The AI market is red-hot and getting hotter—so it’s no surprise that 95+ brands are currently buying sponsorship or media in the AI & Machine Learning category. And with some 58K AI companies worldwide, according to research firm Tracxn, there's a huge opportunity for other brands in this quickly emerging industry to make an early splash in the sponsorship world.

IT and software development company Globant leads the category with 17 sponsorship/media deals, partnering with rights holders like FIFAe, LaLiga, and the recently concluded FIFA Women’s World Cup. Mobileye, which develops autonomous driving technologies and advanced driver-assistance systems, reigns supreme in sponsorships among AI brands with 10 deals—Tresor by Car Collection and GT World Challenge Europe among them.

AI & Machine Learning brands have garnered social engagement of 2.5M with sponsored posts in the last 12 months—60% of which comes from TikTok, outperforming Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter) combined. AI is quickly heating up on the uber-popular platform, which was home to the top three most engaging AI posts of the last year. The top performer—a co-branded post by AI platform Caktus (sponsor of Angel Reese and the Cavinder twins) and influencer TechJoyce—engaged 378K users. 

Not surprisingly, AI brands are also finding high-profile ways to activate in sports. DarkTrace, an AI cybersecurity company, sponsors the McLaren F1 team, which prominently features its logo on the rear wing of its cars. 

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