The
global
Venture
Capital
(VC)
investment
in
Artificial
Intelligence
(AI)
was
close
to
its
peak,
reaching
US$22.3
billion
in
2021.
According
to
ABI
Research
this
is
just
US$0.4
million
shy
of
the
historical
high
of
US$22.7
billion
recorded
in
2019.
Compared
to
the
US$15
billion
recorded
in
2020,
the
market
made
a
remarkable
recovery,
with
a
48.5%
year-on-year
growth.
“COVID-19
greatly
accelerated
the
speed
of
digital
transformation
in
enterprise.
Businesses
are
looking
for
solutions
to
work
processes
automation,
customer
care,
due
diligence,
transcription
and
translation,
and
sales
and
marketing
enablement
tools.
At
the
same
time,
COVID-19
led
to
the
Great
Resignation
of
2021,
where
over
47
million
Americans
voluntarily
quit
their
jobs.
The
massive
job-changing
wave
led
businesses
to
rethink
their
internal
business
processes,
redeploy
employees
for
high-value
tasks,
and
retain
valuable
institutional
knowledge,”
said
Lian
Jye
Su,
Research
Director
at
ABI
Research.
“It’s
no
surprise
that
startups
led
the
funding
in
2021,”
Su
says.
These
include
UiPath
and
WorkFusion
in
enterprise
automation,
4Paradigm,
Databricks,
Dataiku,
DataRobot,
and
H2O.ai
in
data
science
and
AI
development
platforms,
and
AI
chipset
vendors
like
SambaNova
Systems,
Groq,
ECARX,
Horizon
Robotics,
Enflame,
and
Hailo.
“In
essence,
businesses
need
to
identify
their
AI
strategies,
whether
to
buy,
build,
or
both.
Businesses
looking
to
buy
their
AI
solutions
will
look
to
UiPath
and
WorkFusion;
those
looking
to
build
their
own
custom
AI
will
lean
toward
the
data
science
and
AI
development
platforms.
In
some
cases,
having
the
right
AI
solution
is
not
enough.
Businesses
are
also
looking
for
the
most
optimal
AI
hardware,
and
this
is
where
AI
chipset
startups
come
into
play,”
explains
Su.
While
the
strong
rebound
indicated
bullish
market
sentiment
on
the
prospect
of
AI
as a
disruptive
technology,
the
rebound
is
even
more
impressive
considering
the
VC
market
exit
of
well-known
startups
taken
into
account.
In
2021,
no
less
than
eight
significant
startups
exited
the
VC
market,
including
Affirm,
Babylon,
Darktrace,
Exscientia,
Recursion,
SenseTime,
SentinelOne,
and
UiPath.
These
startups
have
a
strong
value
proposition,
clear
core
competencies,
and
sustainable
business
models.
With
the
exit
of
these
startups,
however,
the
total
VC
funding
for
AI
in
future
years
may
see
lower,
or
even
negative,
growth.
“These
startups
have
demonstrated
the
full
potential
of
AI
to
businesses.
They
also
serve
as
examples
for
the
younger
AI
startups.
While
the
AI
market
is
getting
more
crowded,
it
is
still
essential
for
aspiring
startups
to
hone
their
value
proposition,
identify
the
right
niche,
develop
core
competency,
and
well
serve
customers,”
concludes
Su.
These
findings
are
from
ABI
Research’s
Artificial
Intelligence
Investment
Monitor
2021
application
analysis
report.
This
report
is
part
of
the
company’s
Artificial
Intelligence
and
Machine
Learning
research
service,
which
includes
research,
data,
and
analyst
insights.
Based
on
extensive
primary
interviews,
Application
Analysis
reports
present
an
in-depth
analysis
of
key
market
trends
and
factors
for
a
specific
technology.
The
global
Venture
Capital
(VC)
investment
in
Artificial
Intelligence
(AI)
was
close
to
its
peak,
reaching
US$22.3
billion
in
2021.
According
to
ABI
Research
this
is
just
US$0.4
million
shy
of
the
historical
high
of
US$22.7
billion
recorded
in
2019.
Compared
to
the
US$15
billion
recorded
in
2020,
the
market
made
a
remarkable
recovery,
with
a
48.5%
year-on-year
growth.