Morningstar has introduced the Morningstar PitchBook GenAI 20 Index, a novel benchmark aimed at providing investors with exposure to dedicated generative AI companies. This first-of-its-kind index will track eligible companies through their entire lifecycle, from private markets to public listings, addressing a significant gap in traditional market benchmarks that often overlook private firms driving innovation.
As the landscape of generative AI evolves, Morningstar emphasizes that many companies contributing to its most impactful advancements remain private. “As generative AI reshapes productivity, business models and competitive dynamics across the global economy, many companies driving its most significant breakthroughs remain private and unrepresented in traditional market benchmarks,” the company stated.
The Morningstar PitchBook GenAI 20 Index aims to offer targeted, rules-based exposure to businesses that are pure-play generative AI innovators. This structure allows the index to continuously monitor companies as they transition from private to public markets, ensuring a comprehensive representation of the sector.
Sanjay Arya, head of innovation at Morningstar Indexes, remarked, “Staying at the forefront of innovation in generative AI requires a clear view of opportunities across both public and private markets. As private markets play an increasingly critical role in technology development, having transparent and measurable benchmarks is essential. We believe this new index helps provide clarity to one of the most important growth themes of the next decade.”
Dimitri Zabelin, a senior investment research analyst at PitchBook, highlighted the transformative potential of generative AI, stating, “GenAI represents a fundamental shift in how software is built, deployed and scaled across the global economy. Unlike prior waves of innovation, its horizontal nature allows core generative models to influence nearly every sector simultaneously, reshaping workflows, products and decision-making at unprecedented speed.”
As generative AI continues to evolve, understanding the foundational companies driving this change becomes increasingly vital. Zabelin added, “As this transformation accelerates, the companies advancing foundational GenAI capabilities are increasingly central to how value is created in the technology ecosystem. Understanding how this layer evolves, consolidates and scales is essential to interpreting the next phase of technological change.”
Morningstar’s PitchBook will leverage a robust classification framework to identify enterprises that are advancing essential technologies such as machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, and agentic AI. By focusing on these core areas, the index aims to provide investors with insights into the companies that are pivotal to the future of technology.
The launch of the Morningstar PitchBook GenAI 20 Index reflects a growing recognition of the importance of generative AI within the investment landscape. As the demand for advanced AI solutions increases across various sectors, the index could serve as a valuable tool for investors looking to navigate the complexities of this dynamic marketplace. By tracking both private and public companies, the index offers a unique perspective on emerging trends and opportunities that could shape the future of the technology sector.
In conclusion, the Morningstar PitchBook GenAI 20 Index not only fills a critical void in the current investment benchmarks but also provides a forward-looking framework for understanding the implications of generative AI on the global economy. As the industry evolves, this index may become a key resource for investors seeking to engage with one of the most transformative technologies of our time.
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