The annual list recognizes GAIA as a breakthrough technology shaping the future of enterprise AI governance

Credo AI, the category-defining platform for trusted AI Governance, today announced that GAIA, the Govern AI Assistant, has been named to Fast Company’s Next Big Things in Tech, an annual list recognizing breakthrough technologies with the potential to transform industries and shape the future.

Credo AI’s GAIA is the first AI Governance agent purpose-built for enterprises operating at the speed and scale of modern AI deployment. GAIA automates time-intensive governance work while preserving human authority over every decision, helping teams complete work in minutes that previously required hours of cross-functional coordination. Since becoming generally available in early 2026, GAIA has helped enterprises reduce governance workflow time by more than 90%, giving teams more time to focus on judgement and risk decisions as AI adoption accelerates.

The recognition comes as enterprise AI adoption continues to outpace organizations’ ability to govern it. Credo AI’s State of AI Governance Survey found 60% of organizations now deploy AI across multiple departments or company-wide, but only 4% govern it at scale. GAIA helps enterprises handle growing volumes of AI use cases without making governance a bottleneck to adoption.

“We’re proud to be recognized by Fast Company in Applied AI for the second time. This category is where the promise of AI faces its real test. Frontier models and agents can do astonishing things, but their impact depends on what happens when they meet the reality of an enterprise: complex workflows, sensitive data, existing systems, and decisions that affect people’s lives,” said Navrina Singh, Founder and CEO of Credo AI. “That’s the work we’re proud to do at Credo AI. Our job is to embed trust at every consequential point and give organizations the evidence to demonstrate that trust every day. When we get that right, we unlock the future we want: AI that can improve lives at scale because people can rely on it.”

Fast Company’s Next Big Things in Tech recognizes innovative technologies developed by established companies, startups, and research teams that are making meaningful progress toward transforming the lives of consumers, businesses, and society. This year’s honorees span a variety of industries, with each innovation demonstrating the potential to create significant impact in the years ahead.

“The most exciting technology innovations are the ones that move beyond promise to demonstrate real potential for impact,” said Brendan Vaughan, editor-in-chief of Fast Company. “The companies and teams recognized on this year’s list are tackling ambitious problems with new ideas, products, and approaches that have the potential to fundamentally shape the years ahead.”

Credo AI will extend the conversation around the future of enterprise AI to New York on Oct. 22 at its fifth annual AI Trust Summit, “From the Frontier to the Enterprise,” where AI leaders will explore what becomes possible when organizations get AI right. Learn more and register here.

For more information or to view the complete Fast Company 2026 Next Big Things in Tech list, visit here.

About Credo AI

Credo AI is the enterprise AI Governance platform that helps organizations discover, govern, and monitor AI across models, applications, agents, and third-party vendors. Built for the realities of Generative and Agentic AI, Credo AI gives risk, compliance, security, legal, and AI teams one system to inventory AI, enforce policy, assess risk, and produce audit-ready evidence. The platform supports major frameworks and regulations including the EU AI Act, NIST AI RMF, and ISO 42001, and extends governance into emerging areas such as agent oversight and Shadow AI discovery. Credo AI is recognized by Forrester and Gartner for leadership in AI governance. To know more, visit www.credo.ai.

About Fast Company

Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with fellow business publication Inc. For more information, please visit fastcompany.com.

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"We’re proud to be recognized by Fast Company in Applied AI for the second time," said Navrina Singh, Founder and CEO of Credo AI. "This category is where the promise of AI faces its real test."