Fast Company has named GAIA, the Govern AI Assistant from Credo AI, to its 2026 Next Big Things in Tech list. The annual list recognizes breakthrough technologies with the potential to transform industries and shape what comes next.
For us, the recognition points to a problem every enterprise AI leader already feels: AI adoption is moving faster than governance can keep up.
The governance gap is widening
Credo AI's State of AI Governance Survey found that 60% of organizations now deploy AI across multiple departments or company-wide. Only 4% govern it at scale. That gap is where risk builds. Every new use case needs review, every review pulls in risk, legal, compliance, security, data, and the coordination alone can stall a deployment for weeks.
What GAIA does
GAIA is the first AI governance agent purpose-built for enterprises operating at the speed and scale of modern AI deployment. It automates the time-intensive parts of governance work while keeping humans in charge of every decision.
That last point matters. GAIA handles the coordination, documentation, and repetitive assessment work. Your experts still make the judgment and risk calls. The result is work that used to take hours of cross-functional back-and-forth now getting done in minutes.
Additionally, GAIA integrates with your enterprise ecosystem across 30+ global partners: hyperscalers, systems integrators, and audit firms. No rip-and-replace: GAIA works with what you have.
"GAIA represents the next generation of AI governance capabilities—purpose-built for enterprises.", says the 2026 State of AI Governance Research.
Since becoming generally available in 2026, GAIA has helped enterprises reduce governance workflow time by more than 90%. That time goes back to the decisions that actually need human expertise as AI adoption accelerates.
Governance at the Speed of AI Innovation
GAIA reflects a belief we've held since Credo AI was founded: governance should be built into how enterprises build and deploy AI, not bolted on afterward.
“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.
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.”, says Navrina Singh, Founder and CEO, Credo AI.
About the recognition
Next Big Things in Tech honors technologies from established companies, startups, and research teams that are making meaningful progress toward changing the lives of consumers, businesses, and society. Fast Company editor-in-chief Brendan Vaughan said the most exciting innovations "move beyond promise to demonstrate real potential for impact."
We're proud to see enterprise AI governance recognized alongside this year's honorees. It's a signal that the market is starting to treat governance as essential infrastructure, not a compliance afterthought.
Join us in New York
We'll keep the conversation going at our fifth annual AI Trust Summit, "From the Frontier to the Enterprise," on October 22 in New York. The Credo AI Trust Summit brings together the senior AI and governance leaders who are deciding what trustworthy agentic AI and its governance looks like. Register for the AI Trust Summit.
To see the full list, visit Fast Company's 2026 Next Big Things in Tech. To see GAIA in action, request a demo.
For more, read our official press release.
DISCLAIMER. The information we provide here is for informational purposes only and is not intended in any way to represent legal advice or a legal opinion that you can rely on. It is your sole responsibility to consult an attorney to resolve any legal issues related to this information.
.png)
