NEWS

Companies around the world are expanding their AI capabilities

By VARINDIA - 2021-12-27

As companies around the world expand their use of A.I.- more than half of companies have accelerated their A.I. adoption plans-they are taking a careful look at ethics and responsible innovations. The global spending on A.I. systems is only expected to increase from $85.3 billion in 2021 to over $204 billion in 2025, according to market research firm IDC. It’s a great time to raise capital if your startup is building with - or on top of - artificial intelligence, regardless of how far along you are towards an exit.

While many startup niches have seen their funding tallies rise in 2021, AI startups appear to be enjoying strong gains across younger and older cohorts, implying a broad base of customer demand. From Google and Amazon to Apple and Microsoft, every major tech company is dedicating resources to breakthroughs in artificial intelligence. Personal assistants like Siri and Alexa have made AI a part of our daily lives.

Meanwhile, revolutionary breakthroughs like self-driving cars may not be the norm, but are certainly within reach. AI is at the heart of digital disruption and on its way to becoming one of the biggest game-changers in the next few years. Early adopters of AI are reaping significant benefits and have differentiated themselves from the rest.

The AI market is booming as governments are investing in technology to drive efficiency and cost savings in the post-pandemic era. Healthcare AI companies attracted the maximum annual investment, followed by the FinTech and retail sectors. There are 78 AI Companies around the world that are Unicorns today. At the same time, investors are betting on AI tech across the country. Startups in 46 US states plus Data Centers are applying artificial intelligence tech across industries like marketing, healthcare, retail, and more.

The artificial intelligence sector is shattering funding records this year. A number of new records were achieved in Q2’21, including 50 mega-rounds, 24 new AI unicorns, and 119 exits. Notable events include Waymo’s $2.5B funding round, UiPath’s $29B IPO, and Microsoft’s $19.7B acquisition of Nuance. The largest merger and acquisition deal of the quarter was PayPal’s purchase of buy now pay later platform Paidy for $2.7bn.

The Japanese payments platform uses machine learning to determine consumer creditworthiness and underwrites transactions instantly. It was almost 370 per cent bigger than the next largest deal – the acquisition of Chorus.ai by Zoominfo for $575m.