The US and China collectively accounted for more than 60% of the total VC investment volume

US remain at the forefront of VC investment in AI tech space. Source: shutterstock.com

Venture capital (VC) funding in artificial intelligence (AI) startups hit a record high in 2018 with the top 10 VC investors participating in a total of 150 funding rounds, which is an increase of 66.7% over the 2014–2017 average. Eight of the global top 10 VC investors in the AI tech space in 2018 were headquartered in the US, according to GlobalData.

The total proportionate investments by the top 10 VC investors also increased by 120.9% in 2018 compared to 2014–2017 average.

The US and China collectively accounted for more than 60% of the total VC investment volume and around 80% of the total investment value in 2018. IDG Capital and Baidu Ventures were the only two non-US companies to feature in the top 10 list.

All the top 10 global VC investors (Sequoia Capital, Intel Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Accel, IDG Capital, Y Combinator, Baidu Ventures, Battery Ventures, First Round Capital and New Enterprise Associates) registered an increase in the investment value in 2018 compared to the 2014–2017 average.

California-based Sequoia Capital registered the highest number of investments and proportionate investment value in 2018. Chinese Internet giant Baidu’s investment unit, Baidu Ventures, registered the highest growth in the number of investments as well as proportionate investment value in 2018 over the 2014–2017 average.

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