• Business Insider will reveal our sixth annual Seed 100 list, celebrating the most successful early-stage investors.
• The list makes it clear AI is changing seed investing, just like it’s changing everything else.
• Find out who made the 2026 list and hear from two investors in a LIVE Q&A, Monday at 2:30 p.m. ET. Scroll down to watch.

Spotting young companies that are poised to make a big splash isn’t easy.

That’s why Business Insider compiles an annual Seed 100 list, celebrating the top 100 early-stage investors – venture capitalists whose bets are paying off in measurable ways.

Now in its sixth year, the list also highlights how seed investing is changing. As hot AI startups dominate the scene, small checks are being replaced by multi-million dollar investments. Seed rounds may now total a billion dollars or more.

Alongside the Seed 100, Business Insider also publishes the Seed 40, which specifically highlights successful women investors.

Both lists include investors who have made at least 5 active investments between 2011 and 2026 and whose companies have gone public, been acquired, and/or attracted additional rounds of funding.

The lists are compiled using data analysis supplied by Termina, a software platform spun out of Tribe Capital.

So who landed on this year’s Seed 100 and Seed 40? Join senior correspondents Ben Bergman and Melia Russell in this live Q&A to find out.

Bergman and Russell will also interview two prominent investors from the list. Those conversations will dig into the investments each made and the companies they are eyeing next.

Tune in Monday at 2:30 p.m. ET.

• Switzerland kept its No. 1 spot on US News & World Report’s list of the best countries in the world.
• The 2026 rankings compared 100 countries across factors like infrastructure, health, and tourism.
• The US didn’t crack the top 10 in this year’s list.

Once again, Switzerland has claimed the top spot as the best country in the world.

The 2026 rankings, released Thursday, were compiled by US News & World Report in partnership with the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Unlike previous iterations of the list, this year’s rankings did away with a perception-based approach of surveying experts and business leaders, and instead used a data-driven methodology.

To determine the rankings, researchers evaluated 100 countries across eight categories, including governance, culture and tourism, civic health, economic development, health, infrastructure, opportunity, and the natural environment. The rankings also factored in 24 other subcategories, including healthcare, public safety, labor markets, poverty, and wealth.

The resulting best countries are predominantly a mix of popular and more underrated destinations across Europe. Some major global favorites, including the United States and Japan, didn’t crack the top 10.

US News senior data editor Evan Comen told Business Insider that the reason the US didn’t make the top 10 is its uneven performance across the eight major categories.

“The US is No. 2 in economic development, No. 1 in culture and tourism,” Comen said. “But then these advantages are offset by weaker performance in some of the more data-heavy categories that wouldn’t really be reflected in perceptions; things like health, infrastructure, and civic health.”

Below are the 20 best countries in the world, according to US News & World Report.

Population data for each country is from the US Census Bureau, and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) information was sourced from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

20. South Korea

• Population: 51.4 million
• GDP: $3.1 trillion

Rounding out the top 20, South Korea still ranks high in a few categories. Its capital city, Seoul, is a cultural hub for fashion, technology, and entertainment.

The Asian country ranked sixth in economic development, its highest finish in a category. It also ranked seventh in health.

19. Canada

• Population: 39.5 million
• GDP: $2.7 trillion

Canada, the northern sibling to the US, matches fairly closely with its border mate in overall ranking, but has separation in some categories, like economic development.

Canada doesn’t rank high in a lot of categories, but finishes in the top 20 mostly, signaling balance. Culture and tourism is Canada’s highest ranking, where it finished eighth.

18. United States

• Population: 342.4 million
• GDP: $29.3 trillion

In what might be a surprising placement to some, the US barely cracked the top 20 in this year’s rankings. A leader in cultural tourism and economic development, the country had uneven performance across other categories.

The US has the highest GDP on the list by far; however, it struggles in many categories, such as health and infrastructure, where it doesn’t rank in the top 20.

17. Japan

• Population: 122.1 million
• GDP: $6.7 trillion

Japan has cultural significance that reaches every corner of the world. With its busy cities and mountainous landscapes, it’s a popular tourist destination.

Japan ranked highest in health and civic health, finishing in fifth and second, respectively.

16. Singapore

• Population: 6.1 million
• GDP: $547.4 billion

Singapore, an island nation in Southeast Asia, is a bustling country marked by tall buildings and modern architecture.

The country leads in infrastructure, according to US News, and finishes near the top in other categories, such as economic development, governance, and health.

15. Iceland

• Population: 370,000
• GDP: $32.3 billion

Iceland, the least populous country on the list, packs a punch in a lot of US News’ important categories. Known for its vast landscapes, it finished 10th in culture and tourism, while it ranked first in the heritage and cultural attractions subcategory.

The Nordic island nation finished first in both health and opportunity on this year’s list.

14. Australia

• Population: 27.9 million
• GDP: $2 trillion

Home to the Great Barrier Reef, the Sydney Opera House, and wildlife galore, Australia is a unique country with loads to do.

However, culture and tourism aren’t its strongest assets: it ranked 18th in that category. Australia’s best finish was in health, where it ranked sixth.

13. Ireland

• Population: 5.3 million
• GDP: $759.6 billion

Ireland, the third-largest island in Europe, is only about 100 miles from the United Kingdom, but it has its own culture.

Scoring highest in culture and tourism, Ireland finished in the top 20 for nearly every category, including economic development, governance, and infrastructure.

12. France

• Population: 68.7 million
• GDP: $4.3 trillion

France is a popular tourist destination with a diversity of attractions, from the Eiffel Tower in Paris to historic chateaus to a stunning Mediterranean coastline.

That diversity landed it fifth in the culture and tourism rankings — its highest finish. It also ranked high in economic development and health, at 10th and 11th, respectively.

11. Belgium

• Population: 12 million
• GDP: $880.2 billion

Belgium borders four different countries, and, in turn, blends a lot of those cultures into its own unique brew. It has three official languages: Dutch, French, and German.

Civic health is its strongest category, where it ranks seventh, but it has generally high rankings across the board.

10. Austria

• Population: 9.2 million
• GDP: $695.4 billion

Austria may be a less popular tourist destination than other European favorites like the UK and Italy, but it has been gaining attention for its relatively lower costs and scenic views.

In this year’s rankings, it placed 14th for both culture and tourism and economic development. It also ranked 21st for modern urban livability and quality of life.

9. Luxembourg

• Population: 701,000
• GDP: $105.6 billion

Luxembourg is often overshadowed by its larger neighbors, Germany to the east and France to the south, but the country ranks among the best in the world on US News’ list.

Though it placed ninth overall this year, Luxembourg ranked third in infrastructure, sixth in opportunity, seventh in governance, ninth in solo travel, and ninth among the best countries to start a business.

8. Finland

• Population: 5.6 million
• GDP: $366.1 billion

The “land of a thousand lakes” finally made the top 10 this year. In individual categories, Finland ranked first for modern urban livability, fourth for infrastructure, and fifth for civic health.

7. United Kingdom

• Population: 69 million
• GDP: $4.3 trillion

The United Kingdom has weathered political and economic turmoil in the wake of Brexit, but even so, it remains a favorable destination and performed well in this year’s rankings.

It placed third in culture and tourism and fourth in economic development. The country also earned strong marks for infrastructure and opportunity.

6. Norway

• Population: 5.6 million
• GDP: $588.8 billion

Norway is one of the world’s few remaining constitutional monarchies, giving it a unique blend of old-world tradition and modern governance.

This year, the country ranked second in health, fifth in opportunity, and fifth in governance.

5. Netherlands

• Population: 17.9 million
• GDP: $1.5 trillion

The Netherlands, often informally referred to as Holland, finally made the top five in this year’s overall rankings. Across individual categories, the country ranked third in governance, seventh in both eco-tourism and infrastructure, and eighth in economic development.

4. Germany

• Population: 83.9 million
• GDP: $6.2 trillion

Germany has repeatedly landed in the top 10 of the US News rankings, and this year it rose to fourth overall.

The country placed third in economic development, fourth in both culture and tourism, and seventh among the best countries for raising children.

3. Sweden

• Population: 10.7 million
• GDP: $752.8 billion

In the categories of governance and opportunity, Sweden ranked fourth and third, respectively, while ranking sixth in civic health.

Notably, the country ranked first for a comfortable retirement.

2. Denmark

• Population: 6.1 million
• GDP: $483.8 billion

The Northern European country located on the Jutland Peninsula ranked second in both infrastructure and governance.

Denmark also ranked high in categories like modern urban livability, education, entrepreneurship, and overall quality of life.

1. Switzerland

• Population: 9 million
• GDP: $877.8 billion

For another consecutive year, Switzerland ranked No. 1 on the Best Countries list.

The Central European nation also topped the rankings in categories such as economic development and governance, while placing second in opportunity, culture, and tourism.

It earned strong marks across several other areas, including education, entrepreneurship, solo travel, digital nomadism, modern livability, and quality of life.

• I flew on Singapore Airlines for the first time.
• I was surprised that I could select my seat for free in economy.
• The seats were spacious, the food was decent, and I loved the in-flight entertainment selection.

When it was time to plan my first trip to Asia, I knew I wanted to book an airline I’d never flown before. No option seemed better than Singapore Airlines.

A certified five-star airline by Skytrax, Singapore Airlines was named the world’s best international airline by Travel + Leisure in 2025. It also won the title of best airline in Asia at last year’s Skytrax World Airline Awards, considered the Oscars of the aviation industry.

While Singapore Airlines is famous for its luxurious suites and first-class cabins, I could only afford an economy ticket. But my experience was still far better than my recent trips on US airlines.

I was impressed with Singapore Airlines before my flight even began.

I decided to travel to Japan after a friend’s wedding in Sydney and booked an economy ticket on Singapore Airlines. There are four different tiers of economy — lite, value, standard, and flexi — but only standard was available on my flight.

The trip, which included a layover in Singapore, cost $814.

While booking my Singapore Airlines ticket, I was surprised to find that I could select seats on both of my flights for free. I could even choose one of the “Forward Zone” seats, which are closer to the doors and allow you to disembark first from economy. This felt like a great option since my layover at Changi Airport was less than an hour and a half.

Plus, I got to pick the window seat (my favorite) for both flights.

I was also surprised by the airline’s generous weight limit for checked bags.

I’m a notorious overpacker. If there were a gold medal for shuffling items from your checked bag to carry-on to meet the 50-pound limit of most US airlines, I would be the Simone Biles of the sport. It’s a natural gift — I don’t even have to train!

So, I was shocked when the Singapore Airlines attendant told me I needed to put more stuff in my checked bag, not less. She informed me that the weight limit for checked bags in economy is 30 kilograms, or about 66 pounds. If you fly Singapore Airlines on economy lite or value, the limit is 25 kilograms, or about 55 pounds.

Being able to unload my overstuffed carry-on and gallivant around duty-free was an unexpected pre-flight treat.

Before boarding my flight, I grabbed a pair of headphones by the plane’s entrance.

It was a small detail, but I appreciated that I could immediately sit and start watching a movie without waiting for an attendant to pass out the headphones.

My chair was far more spacious than what I’ve come to expect from US airlines.

As someone who’s only flown economy, I’ve become all too accustomed to the increasingly shrinking seats.

But I was flying on an Airbus A380-800, the world’s largest commercial aircraft, and it had some very comfortable seats — even in economy. My seat, which was 19 inches wide, felt surprisingly spacious.

A plush gray pillow and a hefty blanket were waiting on my seat.

They both felt like major upgrades from the paper-thin sheet and the flimsy maxi-pad-esque contraption I’ve received on long-haul flights with various US airlines.

There was plenty of legroom.

When I first sat down, I was surprised I could still stretch out my legs, even with my backpack under the seat in front of me.

Once the woman in my row and I realized no one would be taking the seat between us, we easily slid both of our backpacks under the middle seat and enjoyed the extra space.

The seat in front of me had helpful buttons and compartments.

Under the left corner of my screen were buttons to turn on the overhead light and call the attendant, plus an outlet to charge my phone. Under the right corner was a stand-alone drink holder. There was also a shelf under my screen, where I stored my headphones when I wasn’t watching anything.

I also appreciated the four separate pockets in front of my seat. I could easily store my phone, book, magazine, charger, and water bottle in all of them.

I also had access to an extensive entertainment selection.

According to its website, Singapore Airlines offers more than 1,900 on-demand options via its KrisWorld in-flight entertainment system.

There was everything from “Wicked” to “The Substance,” which I didn’t feel brave enough to watch on a plane.

TV options included food shows, kids’ programs, and classics such as “Law & Order” and “The Golden Girls.”

Before takeoff, flight attendants passed out hot towels to everyone on board.

The custom, known in Japanese as “oshibori,” has been a longtime signature of the Singapore Airlines brand. Each towel is perfumed with the airline’s “Batik Flora” scent, which combines the floral notes of various flowers that are native to Singapore.

As soon as I had given my hands a refreshing cleanse, an attendant returned to retrieve the towel.

Within 20 minutes of takeoff, we were given our first drink and snack.

Who hasn’t chugged their little drink on a plane because there wasn’t enough space?

Thanks to the stand-alone cupholder, I could leisurely sip on my complimentary glass of white wine as I snacked on the peas-and-crackers snack and read my book.

Then came the dinner service.

Every tray included an entrée of chicken or fish (the vegetarian meals had already been served), bread, a small noodle salad, Australian cheese and crackers, and a mini water bottle. I was surprised it came with metal cutlery rather than the plastic or wood I’m used to seeing in economy.

I started with the salad, which featured vermicelli noodles and shrimp cooked far more delicately than expected for an in-flight meal. The shrimp were plump and fresh, pairing well with the light, tangy dressing that covered each noodle.

I opted for the chicken entrée, which was solid. The meat was tender and covered in sauce, while the potatoes were well-cooked but under-seasoned.

It wasn’t exactly gourmet, but it was a huge upgrade from the undercooked pasta and rubbery meat I’ve had on many long-haul flights with US airlines. (And I’ll never forget the tortilla filled with a cut-up hot dog.)

Shortly after we’d settled into dinner, attendants offered us an ice cream sandwich for dessert.

The delicious vanilla fudge brownie was a highlight of the flight. It featured a chocolate crunch on the bottom that satisfyingly snapped with every bite.

An hour before landing, we were given a hot snack.

We were offered a choice between a sandwich with sweet potato and cheese or sweet chili chicken. I chose the latter, which was fine. I couldn’t taste the sweet chili, but it was a nice, warm snack.

Overall, I had a great first experience on Singapore Airlines.

At the end of the day, economy is economy. Still, the experience has become increasingly uncomfortable as US carriers shrink their seats and add more fees.

By comparison, flying on Singapore Airlines felt like a breath of fresh air. From the hot towel and spacious seats to the decent in-flight entertainment and food options, my nine-hour flight seemed to fly by.

It’s easy to see why Singapore Airlines consistently ranks among the top in the world. I can’t wait to fly on one of its planes again.

• Anthropic Labs chief Mike Krieger said he’s receiving a lot of emails from parents of soon-to-be college graduates.
• Like many, they are wondering what their kids should do to thrive in an era of AI upheaval.
• Krieger said it’s important “to remain curious” and understand nothing is “set in stone.”

Top Anthropic executive Mike Krieger’s message to college graduates and their parents nervous about AI is that they’re not the only ones going through this process.

“I think what I tell folks is you’re not alone,” Krieger told tech journalist Alex Heath during a recent episode of Heath’s “Access” podcast. “This is a shared kind of complicated thing.”

Krieger, who cofounded Instagram, said he receives “a whole class of email” from people in his broader social circle who are parents of soon-to-be college graduates. One of his messages is that there will continue to be innately human areas that AI won’t affect anytime soon.

“I think the things that will still remain human, and ineffable, and important are still relationships and curiosity and creativity and the ability to organize people towards an end,” he said. “I don’t see AI replacing that anytime soon.”

Since January, Krieger has helped lead Anthropic Labs, a unit dedicated to “incubating experimental products at the frontier of Claude’s capabilities,” as the AI startup described it at the time. Previously, Krieger was Anthropic’s chief product officer.

Anthropic has become one of the most outspoken AI companies when it comes to talking about job displacement. Its CEO Dario Amodei, has repeatedly warned that AI will wipe out up to half of all entry-level, white-collar jobs in the next one to five years.

AI executives have increasingly discussed their advice for those joining the workforce, even as the debate about the extent of displacement rages on.

Krieger said it’s important to understand that if someone is unhappy in this situation, it won’t always remain that way.

“Even if in the current moment with all the uncertainty, maybe our friend’s kid doesn’t land in exactly the job that they wanted, things will continue to shift,” he said. “Nothing is set in stone.”

Like others, Krieger emphasized that people who are open to change will be better able to navigate this moment.

“I think if people remain curious and actively exploring what the frontier looks like, they might then either be part of creating a whole new category of jobs or progressing to a different place in their own companies,” he said.

• Jake Rosmarin is a creator who’s been in quarantine after the hantavirus outbreak.
• The travel influencer saw his Instagram followers soar after posting about life during the incubation period.
• Rosmarin said he’s had mixed emotions seeing his follower count take off for his quarantine posts.

This as-told-to story is based on an interview with Jake Rosmarin, an American travel influencer who is being quarantined after being on board the M/V Hondius cruise ship following a hantavirus outbreak. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I’m a freelance content creator and photographer, and was on the cruise with the company to show people these remote places that they might not know about. I’m on day four of a 42-day incubation period in the national quarantine unit in Omaha, Nebraska, and as of this moment, I do not have any viral infection. Even though it doesn’t mean anything in the long run, I’m taking it as a win.

I’m stuck in a room all day. It’s a bit nicer than a hospital room, and I’m allowed to get packages and stuff. I was able to get a mattress cover, new pillows, and sheets. I’m supposed to get posters today, so I’m able to make this place feel like home.

I miss my fiancé and my family. I get to talk to them every day. But it’s the physical contact — I’m a big hugger, and I can’t wait to be able to hug people again.

I’ve been posting about what my days look like because I think it was just something that I needed to do for my mental headspace, because that’s all I know: creating content. Maybe it’ll feed some of the conspiracy theory people, but at the end of the day, you’re not going to change their minds for the most part, right?

I have mixed emotions

The increase in followers that I’ve gotten was a really emotional experience for me, especially when I hit the 50K mark.

I just cried a lot, because I really was so excited at some point to hit 50K followers on Instagram. I never wanted to get to where I am now because of a situation like this.

I got into freelance content creation and photography after quitting my job in TV advertising in 2021 and slowly made it my full-time job. I enjoy showing people about my life. I’m not just Jake the traveler — I’m Jake the marathon runner, and Jake the guy who likes to go on long walks and hikes, and go to Orange Theory, and try new foods and do new activities in Boston.

As a small travel influencer, I’m not paid by the company — I think that’s a misconception. A lot of the time, I’m being sent on a free trip, and I make money when I convince people to travel with a certain company through an affiliate link or promotional code. The amount of travel varies — I could take two to 10 trips a year. I also do some brand ambassador work for a travel company.

Looking to the future

No travel company has reached out to me, so I don’t know what this experience will mean for me in the long run. I also think it’s not really the right time for me to be doing any kind of partnership — I’m in a quarantine unit.

A company messaged me yesterday, and I said, “Thank you so much for the comment. Instead of sending me something, if you were able to donate something toward hantavirus research, I think that would be really amazing.”

I really don’t want to be receiving things from brands. If I knew that someone was sending me something because that’s what they really cared about, and didn’t care about a shout-out or anything like that, maybe I’d be open to it. But if a big company that has a lot of money can send something to me, why not donate to research instead?

The first step of getting through this is to come to terms with the realization that I’ll be here for a total of 42 days. Then it’s trying to look at the positives and appreciate the little things. Getting a Starbucks delivered to me brought me so much joy. I can either stay in this room for six weeks and sulk or try to enjoy my time as much as possible.

I think when this is over, I’m going to go back to what I was doing before the trip: integrating all aspects of my life into my content. I don’t want it to become my entire life. I’m not always going to be Jake, the guy who was in the hantavirus quarantine.

• I often organized my day around Wordle and had a daily alarm, so I wouldn’t forget to play.
• I had a 222-day streak, and when I finally broke it by running out of guesses, I was heartbroken.
• However, I realized that the feeling of obligation had stolen my love of doing the puzzle.

Once my streak got long enough, I knew I was helplessly hooked on Wordle. For 222 straight days, I opened the New York Times Games app and dutifully completed the daily puzzle amid a slot machine-like spin of yellow and green squares.

Early on, it was genuinely a fun challenge, a pleasant little ritual as part of my evening wind-down scrollfest. But somewhere along the way, the game stopped being just a game, and keeping the streak alive became the whole point.

I often went to great lengths to protect my Wordle streak

I started organizing my behavior around protecting it. I set a daily alarm on my iPhone so I didn’t accidentally let the day go by and forget to play, no matter how busy I got. I played while sick (reasonably easy). I played while exhausted (harder). And I played while traveling internationally with rigorous itineraries in upside-down time zone situations (hardest).

Once, while returning from a remote island trip with my family, I erased all my vacation zen by struggling to find WiFi in a low-tech airport so as not to break my streak (and then, when I couldn’t, I paid $30 for WiFi on the long-haul overnight flight home for the explicit purpose).

Then one day, not as a result of some dramatic life event or connectivity flameout, but just because I ran out of guesses, I lost. And just like that, 222 days of consistent positive reinforcement went away.

I was surprised by how upset I was when my streak ended

When I saw my new current streak at “0,” I felt disproportionately upset. I felt like I’d lost something meaningful to me — a sign, perhaps, of my smarts and dedication. As one does, I texted my woe to the group chat: “I can’t even have this?!”

My sister replied immediately: “Streaks are a conspiracy to keep us enslaved.”

My longtime friend wrote: “You smashed it. Mission accomplished. Goodbye! On to the next mountain!”

With that encouragement, my thinking completely shifted. Instead of focusing on how I blew it, I internalized a sense of — what was this new feeling? — freedom. For the first time in more than seven months, I no longer had this digital obligation in addition to all my regular daily tasks of parenting, work, and everything else. Talk about reframing the narrative.

I started thinking about ‘streak culture’

After my epiphany, the idea of streak culture got under my skin. Streaks are everywhere now: Wordle, Duolingo, Peloton, meditation apps, fitness trackers, and on and on. Modern life is increasingly organized around maintaining visible continuity, often through brightly colored counters, icons, badges, bursts of digital confetti, and other celebratory notifications designed to make us feel accomplished for simply showing up repeatedly.

And to be fair, streaks absolutely can be helpful for motivation. Plenty of people genuinely benefit from the structure and accountability they provide. The reason so many apps use them is that they really do work.

But they also create a dynamic where skipping a leisure activity is psychologically fraught.

“Every time Duolingo shows you a flame icon growing higher or Wordle tells you your streak is still alive, your brain releases a small hit of dopamine,” Mel Plourde, LMSW, a psychiatric technician and program case manager at Eagle Creek Ranch Recovery Center, told me.

None of it is accidental. “These apps are designed to produce a neurochemical reward system that makes you keep coming back,” she said.

She explained that losing a streak can feel surprisingly painful because of something called “loss aversion“— the psychological principle that losing something tends to feel more emotionally powerful than gaining something of equal value.

Missing one day of Wordle did not objectively change anything about my life. I hadn’t lost money, status, relationships, reputation, or opportunities. And yet emotionally, it felt weirdly significant. But once the streak disappeared, I realized how much pressure I’d attached to something that was supposed to be fun — and I was quite glad to be rid of it.

I lost the love of the game — and now, I have it back

Plourde also mentioned the “overjustification effect,” in which external rewards replace internal motivation. In other words, you start learning a language because you genuinely want to learn it, but eventually, you’re opening the app mainly to protect the streak counter.

If I’m being honest, by around day 100, I wasn’t really playing Wordle because I loved Wordle anymore — and it certainly didn’t feel like a wind-down brain break. I was playing because I didn’t want to lose.

Now that the streak is gone, I still play occasionally. But I definitely deleted that daily alarm. Now I play because I feel like it, not because of an app holding me hostage. And that feels a lot healthier.