After more than 700 interviews and conversations with industry experts, as well as input from an expert advisory board, the final decisions have been made, and the 2026 Forbes Accessibility 200 list is now official.
Deque is honored to be highlighted among this incredible group of innovators and impact-makers. We are the only digital accessibility solution provider to be consecutively named for a second year.
We’re especially proud given the list’s emphasis on “the size of impact over the widest breadth of people.” With a final list that “includes companies and nonprofits based in 24 countries across six continents,” it’s clear that accessibility is truly a global movement, and we’re thrilled to be featured alongside the incredible organizations and individuals advancing this mission.
The impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on today’s accessibility landscape is a central theme in the editorial commentary accompanying the list. In the article Meet The Accessibility 200—And Their AI Tools, deputy editor Heather Newman notes that “trailblazing use of AI is all over the Forbes Accessibility 200.”
Neil Barnett, Microsoft’s Chief Accessibility Officer, is quoted in that article: “AI is moving so fast. I think what gets me excited is that it’s going to be a lot easier to just make accessible, easy-to-use products out of the gate.”
This observation echoes a conversation Deque CEO and founder Preety Kumar recently had with Microsoft’s Jenny Lay Flurrie at Microsoft’s annual Ignite conference. In that conversation, Jenny expressed her belief that “we’re really hitting the cusp of what is possible with this era of AI.” Preety mirrors this enthusiasm, stating that she is “very optimistic about using AI to increase automation, so developers can make it easy to incorporate accessibility into their development workflow.”
You can see an excerpt of their full conversation here:
Notably, this year’s list is double the size of the 2025 edition. As Forbes explained back in February, when they began the nominations process, “The reaction was so strong around the globe that we are expanding this year’s list to 200.” In acknowledging this year’s final honorees, Alan Schwarz, Forbes Assistant Managing Editor, writes that accessibility has “evolved from legal mandate, to social imperative, to now something that speaks to an entirely new audience: smart business.”
Just under a year ago, on the eve of the European Accessibility Act (EAA) coming into effect, Preety Kumar wrote the following:
“With the EAA redefining the global legal landscape—and with AI and automation rewriting the rules of what’s technologically possible—we have a historic opportunity to fully establish digital accessibility as an essential business practice.”
With the publication of the Forbes Accessibility 200 list today, we have ample evidence that we are actively realizing this opportunity. It is indeed a new era for accessibility.
As we have for over two decades, Deque continues to drive innovation forward. We are proud to rank among the world’s most impactful accessibility champions, and we look forward to supporting every organization that is working to make the digital world a universally accessible place.
