Report: AI Expands Corporate 'Shadow IT'
A new benchmark report from SaaS management platform Torii finds that the proliferation of AI tools is accelerating SaaS sprawl and expanding 'shadow IT' within companies. According to the report, 61% of applications are unmanaged, increasing governance and security risks as employees adopt new AI-powered tools without official oversight.
- The scope of unmanaged AI adoption is significant, with studies showing 73% of employees use AI tools without IT approval, leading to a 3.2x increase in AI-related data incidents since 2024. One analysis found that 11% of content employees copy into public AI tools like ChatGPT is confidential. - New York City's AI startup scene is a major growth area, with local companies raising $1.5 billion across 81 deals in Q1 2025 alone. The number of active AI jobs in NYC has seen an 87% year-over-year increase, with companies like Hebbia (AI for finance) and EliseAI (conversational AI for real estate) hiring for engineering roles. - For those interested in vertical SaaS, the NYC ecosystem consists of nearly 2,200 companies that have collectively raised $29.6 billion in venture capital. Examples of startups tackling specific industries include Playground, which builds management software for childcare centers, and Agora RE, a platform for real estate investment firms. - Indie hackers are successfully building businesses around AI agents; a study tracking 89 builders using one agent framework found that 67% were generating revenue. A profitable model involves offering "setup-
