The Index · 38 categories · 2,309 tools · Edition 19

Categories of practice.

38 working categories — from the foundation models that anchor the field to the niche slivers we started tracking last quarter. Hand-curated taxonomy, revised every edition.

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The top three · this edition

Categories that define the field

01
↑ +2 this month

AI/ML Models155 tools

The base layer of the field — frontier LLMs, multimodal models, and the inference platforms that serve them. Where listings move slowly and stakes are highest.

Editor’s pickAnthropic — long-context plus the agentic stack pulled ahead in Q1.
02
↑ +5 this month

Developer Tools322 tools

From inline completions to full agentic IDEs. The fastest-moving category we track — three new entrants this month, two retirements.

Editor’s pickCursor — the year's fastest-growing dev tool, full stop.
03
↑ +7 this month

AI Audio Creation78 tools

Cloning, TTS, and real-time voice agents have collapsed into a single category. The latency war is over; vibe is the new battleground.

Editor’s pickCartesia — sub-200ms first-token is a real product moat.
04
↑ +4 this month

AI Art & Image Creation161 tools

Mature category; leadership has stabilised around three frontier models, and tooling has split between consumer apps and pro pipelines.

Editor’s pickMidjourney v7 — quality is plateauing, but the workflow ergonomics moved out ahead.
05
↑ +6 this month

AI Agents197 tools

General-purpose AI agents — task execution, browser control, and computer use. Real workflows are emerging; the listing churn is high.

Editor’s pickManus — clearest product narrative of the new agent crop.
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All categories

38 shown · 38 total · sortable
An editorial reading of the field

By stage

Mature

Settled categories with established leaders. Slow-moving listings, high-stakes choices.

Hot in 2026

Fastest-growing categories — five-or-more net new entrants this edition.

Emergent

Categories we started tracking in the last six editions. Coverage is still growing.

Declining

Listings shrinking — consolidation, sunset, or absorbed into broader categories.

This edition · sponsored placement
Available
This week’s category sponsorship slot is open. One brand gets the field-leading category for the edition.

Sponsorship is editorial-reviewed and disclosed. We won’t cover a tool we wouldn’t list in print.

Editorial digests

Read across categories

Cross-reference
186
tools have been laid to rest.

Discontinued, acquired-and-sunset, acquired-and-shipping. Three outcomes, one registry.

Read the Graveyard →
Edition
Vol. 4 · Iss. 19
Last reviewed
2026-05-30
Manual editorial pass each edition
Index size
38 categories
2,309 tools indexed
Vol. 4 · Issue 19 · Last reviewed 2026-05-30

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