SimilarWeb knowledge: This obscure AI startup grew 8,658% whereas OpenAI crawled at 9%

SimilarWeb‘s newest World AI Tracker report reveals dramatic shifts within the AI panorama, portray a transparent image of market winners and losers. The great report tracks visitors patterns throughout numerous AI device classes, offering essential insights for {industry} strategists and traders.

DevOps and code completion instruments lead the pack with a outstanding 72% year-over-year development within the 12-week interval ending February 28, 2025. In the meantime, conventional academic expertise platforms proceed their downward spiral, declining 20% throughout the identical interval as AI alternate options achieve traction.

These numbers reveal the stark actuality of AI’s market impression: We’ve moved past hypothesis into precise market restructuring. The dramatic contrasts between hovering developer instruments and plummeting EdTech platforms present how quickly AI is redrawing aggressive boundaries. The winners aren’t simply technically superior; they’re basically reimagining how issues are solved in methods legacy programs can not match.

Let’s look at essentially the most stunning takeaways from SimilarWeb’s newest intelligence report that showcase the evolving AI panorama.

AI-powered developer instruments present extraordinary momentum, with 72% year-over-year development. DevOps and code completion instruments have emerged because the class with the clearest product-market match within the generative AI period.

Instruments like Cursor (97% development) and Replit (67% development) show that AI’s most fast impression could also be on software program improvement itself — making a virtuous cycle the place AI accelerates the creation of extra superior AI programs. This means that essentially the most transformative results of AI within the close to time period could also be invisible to customers however profoundly necessary for technological progress.

2. The digital freelance contraction

Visitors to digital freelance platforms has steadily declined by 20% all through the reporting interval, elevating profound questions on the way forward for data work. As AI instruments change into extra able to producing design belongings, written content material and even code, the standard freelance market mannequin seems more and more threatened.

Each main platform on this class confirmed important declines: Fiverr (-22%), Upwork (-18%), Freelancer (-15%) and Toptal (-35%). This sample suggests that companies could also be shifting finances from human freelancers to AI instruments for sure classes of labor, notably in content material creation and primary design duties.

3. The resilience of design platforms amid AI artwork development

Regardless of the proliferation of AI picture technology instruments exhibiting 8% development by February 2025, conventional design platforms have demonstrated outstanding resilience with 16% development in the identical interval. Canva maintained 18% development, whereas Adobe Categorical and Figma confirmed 19% and eight% development, respectively.

This challenges the narrative that AI instruments cannibalize their conventional counterparts. As a substitute, knowledge means that established design platforms could also be efficiently integrating AI capabilities into their choices, making a complementary moderately than aggressive relationship with generative applied sciences.

4. Conventional EdTech’s accelerating decline

Conventional EdTech platforms present a constant downward pattern culminating in a 20% year-over-year decline, with the trajectory worsening over time (as indicated by the “falling” pattern designation).

Particular person platforms inform an much more dramatic story. Chegg and Course Hero, as soon as dominant gamers within the homework assist area, noticed visitors plummet by 58% and 59%, respectively. These platforms, which constructed their enterprise fashions round human tutors and crowdsourced research supplies, seem notably susceptible to AI-powered alternate options that provide prompt, personalised help.

5. The meteoric rise of area of interest AI challengers

Essentially the most beautiful development story isn’t from a longtime tech large however from relative newcomers. Deepseek, within the common AI class, posted an astonishing 8,658% development within the 12-week interval ending February 2025. Whereas OpenAI’s properties grew by simply 9% in the identical timeframe, these rising contenders are redefining market dynamics.

Within the DevOps class, Lovable demonstrated equally explosive development, with will increase measured within the hundreds of proportion factors all through the monitoring interval. These patterns counsel that the AI market stays extremely dynamic, with alternatives for specialised instruments to seize important market share regardless of the presence of established gamers.

The brand new AI panorama takes form

The SimilarWeb report provides extra than simply visitors statistics — it supplies a window into the sensible impression of AI applied sciences throughout sectors. The info reveals a nuanced image the place AI isn’t merely changing current instruments, however is creating new worth in particular domains whereas difficult established enterprise fashions in others.

For companies navigating this shifting panorama, the message is obvious: AI adoption isn’t a monolithic pattern, however a sequence of specialised transformations taking place at completely different charges throughout sectors. The instruments that achieve traction aren’t essentially essentially the most technologically superior, however people who remedy actual issues for particular person teams.

As builders use AI to speed up software program creation, freelance platforms wrestle to compete with automation and established design instruments combine AI capabilities, we’re witnessing not simply technological evolution however financial restructuring. On this surroundings, understanding precise utilization patterns — not simply technological capabilities — turns into important for strategic decision-making.

The AI revolution could also be uneven, however its route is unmistakable. The platforms that thrive might be people who harness AI’s capabilities to create new worth moderately than merely changing current human work. The actual winners gained’t be essentially the most refined AI fashions, however the instruments that use AI to empower people to perform what was beforehand inconceivable.