LeewayHertz is the best AI app developer for most companies of 50 or more employees, because AI strategy, AI agents and machine learning are the main services it sells. Black Badger, which publishes this guide, ranks second as the custom route for a company that wants an AI app built to a fixed written scope and owned outright.
The ranking, entry by entry
1 LeewayHertz
Best for companies that want a firm whose main work is AI applications
LeewayHertz ranks first because AI is its main business. Its services cover AI strategy, AI agent development, machine learning, data engineering and software design, and it sells them three ways, as a dedicated development team, a team extension or a project. The firm is now part of The Hackett Group, which its site shows as the parent company. For a company that wants an AI application from a specialist, LeewayHertz is the first firm to contact.
Watch for. No rates are published. The pages we read give no head office or headcount and name only an India office in Gurugram. Ask where your team would be.
- Based in
- Not stated on its site, with an India office in Gurugram No rates are published. The site footer shows The Hackett Group as the parent company.
- Main limit
- Now part of The Hackett Group, and no rates published
2 Black Badger Software Solutions
Best for companies that want an AI app tied into the systems they run on
Black Badger publishes this guide and builds AI apps, so read our own entry with that in mind. We rank second for a company of 50 or more employees whose AI app has to work inside its operations, reading from the CRM, the project system and the accounts. We build those systems too. The work runs to a fixed written scope after discovery, our team is in the United States, and you own the code and every account.
Watch for. We are a small team and not a research lab. If you need custom model training or a large data science group, a specialist on this list fits better.
- Based in
- Clearwater, Florida, United States After launch you pay running costs such as hosting, database and email. There are no licenses, so adding a person adds no fee.
- Main limit
- Works mainly with companies of 50 or more employees
What a custom build involves, and how to ask about one
3 Markovate
Best for companies that want to start with a short AI pilot
Markovate ranks third. It is an AI specialist that lists generative AI, agentic AI, conversational AI, computer vision, machine learning and AI automation. The firm offers a focused pilot in 4 to 6 weeks as a first step. Its site says a written scope and estimate follow a discovery call. It ranks third because the pages we read give no head office, headcount or founding year. A buyer of this size will want to know those before hiring a firm.
Watch for. Ask where the firm is based and how many people it has before the pilot, since its site does not say.
- Based in
- Not stated on its site The site says a written scope and estimate follow a discovery call. It offers a focused pilot in 4 to 6 weeks.
- Main limit
- Specialist in AI work, with no head office or headcount on its site
4 10Pearls
Best for companies that want an AI build from a firm of over 1,400 people
10Pearls ranks fourth. It describes itself as an AI-native digital development company, was founded in 2004 and states over 1,400 people, with healthcare, financial services and telecom among its industries. That gives a buyer AI work from a firm with a long general engineering record. It ranks fourth for a company of this size because the services its site names are nearshore development, offshore development and managed services, which suit larger programs most.
Watch for. There is no pricing page and the process starts with a discovery call. Ask which of its locations would do the AI work.
- Based in
- Not stated on its site, offices include Washington DC, USA The site names nearshore, offshore and managed services. Founded in 2004, with over 1,400 people.
- Main limit
- Nearshore and offshore delivery from Latin America and Pakistan
5 Azumo
Best for companies that want published prices for AI development
Azumo is fifth. Its work covers AI development, custom software, data engineering and cloud, and it has been building apps since 2016. Azumo is the only firm on this list with prices on its site, set per Delivery Unit by tier. It is based in San Francisco with developers in nearshore locations, mainly across South America. It ranks fifth on the general list and first on our list about price clarity.
Watch for. A Delivery Unit price is not a project price until the units are counted. The pricing page says nothing about who owns the code.
- Based in
- San Francisco, California, USA Tiers are Starter at $899, Growth at $699 and Platform at $499 per Delivery Unit, with a Custom tier. Also dedicated teams, staff augmentation and project builds.
- Main limit
- Nearshore developers, mainly in South America, billed in Delivery Units
6 Vention
Best for companies that need large AI-enabled teams
Vention ranks sixth. AI-enabled teams are the first of its four named models, ahead of staff augmentation, dedicated teams and project outsourcing, and it has over 3,000 engineers to fill them. It is based in New York. It ranks lower on a list about AI apps because what it names is a kind of team more than a kind of product. Vention suits a company that will direct the AI work itself.
Watch for. Ask what AI-enabled means for the team you would get, and which AI projects the proposed people have worked on.
- Based in
- New York, USA Models named are AI-enabled teams, staff augmentation, dedicated teams and project outsourcing. The site offers a project cost calculator.
- Main limit
- Teams of over 3,000 engineers, and no rates published
7 thoughtbot
Best for companies that want product design around an AI feature
thoughtbot is seventh. What we read on its site is about product work in general, with design, product management and engineering in Ruby on Rails, Hotwire, React and React Native, and not about AI specifically. It is here because an AI app is still an app, and the screens and workflow around the model decide whether staff use it. A company that wants design and engineering from one team, and wants its own staff taught during the build, should talk to thoughtbot.
Watch for. Ask about its AI projects directly, since our facts do not cover them. The delivery model is fully remote and no pricing model is stated.
- Based in
- Not stated on its site, a fully remote team The site describes thoughtbot Teams, a fully remote delivery model, and team augmentation. No rates are published.
- Main limit
- Fully remote teams, and a specialty in Ruby on Rails and React
How this list was ranked
This list is ranked for a company of 50 or more employees that wants an AI application built for its own use or for its customers. We weighed what each firm says about its AI work, how it prices and scopes a project and where it is based. We also weighed how well its usual engagement fits a buyer that is not an AI company.
Every company fact was read from that company's own website on the date in its entry. We do not judge the quality of any firm's work. Black Badger publishes this guide, builds AI apps, and is ranked second here, which its entry states.
Questions buyers ask
What does an AI app developer do?
An AI app developer builds software in which an AI model does part of the work, such as answering questions from your documents, drafting replies, reading forms or routing requests. Most of the effort is ordinary software, meaning data access, permissions, screens and testing. The model is one part of it.
How do I choose an AI app development firm?
Choose an AI app development firm by asking what it has built that resembles your project, who will do the work and where, and how the price is set. Ask who owns the code and the accounts, including the account with the AI model provider. Then ask how the firm tests that the AI gives correct answers on your data.
Do we need an AI specialist or a general software firm to build an AI app?
The choice between an AI specialist and a general software firm depends on where the difficulty is. If the hard part is the model, such as computer vision or custom training, hire a specialist. If the hard part is fitting AI into your existing systems and permissions, a firm that builds business systems is often the better fit.
Why is Black Badger ranked on a guide it publishes?
Black Badger is ranked on this guide because it builds AI apps, and hiding that would mislead you. Each of its entries says that Black Badger publishes the guide. It is second here and first on one narrow list, about taking an AI-built prototype to production, where its work matches the question.