. Deploy specialized AI bots for complex logistics and operations tasks. Who they're hiring: ML Engineers, Software Engineers, Supply Chain Domain Experts Why it's hot: Supply chain AI is one of the highest-ROI verticals. Vortexify is building purpose-built tooling for it.

26. RedBrick AI

What they do: AI infrastructure for radiology teams — helping medical AI companies build high-quality training datasets from CT scans, X-rays, and other medical imagery. Who they're hiring: ML Engineers, Software Engineers, Medical Imaging Specialists Why it's hot: Medical imaging AI is a $5B+ investment category. RedBrick provides the foundational tooling the whole ecosystem needs.

27. Beacon Health

What they do: AI agents for primary care — automating preventative screenings, prior authorizations, referrals, and risk adjustment for value-based care practices. YC W26. Who they're hiring: Software Engineers, ML Engineers, Healthcare Operations Why it's hot: Fresh out of YC W26. Primary care AI is one of the most impactful and underfunded areas in healthtech.

28. Ultra

What they do: General-purpose robots that can be deployed in hours, not weeks — capable of learning new tasks quickly and generating immediate ROI for industrial customers. Who they're hiring: Robotics Engineers, ML Engineers, Software Engineers Why it's hot: Already has robots in the field generating revenue and data. Robotics + AI is the frontier of physical AI deployment.

29. Northslope Technologies

What they do: AI solutions firm founded by Palantir alumni, helping organizations solve operational challenges with custom AI deployments. Who they're hiring: AI Engineers, Software Engineers, Solutions Architects Why it's hot: Palantir pedigree + a startup mindset. Strong positioning for enterprise AI services.

30. Domino Data Lab

What they do: Enterprise MLOps platform powering model development and deployment for over 20% of the Fortune 100. Used by companies in pharma, financial services, and manufacturing. Who they're hiring: ML Engineers, Platform Engineers, Data Scientists Why it's hot: Backed by Sequoia, Coatue, and Bloomberg Beta. Deep enterprise penetration and a mature platform with serious scale.

What Roles Are These Companies Hiring For?

Across this list, the most in-demand roles in NYC AI right now are:

Machine Learning Engineer — Building, training, and deploying models. Python, PyTorch, and TensorFlow are the core stack. Strong demand at every stage from seed to growth.

Data Scientist — Turning messy data into insights and model inputs. SQL, Python, and statistics are table stakes. Domain expertise (finance, health, enterprise) is a major differentiator.

AI Product Manager — Defining what gets built and why. Experience with LLMs, ML workflows, and enterprise customers is increasingly expected at the PM level.

Software Engineer (AI-adjacent) — Building the infrastructure, APIs, and interfaces that AI products run on. Full-stack and backend engineers with ML exposure are especially sought after.

NLP / LLM Engineer — Specialists in language models, prompt engineering, fine-tuning, and RAG pipelines. One of the hottest and most underfilled roles in the market.

How to Stand Out When Applying to NYC AI Startups

Show your portfolio. For ML roles, GitHub projects, Kaggle rankings, or published models matter more than your resume alone. Build something, ship something, link to it.

Get specific on domain. NYC AI companies are mostly vertical AI — fintech, healthtech, legal tech, enterprise SaaS. If you can show experience or genuine interest in their specific domain, you'll stand out immediately.

Move fast. Startups make hiring decisions quickly, and the best roles fill fast. When you find a role that fits, apply same day and follow up. Speed signals genuine interest.

Use the right boards. Generic job boards are noisy. Use platforms that specialize in startup roles — like StartupJobs.NYC — to find roles that aren't flooded with applicants.

Find Your Next AI Role in NYC

The companies above are just the start. New York's AI hiring market is moving fast, and new roles are opening every week across every vertical.

Browse the latest open positions from NYC AI startups at StartupJobs.NYC — updated weekly with roles from the fastest-growing companies in the city.