Zip named to Fast Company’s Next Big Things in Tech 2025

We’re thrilled to share that Zip has been recognized by Fast Company as one of the ‘Next Big Things in Tech for 2025’, specifically in the Fintech and Blockchain category.

We’re proud to be included alongside such pioneering companies as Cloudflare, Github, OneTrust, and more; companies who, like us, seek a fundamentally different approach to applying AI to enterprise-level operations.

Why AI specialization beats generalization

When we first began developing ZipAI in 2024, we quickly learned that general-purpose AI assistants, while often impressive, can fall short in complex enterprise environments like those involving procurement. Procurement tasks involve more than just employee Q&A, but deep orchestrated workflows requiring expertise across dozens of specialized functions.

So we asked ourselves a different question: what if instead of building one AI that does everything adequately, we built many AIs that each do one thing exceptionally well?

This insight led us to deconstruct the generalist model into 50 purpose-built  hyper-specific AI agents, each focusing on a different procurement task. One agent analyzes how shifting tariff policies ripple through vendor pricing. Another researches real-time market rates across categories. Yet another flags regulatory exposure before becoming a compliance issue.

Each agent is a specialist, and together they form an intelligent orchestration layer that transforms how businesses make purchasing decisions.

The power of agentic procurement orchestration

Traditional procurement tools ask humans to gather data, analyze options, check compliance, and negotiate terms; it’s an exhausting and error-prone process, especially when you’re managing billions in purchasing decisions.

Agentic orchestration flips this model.

Instead of tools waiting for human direction, our AI agents proactively handle specialized tasks in parallel, collaborating with each other and surfacing insights exactly when needed. The result is procurement that’s faster, safer, and fundamentally more intelligent.

This matters because procurement sits at the intersection of finance, risk, compliance, strategy, and operations. Getting it right requires coordinating knowledge that no single person, or a single AI, can fully master.

But a constellation of specialized agents, each excellent at their specific domain? That’s where the magic happens.

What this recognition means

Fast Company's ‘Next Big Thing in Tech’ list focuses on "genuinely new ideas in significant fields" that have "already demonstrated progress" and "hold the potential for further growth."

That they recognized our approach validates what we've been building toward: a future where AI acts as a tireless, yet trusted assistant for the real work of procurement.

The fact that AI pioneers like OpenAI and Wiz have praised our own AI tools tells us we’re on to something significant. To our customers, thank you for trusting us with your most business-critical purchasing decisions and for pushing us to innovate every single day.

More importantly, thank you to everyone who’s been with us since our transition from “What if?” to “What’s Next” in Tech. 

The future of procurement means amplifying human potential with technology, so we can focus on building the strategy and relationships that drive our own business forward. We’re excited to continue building that future with you.

To learn more about Zip’s agentic procurement orchestration platform, request a demo today.