How the ranking works

Every fast-growing private company is now, in practice, an AI company — the way every company became an internet company. A list of “AI companies” therefore says little. What the market actually asks of a late-stage company is whether it is bringing in revenue, and how fast that revenue is growing. The Late Stage 50 ranks on those two disclosed numbers and nothing else: no panel, no vote, no judgement score.

1. Privately held. No shares listed on any public exchange at the cut-off date. A company that lists or is acquired between editions is removed at the next edition and shown as graduated.
2. Operating, venture- or growth-backed, founded after 2000. Investment vehicles, holding companies, sovereign entities and subsidiaries of listed groups are excluded.
3. A revenue figure that passes the sourcing standard, disclosed within the 15 months before the cut-off.

• Rank by annualised revenue in US dollars, largest first.
• Annualised revenue is the most recent of: full-year reported revenue, or annualised run-rate / ARR where that is what the company or source discloses. Every row states which was used.
• Where a company gives a floor (“more than US$1 billion”), the floor is used and the row carries a “+”.
• Growth is the year-on-year change against the comparable prior figure of the same type, or the rate the company itself has stated. Where neither exists, growth shows “—” and is never estimated. A 20% growth floor applies where growth is known.
• Non-USD figures are converted at the Reserve Bank of Australia's published rate on the last trading day before the cut-off (RBA exchange rates, 16 October 2026): 1 GBP = US$1.3303, 1 EUR = US$1.1228, 1 AUD = US$0.6947, 1 NZD = US$0.5655, 1 CNY = US$0.1495.
• Ties on revenue break on growth, then on the more recent disclosure.

• A figure must come from a page we have opened, not a search snippet or a secondary summary. Every figure on every page carries its source, the date it was published and the date we read it; each profile ends with a numbered list of references.
• Payment volume, gross merchandise value, trading volume, bookings, backlog and contract value are not revenue.
• A company with no figure that passes the standard is not ranked. It appears on the watchlist with the reason, and no number.
• Every figure is listed in the source register with its organisation, tier, URL and date accessed.

This edition's cut-off is 17 October 2026. The list is re-cut each year, with a mid-year refresh of figures that does not change the order. Research for the next edition re-verifies every company's status against exchange listings before anything is published.

A company appears because its numbers qualify. There is no nomination, no panel, no fee and no way to buy a place. The list says who is biggest and who is growing fastest; it never says who to buy.

Companies and readers can challenge any figure by email to info@investingplatform.com.au. Corrections are logged with a date in the change log below.

• 2026-10-17 Inaugural research pass; the ranking basis changed from a five-measure judgement score to disclosed revenue and growth.