Billion-Dollar Culture Secrets
Reading Time: 12 Minutes
You might roll your eyes at the words "company culture".
You might think it's become a hype term. But these billion-dollar companies don't think so. They take culture very seriously.
Here's why you should, too.
In 2025, we're past snappy slogans or free snacks in the break room. Culture is the game. It's how businesses move fast and win. From AI labs to fast-growing SaaS startups, the best have built their organisations to evolve with change.
It's a non-negotiable. Period.
The thing about culture that makes it such a strategic advantage is that it can't be copied and pasted by a competitor.
It's the unique way things get done. It's like your own lore.
There are two types of people. I've worked with leaders who looked at me like an alien when I mentioned culture. I've also worked with others who just got it from the get-go. In all honesty, the latter are the ones that stand out.
These are companies I'd recommend without hesitation.
Funnily enough, the ones who cared the most? They happen to be winning.
So, let's set aside the hype for now and explore 12 companies that are getting their culture right:
Anthropic
Nvidia
OpenAI
DeepMind
Perplexity AI
Stability AI
Cohere
Notion
Hugging Face
Runway
Relativity Space
GitLab
1. Anthropic - Safety-First Culture
💰 Valuation: $61.5 billion (2025)
📍 Known for: Backed by Amazon, Google, and others. Creator of Claude AI.
At Anthropic, safety isn't a tickbox. It's part of the company's DNA.
CEO Dario Amodei describes AI safety as "a solvable, though very hard, problem." The team treats it with that same seriousness, building guardrails into every layer of their organisation.
Their Responsible Scaling Policy works like a lab safety protocol: If something feels risky, then stop. Reassess. Rethink.
Even when working at light speed, their main goal remains clear.
What Sets Them Apart:
→ Their structure reflects their values: As a Public Benefit Corporation, Anthropic is legally allowed to prioritise the public good over profit.
→ Built-in accountability: An independent Long-Term Benefit Trust can step in if safety is at risk.
→ Culture from the inside out: President Daniela Amodei describes the culture as collaborative, purpose-driven, and full of genuine curiosity.
→ Anthropic is a team dedicated to advancing AI ethically and thoughtfully.
Takeaway:
Anthropic proves that slowing down can be a competitive advantage. Especially when building world-changing technology.
2. Nvidia - Learning At Hyper-Speed
💰 Valuation: $2.5 trillion (2025)
📍 Known for: Publicly listed. One of the world's most valuable companies, providing hardware that powers much of today's AI.
At Nvidia, learning is the default setting.
CEO Jensen Huang openly champions experimentation and honest feedback. He's known for making comments like, "If you don't experiment, you won't innovate."
At Nvidia, testing, failing, learning, and iterating are how the work gets done. Teams are essentially encouraged to "Move fast and break things."
They've made learning a part of their tech stack, too:
→ Omniverse is a platform for creating virtual worlds in moments.
→ Rescale is a cloud-based simulation platform that runs real-time tests and simulations, cutting development time from hours to seconds.
What Sets Them Apart?
→ A high-speed, high-pressure culture that's perfect for problem-solvers who work at speed.
→ New hires are screened for adaptability and fast thinking, not just technical depth.
→ They invested nearly $13 billion in R&D in 2024.
→ Ranked for agility, innovation, and performance by MIT Sloan.
Takeaway:
At Nvidia, learning isn't optional. Their core message is that to build a culture that scales quickly, you must put experimentation at its core.
3. OpenAI - Cross-Team Creativity
💰 Valuation: $300 billion (2025)
📍 Known for: Developing ChatGPT. Microsoft also backs them.
OpenAI is built on a simple but powerful belief: Breakthroughs happen when different minds come together.
From engineers and researchers to policy experts and product managers, OpenAI loves cross-functional learning. Siloes aren't a thing here.
Their ethos is to "ship and iterate," which means they build fast, test fast, and learn fast. They apply this mindset to:
→ AI model releases (like GPT-4o and Sora)
→ Internal reviews
→ Project kickoffs
→ Shared learning rituals and feedback loops
→ OpenAI learns in public by openly sharing wins, lessons, and even mistakes.
What Sets Them Apart?
→ CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman describe OpenAI as "mission-first."
→ They hire for curiosity, adaptability, and growth potential (not just elite credentials)
While some former employees describe the culture as intense or "cultlike," many characterise it as a rare place to work on world-changing ideas alongside top talent.
Takeaway:
OpenAI's cross-team culture and fast iterative creativity have helped them stay ahead of the AI arms race so far.
4. DeepMind - Curiosity As An Operating System
💰 Estimated Value: While part of Alphabet/Google, its speculated valuation is anywhere between $3 billion and $700 billion if independent.
📍 Known for: Leading AI research and for breakthroughs like AlphaFold.
At DeepMind, curiosity isn't just one of their values. It's basically the source code for everything they do.
Demis Hassabis, their CEO, says their mission is: "to solve intelligence to advance science and benefit humanity."
And they take that mission seriously through relentless experimentation and a deep commitment to playing the long game.
Whether it's mastering protein folding (the process by which proteins assume their 3D shape) or training AI agents to learn across generations, DeepMind asks uncomfortable questions and then dives headfirst into the messy, iterative process of solving them.
Their breakthrough project, AlphaFold (which predicts 3D protein structures), wasn't a fluke. It was the result of years of trial, error, and learning through failure.
What Sets Them Apart?
→ Cross-disciplinary teams: Researchers work alongside Ethicists, Neuroscientists, and even Nuclear Physicists.
→ Reflection is embedded. Tools like confidence metrics and feedback loops mimic the scientific method.
→ Knowledge is shared: Their open-source release of 200+ million protein predictions has impacted millions of researchers worldwide.
Takeaway:
DeepMind has built a culture where deep inquiry, collaboration, and continuous reflection drive real, world-changing innovation.
5. Perplexity AI - Flat Structure, Fast Decisions
💰 Valuation: $18B+ (2025)
📍 Known for: A hyper-growth AI startup known for its real-time answers
Perplexity AI has grown fast. And part of that is because their team works fast, too.
With fewer than 100 employees, they've focused on keeping things simple: fewer layers of management, fewer bottlenecks, and faster decision-making.
CEO Aravind Srinivas calls it an "answer engine," not just a search engine. They're building something that helps people find answers quickly, making it a cool tool for anyone needing quick insights (basically, all of us).
That mindset shows up in how they work. They use tools like Jitter, a UI design tool for fast design changes. They encourage everyone, from Engineers to Product Leads, to continually test and refine their work.
There's no red tape in sight.
What Sets Them Apart?
→ Small team, flat structure – which means people can make decisions quickly.
→ Lots of feedback and quick fixes – they improve things as they go.
→ Learning happens in real-time – by trying things, seeing what works, and adjusting quickly.
Takeaway:
Their internal agility mirrors the product's promise: fast, accurate, and efficient.
It's no surprise, then, that they now handle over 100 million queries a week. A big reason for this is the simplicity behind the scenes.
6. Stability AI - Culture Built On Community And Code
💰 Valuation: $1B+ (2025)
📍 Known for: Open-source generative models like Stable Diffusion
Stability AI is built around the idea that powerful AI tools should be available to everyone.
And their culture goes hand in hand, revolving around openness.
Instead of keeping their technology behind closed doors, they open-source it, allowing anyone to use, adapt, or build upon it, like developers, researchers, artists, and hobbyists from all over the world.
This open approach has created one of the most active AI communities in the world.
Their culture is all about breaking down the barriers to creativity, giving permission for anyone, anywhere, to contribute to the next big breakthrough.
What Sets Them Apart?
→ They prioritise openness with tools like Stable Diffusion (an AI model that generates images from text prompts) and Stable LM (a language model) that are free to use and modify.
→ They rely on a global community, through platforms like GitHub, and Stability AI highlights collective power.
→ They focus on access over control by encouraging creativity at scale.
Founder Emad Mostaque called open access a "moral imperative", and even after his departure in 2024, that set the tone. And CTO Hanno Basse described their strength as "scientific creativity and community building."
Takeaway:
While this model isn't without challenges, open-source companies can face financial strain, rapid turnover, and complex coordination. However, wins like Stable Diffusion (one of the most downloaded AI tools) demonstrate the power of creating a culture that extends beyond the company itself.
7. Cohere - Reliability Rules
Code
💰 Valuation: $5.5 billion (2025)
📍 Known for: Language model APIs and enterprise LLMs
The black cat of language models.
While many AI startups are racing for attention and headlines, Cohere takes a more discreet approach.
At Cohere, calm and reliability are at the heart of the culture, which might sound a little boring. But their success is anything but that.
They mainly work with big companies - think Fortune 500 banks and insurance companies, that can't afford to "move fast and break" things.
That means they don't rush to launch new features. They take their time, test carefully, and ensure everything works properly before it goes live. Their "Secure AI Frontier Model Framework" reads more like a cybersecurity playbook than a startup guide. It outlines strict procedures for assessing risk, testing rigorously, and staying transparent.
They also let companies choose how to use their tools:
→ Some run Cohere's models on their servers.
→ Others use private cloud setups.
→ This flexibility enables clients to maintain control.
What Sets Them Apart?
→ They write everything down using tools like Notion to stay organised and act as their "second brain," linking everything from code to ideas in one place.
→ They focus on doing things right, not fast.
→ Internally, the team values clear thinking, not constant urgency.
→ CEO Aidan Gomez has stated that he's not pursuing abstract goals, such as superintelligent AI. Instead, he wants to use AI to solve real-world human problems.
Takeaway:
Cohere might appear discreet to an outsider, but they've partnered with big players like Nvidia, Oracle, and Salesforce. Their success proves that control and reliability can scale at a time when risk and speed are praised.
8. Notion - Knowledge Rituals That Scale
💰 Valuation: $10B+ (2025)
📍 Known for: Productivity platform blending docs, wikis, and AI
Notion walks their talk.
The tool they build is also the tool they use to run the company.
So, every team, whether HR, Design, or Engineering, uses Notion to organise and share their work. New starters don't just get a PDF or induction slide deck. They gain access to a live workspace filled with real projects, team processes, and company knowledge that grows and updates in real-time.
Everything from hiring pipelines to meeting notes lives inside that system.
This unique setup helps teams learn by doing. And as they work, they naturally improve both their process and the product.
What Sets Them Apart?
→ Teams set up their pages and systems inside Notion.
→ People aren't told how to work; instead, they build what works for them.
→ Sharing knowledge happens naturally and becomes effortless.
Co-founder Ivan Zhao once described Notion as the "LEGO of productivity tools," meaning it's designed to flex. That same mindset shapes how the company operates day-to-day.
Takeaway:
Flexibility is a central principle that guides the company's operations. So culture and product work in tandem.
9. Hugging Face - Learning Through Open Conversation
Scale
💰 Valuation: $4.5 billion (2025)
📍 Known for: Open-source AI tools and its Transformers library (an open-source machine learning resource)
Hugging Face is one of the most active open-source AI communities globally.
With over a million models and hundreds of thousands of datasets, it has become the go-to platform for researchers, developers, and hobbyists to experiment, learn, and share their work.
Their company's culture is built on an open dialogue.
Hugging Face encourages "public-first" experiments by releasing tools early and using community feedback to improve them.
They scale through shared intelligence.
What Sets Them Apart?
→ They believe AI should be shaped by a diverse, global community, not just big corporations.
→ Their team is fully remote, giving people more flexibility and freedom to work in ways that suit them.
→ The founders, Clem Delangue and Thomas Wolf are outspoken about the need for ethical and open AI development.
Internally, this culture is reflected in how people work: everyone is encouraged to share ideas, test in public, and view learning as an integral part of their daily work.
Takeaway:
Hugging Face turns collaboration into a core part of its infrastructure. Learning happens out in the open, where anyone can take part. And learning isn't just something you do inside the company, but rather it's the product itself.
10. Runway - AI x Creativity Culture
💰 Valuation: $3+ billion (2025)
📍 Known for: Open-source AI tools and creative applications.
A group of artists and engineers from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts started the company. From the start, their goal was clear: build tools that help people create, not replace them.
CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela sees AI as a "new paint tube," not a threat. It's a tool for imagination, but not a shortcut to creating art.
You can see this in everything they do:
→ Their tools let creators quickly test video styles, effects, and edits.
→ They host an annual AI Film Festival to highlight experimental and artistic work.
→ Their software has been used in major films and music videos.
What Sets Them Apart?
→ Teams are small and focused on iteration, with lots of trust and autonomy.
→ The company values small daily rituals that encourage new ideas.
→ They've released four major AI models quickly (Gen-1 to Gen-4). And their tools have already shaped Oscar-winning films and music videos.
Takeaway:
Runway is a team that has built the infrastructure for creativity, which is not as simple as it sounds.
11. Relativity Space - Adaptability At Scale
💰 Valuation: $6+ billion (2025)
📍 Known for: 3D-printed rockets with AI-powered manufacturing.
Relativity Space isn't just building rockets.
They're changing how we design and build rockets.
Instead of assembling thousands of parts from various suppliers, they 3D-print most of their rockets using custom-built printers, some as large as buildings. Their first rocket, Terran 1, was approximately 85% 3D-printed by weight and became the first 3D-printed rocket to reach space.
Their massive printers, known as Stargate, can now print horizontally and work significantly faster than before. These printers utilise AI to monitor and adjust the printing process in real-time, enabling the company to transition from design to finished hardware much quicker than traditional methods.
What Sets Them Apart?
→ Software-defined manufacturing: CEO Tim Ellis describes their approach as "software-defined manufacturing," where engineers oversee the entire process from design to launch. When their first rocket didn't reach orbit, they quickly applied the lessons learned to their next project, Terran R.
→ Learning from failure: The company embraces a "failing forward" mindset. Instead of assigning blame, they focus on learning from setbacks to improve future designs and processes.
→ Speed and adaptability: By integrating AI and 3D printing, Relativity can rapidly iterate on designs, reducing the time and cost associated with traditional rocket manufacturing.
📘 Takeaway:
Relativity Space demonstrates how embracing new technologies and a culture of continuous learning can lead to rapid advancements, even in complex fields like aerospace. That's no small feat in an industry that often takes years to make changes.
12. GitLab – Async Excellence As A Superpower
💰 Valuation: $7.28B+ (2025 - Publicly traded)
📍 Known for: DevOps platform for software development and operations
GitLab is a company that operates entirely remotely, with employees spread across more than 65 countries.
They've embraced an "async-first" approach, meaning meetings aren't the default go-to. Instead, they prioritise written communication and accurate documentation.
Their internal handbook (yep, it's over 5,000 pages long and public) serves as a knowledge hub for everything from hiring processes to running team meetings.
Transparency ensures that everyone receives the same data, regardless of their location.
What Sets Them Apart?
→ Atypical defaults: By not defaulting to meetings, employees have the flexibility to work when they're most productive.
→ Nothing to hide: Their extensive handbook is open to the public, reflecting a culture of transparency. If something goes wrong (like the time they accidentally deleted their database), they write about it publicly, share the lessons, and move on.
→ Iterative approach: GitLab encourages making minor, frequent updates rather than waiting for perfection, fostering continuous improvement.
📘 Takeaway:
With the right systems and values, remote work can be a genuine strategic advantage, not just hype.
If there's one big takeaway from these 12 companies, it's this:
In 2025, adaptability isn't something that "happens." It's built on purpose.
Whether it's Anthropic designing safety into every layer of its org chart or Nvidia moving at hyper-speed, each of these companies shows that culture is infrastructure, not fluff.
What Do They Have In Common?
They're not just hiring smart people and hoping for the best. They're putting real systems in place. Things like:
→ Feedback rituals: Regular, structured opportunities for employees to give and receive feedback, fostering continuous improvement.
→ Micro-experiments: Encouraging small-scale testing of ideas to learn and adapt quickly without significant risk.
→ Cross-functional learning: Promoting collaboration across different departments to enhance innovation and understanding.
And their leaders don't just talk about innovation; they create space for it through values like curiosity, iteration, and honesty.
In a digital age that's changing faster than ever, the best companies ensure their culture supports and doesn't block their mission.
Are you ready to take your company culture seriously?
Book a call with a Superhumxn expert to hash out your game plan.
