AI corporate investment worldwide 2015-2021

In 2021, the global total corporate investment in artificial intelligence (AI) reached almost 94 billion U.S. dollars, a significant increase from the previous year. In 2018, the yearly investment in AI saw a slight downturn, but that was only temporary. Private investments account for a bulk of total AI corporate investment. AI investment has increased more than sixfold since 2016, a staggering growth in any market. It is a testament to the importance of the development of AI around the world.

What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

Artificial intelligence, once the subject of people’s imaginations and the main plot of science fiction movies for decades, is no longer a piece of fiction, but rather commonplace in people’s daily lives whether they realize it or not. AI refers to the ability of a computer or machine to immitade the capacities of the human brain, which often learns from previous experiences to understand and respond to language, decisions, and problems. These AI capabilities, such as computer vision and conversational interfaces, have become embedded throughout various industries’ standard business processes.

AI investment and startups

The global AI market, valued at 142.3 billion U.S. dollars as of 2023, continues to grow driven by the influx of investments it receives. This is a rapidly growing market, looking to expand from billions to trillions of U.S. dollars in market size in the coming years. From 2020 to 2022, investment in startups globally, and in particular AI startups, increased by five billion U.S. dollars, nearly double its previous investments, with much of it coming from private capital from U.S. companies. The most recent top-funded AI businesses are all machine learning and chatbot companies, focusing on human interface with machines.