_The award will recognize global innovators shaping the future of AI across enterprise,
the public sector, and AI for good_
Mountain View, Calif.—June 18, 2025— H2O.ai, the world’s leading Agentic AI company and a pioneer in Sovereign AI with secure, on premise and air-gapped deployments, today opened nominations for its second annual AI 100 awards, recognizing 100 individuals who are shaping the future of artificial intelligence through innovation, impact, leadership, and real-world application.
“AI has moved beyond prototypes – it’s now in the hands of people solving real problems in the real world. The AI 100 celebrates those turning bold ideas into reality: business leaders deploying AI that’s aligned, trusted, and sovereign, engineers building at scale, and public leaders advancing policy. These are the architects of the future.”
Sri Ambati
Founder and CEO of H2O.ai
Now in its second year, the AI 100 highlights a global and diverse community of AI leaders, from Fortune 100 executives and government officials to researchers and open-source builders. Last year’s honorees included Teresa Heitsenrether (JPMorgan Chase), Gassia Fox (BlackRock), and Chintan Mehta (Wells Fargo).
The 2025 AI 100 will continue to spotlight both visionary leaders and hands-on AI practitioners across five
key categories:
- Global Visionaries: Iconic public figures, founders, and AI leaders shaping the future of technology and society at scale.
- Enterprise Leaders: Senior executives and other decision-makers driving enterprise-wide AI adoption.
- AI Makers – Builders, Founders & Operators: Hands-on innovators building and deploying AI in the real world, from engineers and researchers to founders and product leaders.
- AI for Good: Individuals using AI to advance the public good, spanning education, research, healthcare, climate, public sector, and nonprofit initiatives.
- Community Innovators: Champions from the data science and open-source ecosystem— including Kaggle Grandmasters, community builders, and startups leveraging H2O.ai tools to create novel AI solutions.
The ideal nominee has demonstrated meaningful impact through AI, whether by improving business performance, increasing efficiency, or enhancing quality of life. Candidates will also be evaluated on their leadership, creativity, and commitment to the responsible use of AI.
“Recognizing innovators in the AI for Good category is essential because it highlights stories that inspire new possibilities. As AI continues to shape our world, we must elevate the voices and solutions that are building a more just, inclusive, and compassionate future. I'm honored to serve as a judge for this program and look forward to recognizing those making significant and positive impacts on AI today and into the future.”
Tess Gilman Posner
A judge for this year’s AI 100 and CEO at AI4All
Nominees will be evaluated through a combined process of public submissions, LLM-powered review, and scoring by an expert panel of judges. Winners will be announced this fall and celebrated at a dedicated AI 100 event, bringing together some of the most influential voices in AI.
Nominations are now open and will be accepted on a rolling basis. To nominate a candidate, visit the H2O.ai AI 100 Awards portal at this link.
H2O.ai created the industry's trusted Sovereign AI Platform because organizations should own their AI: their agents, models, data, and results, run anywhere from cloud to air-gapped.
Super Agent orchestrates predictive, generative, and agentic AI in one system, with observability and governance, empowering regulated and public sector organizations to get value from AI. Moving from pilot to production takes expertise, from top-ranked data scientists, including Kaggle Grandmasters, to forward-deployed engineers embedded with customer teams.
Built on a decade of open source, H2O.ai is trusted by 20,000+ organizations, half the Fortune 500. AT&T, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Workday, Progressive Insurance, and NIH rely on H2O.ai to cut cost and risk and own their AI future.
Through its AI for Good program, H2O.ai applies technology and investment to non-profits and academia solving hard problems in health, education, and the environment.
Learn more at h2o.ai.