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RankmyAI, the independent AI evaluation platform of the Hogeschool van Amsterdam, published its official March 2026 rankings on 24 April 2026. The most notable addition is a set of twelve new categories focused on military and defence AI, through which the platform enters a segment that has until now been barely mapped in any systematic way.
RankmyAI is a non-profit initiative that launched in October 2023 and is supported by the Centre for Market Insights (CMI) and the Centre of Expertise Applied AI, both affiliated with the Hogeschool van Amsterdam. The database now contains more than 58,000 AI tools and companies.
The expansion into military and defence applications is the most significant step in the March update. RankmyAI introduced twelve specialised subcategories, including counter-UAS (anti-drone) systems, cyber defence and threat intelligence, humanoid and quadruped robotics, and intelligence, surveillance & reconnaissance (ISR). Additional dedicated lists cover military drones (UAV), multi-domain system coordination, predictive maintenance, simulation and wargaming, and soldier performance systems. The defence categories are further complemented by space and geospatial intelligence, unmanned ground vehicles (UGV), and unmanned maritime systems (USV/UUV).
With this classification, RankmyAI aims to provide an overview of a market that has grown substantially in recent years, but where comparative information remains fragmented. By applying the same methodology used for other categories, the platform seeks to enable independent and transparent evaluations in this segment as well.
RankmyAI was founded by Prof. Dr. Jesse Weltevreden, professor of digital commerce at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam, and Wilco Verdoold, lecturer and researcher at the same institution. The scientific team also includes Frederik Situmeang as scientific director, Jurian Baas as scientific adviser, and data scientist David Kakanis, all affiliated with the HvA.
The platform focuses on objectively ranking AI tools on the basis of measurable criteria, without commercial interests from providers playing a role. Because of its non-profit structure and institutional anchoring at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam, it does not receive direct funding from the companies it evaluates. The rankings are updated monthly to keep pace with new tools and market shifts.
Alongside the defence expansion, RankmyAI presented in April 2026 an overview of the ten highest-rated AI tools for writing grant applications. Grant processes are labour-intensive and require knowledge of specific formats and requirements, an environment in which specialised AI tools have been gaining ground in recent times. By highlighting this category separately, the platform responds to the needs of organisations, including knowledge institutions, scale-ups and SMEs, that are actively seeking funding through European or national grant programmes.
Specific tool names or scores from that top ten cannot be verified on the basis of available source material and are therefore not listed here.
The move into defence AI aligns with a broader trend in which European governments and defence organisations are increasing their investment in AI applications for security and military logistics, as seen in the EU's defence technology programme and the growing activity of startups at the intersection of dual-use technology. For Dutch founders and investors active in this segment, a structured, independent catalogue offers greater visibility into the competitive landscape. The fact that an academic non-profit initiative based in Amsterdam is providing this overview also illustrates the role Dutch knowledge institutions play in making AI market segments accessible that are commercially still very much in flux.
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