Let’s face it—compliance is boring. But to Lisa Gradow, it’s an exciting target begging for some AI magic. Sure, billion-dollar AI companies like ChatGPT can handle the paperwork, but the software lacks the safety and privacy that corporations—and government regulators—demand. Gradow founded Fides to build secure software to tackle the often monotonous work of financial regulations. Fides’s tech spares us humans the drudgery of tracking deadlines, sourcing regulatory data, and creating legal documents. “Nobody gets claps for doing it very well,” says Gradow. “So it's something that can be and should be automated.” She started Fides in 2021 and has raised $7.6 million in funding from investors including Sequoia and General Catalyst. Current clients include Allianz, Haribo, Faber-Castell and Sequoia. Says Gradow: “For us it’s very important to stay a European company, but with a global footprint.”

As the promise—and threat—of generative AI sits on every CEO’s mind, Gradow leads a wave of innovators spotting opportunities to use the new technology to build smart services. To select the 2025 honorees, Forbes collected nominations from Under 30 alumni and the public, conducted our own research and tapped the expertise of independent judges: Yvonne Bajela, Partner at LocalGlobe and Forbes 30 Under 30 2020 lister; Ondrej Bartos, Founder of Credo Ventures and Forbes Midas Europe 2025 lister; Fiona Gallagher, CEO of Wells Fargo Bank International; and Ingo Uytdehaage, Co-CEO of Adyen.