The Rise of AI-Native Consulting Firms
In the last decade, consulting has undergone countless evolutions — from digital transformation to cloud migration and automation. But as we step deeper into the era of generative AI, a new generation of consulting firms is emerging, one that blends the strategic rigor of management consulting with the scalability and precision of machine learning.
These AI-powered consulting startups aren’t just optimizing processes or advising on digital adoption — they’re actively redefining how organizations think, decide, and operate.
Unlike traditional firms such as McKinsey or Deloitte, which rely heavily on human consultants, these companies use AI “brains” and autonomous analytical systems to surface insights, simulate outcomes, and even automate decision-making — often at a fraction of the time and cost.
The result? A new consulting paradigm — one where AI doesn’t just support consultants, it becomes the consultant.
To understand who’s leading this transformation, Business Insider spoke with venture capital investors and AI specialists who identified four standout companies shaping the next chapter of the consulting industry.
Here are the four AI consulting startups to watch into 2026 — each using artificial intelligence to transform decision-making, data strategy, and client engagement across industries.
1. PromptQL — Automating the Analyst’s Desk
Total Funding: $136 million
Headquarters: San Francisco, California
Founder & CEO: Tanmai Gopal
When you think of consulting, you probably imagine a team of analysts crunching data in spreadsheets for hours. PromptQL aims to make that image obsolete.
This enterprise platform automates much of the analytical work typically performed by consultants — from surfacing insights and preparing reports to running scenario simulations. Clients can use PromptQL to build custom AI analysts by integrating their own internal data with large foundation models such as GPT-5 or Claude.
Once deployed, these AI analysts can perform complex analytical tasks, learn continuously, and even adapt to new datasets automatically.
Tanmai Gopal, PromptQL’s founder, describes the company’s key differentiator as “AI accuracy at scale — without requiring messy data to be prepped or moved elsewhere.”
The company also offers access to its team of human experts who help enterprises manage large-scale AI rollouts — at an impressive consulting rate of $900 per hour.
Why Investors Love It
Lightspeed Venture Partners’ Gaurav Gupta says PromptQL solves one of AI’s biggest commercial hurdles: hallucination control.
“There’s an overconfidence crisis in AI,” Gupta explained. “Most models fail because they sound confident when they’re wrong. PromptQL is building an ecosystem that eliminates that risk for enterprise users. That’s the difference between AI experiments and AI execution.”
The Bottom Line:
As enterprises seek reliability in AI-driven analytics, PromptQL is emerging as a key infrastructure player — positioning itself not as a consulting replacement, but as the future consultant’s core engine.
2. Aily Labs — The “AI Brain” Behind Faster Corporate Decisions
Total Funding: $101 million
Headquarters: Munich, Germany
Founder & CEO: Bianca Anghelina
Founded in 2020 by former Novartis executive Bianca Anghelina, Aily Labs is redefining the meaning of corporate intelligence.
Its flagship product — the “Aily Brain” — is an always-on decision intelligence system that integrates data from across an enterprise, breaking down silos and surfacing strategic recommendations in real time.
“In large corporations, decision-making can take weeks because of fragmented data and slow reporting,” Anghelina explained. “Aily helps teams make informed decisions in minutes — not months.”
Unlike traditional consulting projects that deliver static PowerPoint reports, Aily’s model focuses on embedding an autonomous decision system directly into a company’s daily operations.
The result: executives can query Aily’s AI interface for real-time performance insights — from supply chain bottlenecks in Brazil to revenue trends in North America — and receive data-backed answers instantly.
Why Investors Love It
FPV Ventures led Aily’s $80 million funding round, with cofounder Pegah Ebrahimi calling the startup “an executive partner that never sleeps.”
“Everyone’s collecting information, but very few are turning that into usable intelligence,” Ebrahimi said. “Aily doesn’t just summarize — it interprets, contextualizes, and recommends. That’s where it outperforms both software and human consultants.”
The Bottom Line:
Aily Labs sits at the intersection of data integration, AI modeling, and strategic consulting. As businesses demand AI-native decision infrastructure, Aily’s platform could become the blueprint for intelligent corporate management systems worldwide.
3. Profound — The Marketing Consultant for the AI Search Era
Total Funding: $58.5 million
Headquarters: New York City, New York
Founders: James Boren & Ana Patel
As companies race to understand how generative AI affects brand visibility, Profound has emerged as an unexpected leader in a completely new field: Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).
Just as SEO shaped the early internet, GEO is now shaping the AI web — determining how brands appear in AI-driven searches and chatbot responses.
Profound helps companies monitor, analyze, and optimize how they are mentioned in AI systems like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude. Using real-time data analytics, the platform measures conversational mentions, semantic positioning, and response tone to ensure brand accuracy and visibility across AI channels.
“If SEO made you visible to Google,” said cofounder Ana Patel, “GEO ensures you’re visible to AI — where future consumer decisions will actually happen.”
Why Investors Love It
Saga Ventures, which led Profound’s $40 million Series B, calls it the “800-pound gorilla in the generative search market.”
“A decade ago, marketing consultants ran focus groups to understand consumer perception,” said Saga cofounder Thomson Nguyen. “Profound automates that process at internet scale — continuously learning how brands are perceived by generative AI systems.”
The Bottom Line:
Profound’s rise highlights a new reality: companies can no longer rely on search engines alone. In an era where AI systems curate public perception, Profound gives marketers the consulting tools they need to remain visible, relevant, and trusted.
4. Dialogue AI — Redefining Market Research Through Automation
Total Funding: Undisclosed (Seed Round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners)
Headquarters: San Francisco, California
Founders: Benjamin Lo, Justin Hoang, and Hubert Chen
If PromptQL is automating data analysis, Dialogue AI is automating the research that informs it.
Founded by a trio of former Nextdoor executives, Dialogue is an AI-powered platform designed to revolutionize market research — cutting the typical study timeline from weeks to hours.
The platform automates survey design, participant recruitment, and interview analysis, enabling businesses to conduct real-time research at scale. Teams across design, marketing, and product can now ask nuanced questions and get detailed feedback without needing traditional research firms.
“We want to democratize market research,” said cofounder Justin Hoang. “A designer or engineer should be able to run an insightful study independently, with AI ensuring best practices are followed.”
Why Investors Love It
Lightspeed Partner Faraz Fatemi believes Dialogue AI represents the “end of bottlenecked research.”
“Traditional market research is slow and expensive,” Fatemi said. “Dialogue makes it immediate, scalable, and participatory — a tool not just for researchers, but for everyone making product and business decisions.”
The Bottom Line:
Dialogue AI is reimagining an industry ripe for disruption. As companies demand faster consumer insights in the generative era, Dialogue’s blend of automation and human-like understanding is setting a new consulting standard.
The Next Frontier of Consulting Is Intelligent, Automated, and Always On
The consulting industry is entering an AI-native transformation — and these four startups represent its future.
Where the Big Four once charged by the hour, these AI-driven firms charge by the insight. They blend automation, data science, and domain expertise to deliver continuous value — no slide decks required.
- PromptQL is redefining analytics.
- Aily Labs is automating decision-making.
- Profound is shaping how AI systems perceive brands.
- Dialogue AI is transforming how research happens.
Collectively, they signal a shift toward autonomous advisory systems — platforms that think, analyze, and evolve alongside their clients.
As we move into 2026, the most successful consulting organizations may no longer rely on armies of analysts or global office networks. Instead, they’ll rely on intelligent platforms capable of scaling knowledge, adapting to context, and learning continuously.
The age of human-only consulting is fading. The future belongs to hybrid intelligence — where human strategy meets machine precision.
And these AI consulting startups are leading the way.