There’s no shortage of people predicting AI will upend life as we know it, but the reality is that businesses across the Philadelphia region are quietly using it to build tools meant for real-world impact.
Startups are leaning into applied, institution-ready technology, favoring steady growth over AI flash.
Based on some of the conversations with local startups we’ve had in 2025, they’re using AI to spot burnout in hospitals, automate used-car supply chains, modernize classrooms and help institutions make sense of mounting operational pressure.
It’s fair to say the ever-evolving technology is changing the ecosystem landscape.
“The market has gone from a speed game to a strategy game,” Dave Speers, head of product marketing for Philadelphia-based real estate tech company Houwzer, told Technical.ly.
Taken together, a pattern emerges: Philly startups are leaning into applied, institution-ready technology, favoring steady growth over flash.
Here are five trends that illustrate how that approach is taking shape.
1) AI is being deployed to fix invisible operational strain
AI is increasingly aimed at streamlining work that humans already do, but can’t easily scale.
Atalan’s healthcare platform applies machine learning to passively collected electronic health record data to identify burnout and turnover risk among medical professionals. Rather than asking workers to self-report stress, the company looks at how systems themselves contribute to overload.
“Two-thirds of burnout is due to workplace issues,” said Atalan CEO and cofounder Tiffany Chan. “It’s because you’re overworking and have no control over your schedule.” The company focuses on organizational risk factors rather than individual resilience.
A similar philosophy shows up at WhipFlip, which uses AI to automate vehicle appraisal, acquisition and liquidation, making it faster and more consistent.
“The number one pain point in the automotive industry is used vehicle acquisition by the traditional dealer, and we are solving that head on,” said WhipFlip founder Roger Clappe.
Atalan and WhipFlip reflect a broader shift in enterprise AI adoption. According to McKinsey and Deloitte research, the fastest-growing AI use cases are not generative tools for end users, but workforce analytics, supply-chain forecasting, and decision support layered into existing systems.
2) Startups are translating experience into software
A recurring theme is companies that were built and operated by people who spent years dealing with the problem before building technology around it.
E-waste and data security company CyberCrunch grew out of its founder’s background in accounting and scrap operations, where he watched data risk become more critical as devices shrank and regulations tightened.
“When I started, it was me, a truck and an empty warehouse,” CEO Joe Connors said. “Most people never thought about the data impact. They just wanted to get rid of the stuff.”
Education technology platform Yellowdig’s founder Shaunak Roy started the company after frustration with traditional classroom models that hadn’t evolved with technology.
“[The traditional] education model is designed based on the industrial era,” said Roy. “We still look at learning that way. I wanted to challenge that.”
Investors often look for founders whose backgrounds match their market because it reduces risk and enhances credibility.
3) Philly startups are scaling by embedding into institutions
As customer acquisition costs rise and consumer tech growth slows, startups are increasingly turning to institutional buyers with predictable budgets and longer contracts.
Several fast-growing companies in Greater Philadelphia began with individual users in mind, but ultimately shifted toward business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) models that embed them inside universities, hospitals or marketplaces.
MBA admissions platform Clear Admit, for example, started as a one-on-one consulting firm before pivoting to a platform serving business schools directly.
“Instead of working with hundreds of people, we realized we could help hundreds of thousands,” said Clear Admit founder Eliot Ingram, describing the company’s shift toward digital marketing and research services for business schools.
Yellowdig followed a similar path, licensing its engagement platform to colleges and instructors rather than selling directly to students.
“Colleges license our platform and make it available to their students,” Roy said, describing Yellowdig’s B2B2C structure.
4) Regulation and compliance are becoming growth engines
Several founders pointed to regulation as a catalyst that clarified demand and accelerated adoption. As compliance requirements expand, it creates markets for software that helps organizations show that they’re doing things right.
CyberCrunch benefited from the SEC’s cybersecurity disclosure rule, which generally requires public companies to report significant cyber incidents within four business days.
“Any time you have a public entity telling you that you have to disclose data breaches, all of a sudden the board starts getting very finicky,” Connors said. “That really accelerated our momentum.”
Atalan’s platform similarly benefits from growing accountability around workforce sustainability in healthcare.
“It is the responsibility of the employer to make sure that healthcare workers are taken care of,” Chan said, underscoring why health systems are now investing in predictive tools.
5) Philly’s startup culture favors durability over hype
As venture funding normalizes after the pandemic-era boom, regions like Philadelphia are producing startups that, while they may scale more slowly, are often better insulated from market swings.
That was clear in many of our conversations this year with founders, who consistently emphasized service quality and steady growth.
Clear Admit, for example, bootstrapped for years before raising outside capital.
“We’ve grown every year, and we’re profitable,” Ingram said, reflecting on the company’s long-term approach.
WhipFlip, meanwhile, has prioritized strategic investors who understand the industry rather than purely financial backers.
Said Clappe: “It’s better to align with parties in the industry that understand us.”
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